Unclear On The Concept

I was at my sister's house this Halloween, watching TV as my brother-in-law handed out candy. It's been a very, very long time since I participated in a kids' Halloween, for the last decade or so it's been grown-up parties where people drink just a bit too much, behave awkwardly and rack up a list of regrets they'll need to apologize for the next day. So past time to get back to the innocence of kid-centric night.
   But I noticed a disturbing trend. None of the kids seemed to get the concept behind 'trick or treat.' It was like they hadn't been completely briefed on what they were expected to do, so they were kind of winging it, making it up as they went along.
   Seriously. There were kids who'd say it before they knocked. Or some kids would knock or ring the bell and mutter 'trick or treat' under their breaths. Or some wouldn't knock at all or say 'trick or treat' and the only way we knew they were there was because they'd yell back to their parents 'no one's home.'
   What happened to the good old days? We knew how to trick or treat. If the light's on you run up to the front door, you ring the bell, and when the person opens the door you scream 'TRICK OR TREAT!!' at the top of your lungs. That's how you do it, none of this half-assed mumbling, or, worse still, ring the bell and just stand there with your pillowcase hanging open like someone owes you a handful of the good candy, the kind you only give to little kids.
   There was one group - just one - who knew how to ring the bell and yell 'TRICK OR TREAT!' And, guess what, that group was the one my sister was chaperoning. They rang the bell before coming back inside. Everyone else failed by smaller or larger degrees.
   Shouldn't there be a class or something? A remedial lecture for the Trick-or-Treat clueless? Hell, put it on the Web, make sure these kids know how the evening's supposed to go. How come they're not learning life skills?