Recently I observed a student teacher who had just told his second graders that they were going to spend the half hour practicing catching using scoops and balls. He asked the class for reasons why they should learn about using scoops in physical education class. One of the students raised his hand and in a straight face said "So we can pick up dog poop in the yard."

The student teacher, holding back the laughter (along with his cooperating teacher), gathered himself and continued with the lesson by saying, "Well, I am sure that is a good reason for learning this in P.E., but can anyone else think of any other reasons?