An absolutely random memory of mine drew attention to itself a short time ago. Pine Elementary School; first or second grade. A couple of classes had been piled into a film room to be shown, underwater-wobbly soundtrack and all, Benjamin Walks the Dog. Yes, I not only remember the name, but I remember the plot - one surrepticiously designed to thwart world leaders of tomorrow from opportunizing on a slap-happy new father's insistence upon offering cigars to anyone who just might happen to be in a room. In plain English: older brother and friend stick kid brother with dog duties. Older brother and friend are obsessed with smoking tobacco in their clubhouse. The necessary materials are serendipitously acquired, and the children in question proceed to puff themselves to the point of critical nausea while kid brother loses/finds dog. Lesson learned, end of film. Back to reading groups.
Caveat: all pre-film reviews offered by teachers insisted that the movie singularly dealt with "dogs." As it were, after about the second or third voiceover by the older brother confiding to the audience his plan to score "some cigarettes," a kid in my class turned and spat to us, "this isn't about dogs. This is about smoking!" Hue and cry! Early elementary trickery gone awry. And I remember the otherwise forgettable short, most likely, because of that.