Overweight Worries

I have a chubby little boy in my class who is very aware of his weight. I don't know how he is so aware of it (is there someone constantly reminding him of the fact that he is overweight?) but I have had several conversations now (he told me earlier this year that a certain girl would never like him because he is overweight and has eczema) with him about his exercise routines.

We have a break in between our Math and Reading classes. I call the break Wellness because those kids who have all of their work caught up go out to the track at our school and walk laps around it until it is time to go in for Reading, exciting huh? It isn't much but it gives them a little bit of a break in-between our two biggest subjects. Today my little friend shot out the door for Wellness and did the best he could to run both of his two laps (we had a two lap maximum today because we were running a little late, most days they can get in 3 or 4 before going back inside). I was super proud of him because I hardly ever see him push himself so hard. When he came to line up, I told him how proud of him I was and that for today he was the fastest kid in the 5th grade. He told me that there were a lot of kids faster than him and made some comment about being overweight, but then I reassured him that he was the fastest today. Then we talked about what he likes to do outside when the weather gets nicer. He rides his bikes a lot (he has 2, but only one of them really allows him to get some decent speed). One day he had 2 flat tires on one of his bikes because he was "poppin' wheelies" and on and on about how much trouble his bikes give him.

The reason I share this is that, I struggle to like my students most of the time. Today was the first time in weeks that I can remember having a "fun" conversation with any of my students. His comments about being overweight are poignant and have made him more endearing to me. Who doesn't love a fat kid? I left Wellness today feeling better about that student, myself, and my entire class.

During my conversation with him I couldn't help but think of this movie clip.

Here's to "One Time."