Basketball and Bibles

Had quite a sweet conversation with a pupil at the end of the day. I'm not quite sure how it started ... he was finishing off the work, everyone else had left, and I offered to write a note in his journal, letting his parents know that he was being diligent in his learning. He asked what that meant, and all of a sudden we were talking about basketball. He spoke about how he wanted to do better, and seemed to put down his lack of progress to eating "cold cereal", saying that he should drink warm water. I don't know much about basketball, so didn't really have too much to say about that ... he eventually volunteered the information that he needed to build up endurance, so I suggested maybe practicing more at home, just bouncing the ball up and down a court quickly for a long time. He seemed to think that this might be worth a try. I said that I didn't know much about basketball ... "But you listen. Sir just asks me lots of questions, like am I getting enough sleep?" That one threw me ... "Oh, you mean sir in PE?" "No, English." Well, that explains everything ... ! It was a nice conversation, though, and he seemed to leave a bit happier. It's little moments like that that make teaching worthwhile.