I was just at an ACE Teacher Conference last week. In one of the sessions we heard that the question the ACE support line gets asked the most is, “Why do you have a character named Pudge?”
There’s actually a good reason, and the answer may surprise you!
I asked my students when I got back if they knew why Matthew Meekway was nicknamed, “Pudge.” To my surprise, several raised their hand to tell me! And they were correct! (I actually did not know this back-story before.)
The characters in the PACES have life stories that follow them through the PACES. The characters grow as the students using the PACES are growing. At the end of 12th grade the PACE characters are also graduating and seeking God’s will for college, life mates, and careers. One character, sadly, dies in a car accident just before graduation (but I won’t spoil it for the teens by telling who that is!).
So, here’s Pudge’s story. He was born with the name Matthew Meekway. His dad liked his flat little nose as a baby and called him “Pudge” because of it. Later, Mr. Meekway died, and as a way of remembering and honoring his dad, Matthew kept the nickname his dad had given him. As he grew older in his teen years he did decide that he wanted to be called Matthew from then on.
So there you have it! Pudge wasn’t called that by his friends to make fun of him because he was chubby – he chose that name to honor his dad.
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Is there more to Pudge’s story that I missed? Or another interesting story-line about an ACE character? Tell us about it in the comments below.
Update . . . found the story in Pudge’s Autobiography example, which is part of English PACE 1117
Thank you! My students always asked me.