Friday afternoon

After a long school week, I was really looking forward to playing some badminton with the kids. To our disappointment, the gym was set up for a Mariachi concert. Standing outside the gym, I offered the kids and Coach Aldo to join me to order the end-of-season awards before grabbing a bite. I took Louie, Mayra, Elida, and Melissa, while Aldo took Sam in our cars and headed to J & J's Trophy on Foothill. I placed the order for the plaques. Then, the seven of us went to eat pizza at Costco. We joked and laughed the afternoon away...

No badminton, but simple good times nonetheless.

Go Kemp Go!

I met Coach Kemp when I was a freshman at West Covina High School. Him and his mom, Mrs. Wells, became the biggest influences of my high school years and beyond. I played all four years of badminton for Kemp. It coincidentally were the only four years that he coached at WCHS. He coached me to be the best player that I can be. We lost in the CIF badminton semis during our last two years. Tonight, he coached the Diamond Bar badminton team to the finals! They'll face a great team in Mark Keppel on Saturday. No matter what happens, Coach Kemp is the best coach ever. I wish him the best of luck.

Motivation

A colleague commented on Facebook in regards to the students' motivation on taking standardized tests. She questioned if incentives really help. According expert Dan Pink, only intrinsic motivation improves performance. It relies on Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose.

Video from TED.com

All Done

The badminton season ended tonight. We lost 6-15 to a very good Cypress team in the quarter finals. While I'm proud of our players, I have a long way to go as a coach. Aside from badminton skills, I need to teach our players good sportsmanship, teamwork, and competitiveness. I am grateful for the help from Coach Kilmer and Coach Aldo. Now, I still need to schedule and plan for our banquets and awards.

Cuts Hurt

According to the SGV Tribute article, twenty-one teachers have received "pink slips" in our district this year. Let's hope that they will get re-hired. I got a "pink slip" in 2009, which was later rescinded.

Badminton Comic

Mrs. Coulter, my administrator for Saturday morning classes, gave me this timely comic.

(See also: GoComic.com)

Why a "College Going Culture"?

My school strives to create a "College Going Culture". One of my favorite bloggers Seth Godin wrote a post on the melt-down in higher education. Here are his five points:

1) Most colleges are organized to give an average education to average students.

2) College has gotten expensive far faster than wages have gone up.

3) The definition of 'best' is under siege.

4) The correlation between a typical college degree and success is suspect.

5) Accreditation isn't the solution, it's the problem.

Some of these concerns also applies to the high school level.

(Image from Corbis Images)

Friendship

My school's secretary to the principal decided to leave. Lorrie was my best friend at work. She had my back since day one. She was the first staff I spoke to when I first visited the school. We promised to stay in touch. As a colleague, I cannot afford losing her support. But as a friend, I want her to be happy at her work.

Bling Bling

Badminton finals results - seven medals total! Our boys doubles Alexis and Sam won 4th place medals, Tony and Eddie finished 3rd place with bronze medals. Our #1 boy Juan finished with a silver medal in singles. The story of the season is Mayra and Lizette. They finished undefeated (20-0) in league play. In the league tournament, they went 3-0 to win a pair of gold medals. Mayra played with so much class and confidence. Lizette showed me that she was a true fighter as she played through her shoulder and back pain. When they won the final point, honestly, I almost cried. I'm so proud and happy for Mayra and Lizette.

Our first round CIF match will be Monday at home against Redlands High School. Bring it on.

More cuts

Azusa Unified cuts classified staff positions to cope with budget deficit.

League Pre-Lims

We played the first round of league individual pre-lims today. We were on the losing end in one of the upsets. Nonetheless, our team will have both boys doubles team, one girls doubles team, and a boy singles in the semi-finals tomorrow. Good luck to these seven kids who will earn league medals!

We also learned that our school will host Redlands in the first round of CIF match ups on Monday.

New avatar

My new 8-bit avatar from 8bityourself.com by LP.

Strike is over.

Looks like the teachers returned to the classrooms on Tuesday: Strike is over - The O.C. Register.

Strike resumes Monday

Looks like it's Day 3 of strike in Capistrano U.S.D.: Teacher strike resumes Monday - The OC Register.

One of the many concerns is that students will be taking standardized tests soon, including AP tests for which they've prepared all year.

Capo teachers strike

More coverage on the Capritrano U.S.D. strike from the OC Register: Capo strike closely watched across state.