Congrats c/o 2009

One of the highlights of each school year is definitely the graduation ceremony. As purely symbolic and highly unoriginal as it may be, it celebrates achievement. It signifies the end and the beginning. I have been looking forward to this year's graduation very much given the difficult times this year. I was given the honor to lead the faculty line along with the incredible Ms. Kwak. (I have no clue who made that decision, I thanked Evelyn from Activities for informing me.) At first, I was hesitant to do so, I felt that another veteran teacher would be a better fit. But nonetheless I am extremely grateful of this symbolic honor. I rocked my UCI Honors chords, Phi Chi Honors Stole, and Harry Potter's Gryffindor tie.

Mockingbird

I put together a photo slide show at the end of each school year. I fill it with fun snapshots of the kids taken from my classroom. This has been an emotional year; I had an idea to take the show up a notch. I recorded a rap song to Eminem's Mockingbird. Using my MacBook Pro, I wrote the lyrics in Pages, recorded my vocals in GarageBand, exported it to iTunes, edited photos in iPhoto, and finally pieced it together using iMovie. The whole Apple iLife suite was involved! In all, I'd estimate that I put in about 20-25 hours into this four minute song. The kids seemed to have enjoyed it. I have no plans to post it on the web, it was just a song for my students, for that moment in time.

Why School?

One of my favorite bloggers, Seth Godin, provided this starter list for the purpose of school. I would have to think hard to find what more to add, and what to remove.

Become an informed citizen

Be able to read for pleasure

Be trained in the rudimentary skills necessary for employment

Do well on standardized tests

Homogenize society, at least a bit

Pasteurize out the dangerous ideas

Give kids something to do while parents work

Teach future citizens how to conform

Teach future consumers how to desire

Build a social fabric

Create leaders who help us compete on a world stage

Generate future scientists who will advance medicine and technology

Learn for the sake of learning

Help people become interesting and productive

Defang the proletariat

Establish a floor below which a typical person is unlikely to fall

Find and celebrate prodigies, geniuses and the gifted

Make sure kids learn to exercise, eat right and avoid common health problems

Teach future citizens to obey authority

Teach future employees to do the same

Increase appreciation for art and culture

Teach creativity and problem solving

Minimize public spelling mistakes

Increase emotional intelligence

Decrease crime by teaching civics and ethics

Increase understanding of a life well lived

Make sure the sports teams have enough players

Senior vs. Staff Soccer Game

For the second year in a row, we played a student versus staff soccer game. We had a lot of clean fun in this friendly game under the sun. Of course, I competed and wanted to win. It was great to see the students have fun with us. Soccer is a great group game, it allows players of different abilities to be involved. After the narrow 6-5 win, Mr. Dolter reminded me that this really was about and for the kids. He showed why he's such an amazing teacher who is super popular with the kids.

(I wear Nike Tiempo Mystic, pictured above. They are relatively inexpensive, comfortable, and durable for recreational play.)

Sunday Basketball

I played basketball with my younger brother this Sunday. I got these Jordans when I bought the shoes for badminton about a month ago. Like academics, sport at the recreational level, is often won by those with better effort. I certainly played with a lot of energy that day; my brother played high school ball and is quite good. We rolled five 4-on-4 games in a roll. Who's next?

(I wear these Jordan Dentros. They were a bargain purchased from an on-line store. After a few weeks of use, I found them to be comfortable and durable.)

T.H.E. Banquet

Mrs. Campbell (an awesome English teacher) and I are recipients for this year's Teachers Honoring Excellence (T.H.E.) Award from our school. On Thursday May 21st, a banquet was held at Pomona Fairplex to celebrate all of the recipients throughout the district. I was honored to be a part of this celebration and felt blessed by Ms. Kwak's nomination. Our union president handed out golden bells to recipients, each engraved with the teacher's name. I am thankful for the tremendous support from the staff at this school. Congratulations go to Mr. and Mrs. Campbell. I also extend my gratitude to Ms. Kwak, Ms. Fieri, Mr. Rodgers, Ms. Rios, Ms. Escobar, Ms. Corum, Ms. Elliot, Lorrie and Catherine for supporting us by coming to this wonderful dinner party. They inspire me to improve as an educator.

Ice-Cream Social

My fifth period this year is crazy...crazy good! In the past, the period after lunch had always given me headaches. This year's fifth period class will potential be my best class ever - in terms of behavior and performance. I'm amazed each day. So on Thursday, I told them that I'd bring ice-cream. I've developed this habit of telling the kids what I'd do so that I have the pressure to do it. I also invited the top three students in each of my other classes to come. After the lesson, I served them ice-cream. Many of the other students from other periods also come. The kids took some pictures. Simple, innocent, good fun.

Comedy

My friend Bryan invited me to one of his improv shows today. It was at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Hollywood. Two comedy groups performed improv skits for about 30 minutes, each group had seven members. They were fantastic. It's not easy to be funny. And even harder to be funny to strangers.

Ever since I was a kid, I had always appreciated comedy. I think it's the most universal form of art. Bryan had encouraged me to take comedy or stand-up classes with him. I never did...just as I never got to learn to play a musical instrument, join a dance team, or learn to draw. Oh, how I wish I can take more non-traditionally academic classes.

Dark Matter

A colleague lend me a DVD that he highly recommends. I'm not a huge movie fan, the last movie I saw in a theater in the states was probably one of the Lord of the Rings movies! While waiting for a dinner meeting with friends, I stayed in my classroom and watched Dark Matter. It's about a stand out Chinese scholar trying to earn a Ph.D. in the states. It was a remarkable film on many levels. I felt that it respected both cultures while staying authentic. Without giving away any spoilers, I recommend anyone who is interested in the dynamic of Chinese/American culture to give this file a viewing. I was impressed.

Summer School

I really enjoyed teaching summer school last year. My classes were small and student were much more motivated. It was nearly zero stress. This year, due to the district's situation, summer school will not be held on our campus. Additionally, this has already been a very eventful year. I have decided not to apply to teach this summer. A veteran teacher once told me to not teach summer school, he said: "Be poor, but be happy." One goal that I would like to achieve this summer is to visit New York. For quite some time, I've wanted to visit NYC more so than any other city or country.

Dance Competition

After doing my Saturday CAHSEE Intervention class in the morning, I played an intense game of soccer under great weather. I then attended a dance competition at APU to watch our school's dance team. Though I missed their earlier routines, I caught their main routine - coed hip hop. They were very good. The kids performed with much energy, there were no signs of stage fright. And since APU is near our school, there were many friends and family members cheering them on. As always, it's wonderful to see kids do what they love. When I was at UCI, I took hip hop classes and had a great time. I only wished I had done so earlier in my life so that I can be more creative and have a more versatile skills set.

Apple Workshops

The Apple Store offers free workshops held by Apple trainers. I've attended a few of these workshops to learn more about using the Mac. They're quite good. The trainers are generally younger Mac experts, and they are very engaging. I attended the workshop on iMovie and iDVD yesterday. Due to some technical glitches, the trainer wasn't able to show all that he wanted to show. Having the equipment work exactly as they should during a presentation is still a challenge for technology demonstrations. I felt that the trainer did the best he could and deliver a very good lesson. One cool line he said at the end, was: "If you liked the workshop today, my name is Matt. If you didn't, my name is Charlie." Well done, Matt.

New Racket

I try to commit to exercising each day of each school break. So far, so good. To stay motivated, I'm doing different sports. Today, I shot some baskets at the gym before I did my time on the treadmill. Yesterday, I splurged on a new badminton racket. It's actually the first racket that I've purchased. My Auntie Martie and Uncle James have given me the rackets that I've used throughout my high school playing days. After some brief research, I committed to buying a Yonex ArmorTech. At the store, the AT300 that I was looking for was in fact discontinued. I ended up purchasing the AT600, which was on sale, and added Yonex 85 strings at 24 lbs. I'm very much looking forward to playing with this racket. It'll bring back good memories that I've had when I was obsessed with the game as a high school student. To compliment the new racket, I also purchased new shoes online. 

I must admit, splurging on athletic gear is one of my vices.

Mountain Biking

I rode for the first time in about a year with Cong and Sunny yesterday in the Santa Monica hills. It's nice to be outdoors doing a healthy activity. My bike needs some repair. Hopefully, I can get that done during Spring break and ride it more often.

I bought my first bicycle when I was in college. It was a $60 Huffy Backwater from K-Mart, and it weighs close to 40 pounds. My buddies and I make fun of it, but it's a good bike. "The Huff" features a kick-stand that is unavailable in most high-end bikes. I actually completed an off-road triathlon with it. I still have it.

A year ago, it was time to upgrade. I splurged and bought the Trek 6000 above. It's an awesome ride. After only a couple of practice runs, I used it in an off-road triathlon. It's a rookie mistake, and I paid for it by crashing. Luckily, I was okay. More importantly, the bike was okay. Despite some nasty injuries, I completed the race. A big motivator for me was that I wanted to prove to my students that quitting isn't always an option. A mentor once told me that quitting is only difficult the first time, after that, one gets used to it and it can become habitual. Lance Armstrong famously wrote in his book, It's Not About the Bike, that "Pain is temporary, quitting is forever." I often persuade my students to not quit, and to not give up. I've shared these quotes, and pictures of my injuries, with them. I also find it interesting that quitting is almost always an option, and at some level, quitting always works. But to be strong, one mustn't chose what's easy and available. Dig deep.

Badminton

Friday afternoons are precious to teachers. As much as I love teaching, the end of sixth period on Fridays means time to breath and restore. Often times, I stop by the fields to watch my students play sports. Today, I went to the gym to watch several of my students play badminton. Naturally, one of the kids challenged me. I picked up a racket and realized how rusty I was in a sport that I played competitively for over five years. My eye-hand coordination was off, my legs weren't as responsive as they were 15 years ago. Nonetheless, it was the most fun I've had playing sports in a long time. I had all along thought I was done with badminton, that I no longer like it anymore. With just about half an hour of hitting with my student, I found my love for the game once again.

BTW, I beat him.