– What are your thoughts on the team’s performance at the State Meet this weekend?

It is tough to put the whole experience in perspective. We were pretty happy after Friday finishing in 9th only 327 out of first. We knew it was going to be a tough climb, but we knew we could do it. Then on Saturday morning we bowled our best 3 game series of the tournament but we still dropped a place to 10th. That was fine, we set our goals on 6th and moved forward, but then we kind of unraveled and dropped down to 12th. As I said, it is tough to put in perspective because you are in last place on the second day of state, but then you have to remember that only 12 teams in the state made the second day of state and you realize what an awesome accomplishment it is and then you look at the individual successes inside the larger team and you realize that it truly was an amazing weekend that I or the boys will never forget.

My main goal going in to the tournament was to get to Saturday and then see where we could go from there. So, in that sense the weekend was very successful. The boys were focused all weekend and really gave their all. After entering Saturday in 9th place we were hoping to move up in the standings, but it was a tough field with several quality schools. I was pleased with the determination the boys showed through all 12 games never giving up and fighting until the end.

– What were some of the highlights for you guys?

There are several pieces of the weekend that will always stand out to me. The first was the support we got from the parents. We had a fairly large contingent follow us down to state, and it meant a lot that there will willing to take the long trip to O’Fallon. On Friday in game 6 we were right on the bubble between advancing and being cut and the boys needed a big game, we were going strong through the first 8 frames and we were in good shape. Then, unexpectedly, the fan section starting chanting, “Let’s go Bears, Let’s go Bears…” and it was really awesome. This encouragement pushed the boys forward and we bowled our best game of the day (1039). The chants from the crowd gave me goosebumps and really made the day.
Another highlight is the performance of the seniors, Luke Mueller and Austin Wells. Both days Luke started out with a rough score (159 Fri and 148 Sat) but finished very strong. (1266 on Friday and 1211 Sat) he didn’t let the bad first game get him down and he kept fighting through. He was also always clapping and cheering on his team mates even when he was worried about his own game, which I really appreciate that he was able to put his own frustrations aside for the good of the team.

Austin’s performance was also inspiring. He has been battling with tendinitis since winter break and been fighting through the pain. On Friday morning his medication was not agreeing with his system and he just felt a little off leading to an uncharacteristically low (155) game 2. In the afternoon, after eating some lunch and letting the medication settle, he was back in good form finishing with a strong game 5 (266) and a 672 series for the afternoon. Then, on Saturday Austin was our rock. He decided to forgo medication and tough through the pain. In the morning most of the boys were clicking and bowling well which lead to our team’s high series (3052) but we still dropped a place to 10th with Austin finishing with a 622. In the afternoon as the team started to unravel, Austin was steady as a rock with only one open in the last two games and finishing with a 642 series and taking 28th place with a 2485 tournament total (207.1 avg). This makes him the highest finishing Lake Zurich Boy’s bowler in school history. It was really nice to see Austin achieve this since he has been our team leader for the last two years and to see all of his dedication to the bowling team really pay off.

Finally, the total team effort that the boys showed throughout the weekend very gratifying to me. It is difficult to instill the team concept in what is perceived by many as an individual sport, but the boys really came together as a group. When we had to substitute kids in and out to try and find the right mix no one got down or upset. The boys were constantly trying to help each other make adjustments and they were constantly encouraging each other. The leadership of Kyle Hunter, much like at sectionals, really helped us on the first day to keep from getting discouraged in the tight competition, he was always setting the expectation that we were going to do better each game, and that paid off.

– I believe Austin Wells reached the state tournament last year as an individual, how much do you think that helped him this time around?

Austin learned a lot last year in terms of how to adjust to the lane conditions as the broke down. The state oil pattern is still a house shot, but it is a slightly different house shot than what these boys play on all year. This isn’t as much of a problem in the early goings as it is as they break down. Austin saw this last year as he was barely eliminated after the first day because he was not able to string together his strikes. That experience gave him motivation to make his game more versatile and we can see that it paid off this year. Austin has never been one to be affected by the pressure of the moment, but I still think having been in that state environment last year helped he keep a cool head this year.

– Could you list how the rest of the team did at State?

Luke Mueller was 44th with a 2426
Steve Garcia was 45th with a 2407

Those were the only 3 who bowled all 12 games.

Here is a link to the results from Saturday, http://www.ihsa.org/activity/bwb/2009-10/1result2.htm and Friday, http://www.ihsa.org/activity/bwb/2009-10/1result1.htm.

– Can you put in perspective the season the team had this year?
This was the first year since my first were we had a full varsity team (5 or 6 kids who could average 200+). We had no seniors last year and only 2 two years ago, so we have been building to this for several years. Last year when we didn’t advance out of sectionals after winning the conference we said, wait til next year and all year we talked about how this is our year and the boys performed up that expectation. They won two large, competitive tournaments (Cougar Classic & Plainfield North Invite) and finished in the top 5 the last 5 weeks of the season. (Morgan Park, Rockford PBA Experience, Plainfield, Lake Zurich, Sectionals). With the 12th place finish at state this is the most successful team in Lake Zurich Boy’s Bowling history.

On top of that we are only losing two members of the Varsity squad (Mueller and Wells) for next year and we have some underclassman that have made a lot of progress in the past year. After the 2006-07 state trip, most of that team graduated, so the lessons learned from state where not passed on. This year, I am hoping that the returning members will take what they learned from this experience and use it to motivate and drive them forward as we work in the off-season.

A lot of teachers would be uncomfortable with some of these avenues, but for me I truly believe that it has made my teaching more effective, (Research would seem to agree, Link 1, Link 2.) and it is the only way I know how to be. Many times I would see something on Facebook that I could discuss with the students during class the next day to build those connections, or a student would see something I posted about myself or Isaac and then we could use that to build a connection in class. I try to tell myself each year that I am not going to get as close to the students, but I can’t do it. I love teaching and I love it because of the students I get to meet. They change me for the better and hopefully the opposite is true. When the days are tough and I need a break from teaching, the kids are what get me up in the morning and keep me going. If I didn’t have a strong relationship with the students, I wouldn’t enjoy my job nearly as much. I wouldn’t know how to teach any other way.

On Scrubs Dr. Cox says he teaches through fear, but I can’t do that. I have too much fun being a goof with kids and interacting with them. Each day I am not sure what is going to happen in class, but it usually results in us laughing and having a good time. I’ve always believed that I can get more out of the students if they like me and want to work in class for me, if not for physics. Some people yell to manage their classes, but I like to use my relationship with the kids to manage the classroom.

Anyway, the point is that I formed some pretty strong relationships my students this year. I wouldn’t say it was with every student, but on the whole I felt closer to my students this year than any year in the past. One of my big fears in teaching had been that as I got older, I’m 29 now, I would start to lose touch with the students. I have actually found now that the opposite is true. This year I have found that more students have talked to me in an advice type sense than any other year. So, while my relationship with students is different than it was when I started teaching, I find that I am enjoying the new role I am in.

So, now the end of the year comes and I have to say good-bye to these wonderful young people. I do not know why this is so hard for me each year. Part of my says I only see these kids for 44 minutes a day for 180 days this shouldn’t be this hard. But, even knowing that, I feel a void when they leave. The truth of the matter is I see a lot of these kids more than that. Some come in for help, some come by to hang out, and some I just see other times. I love how things go for the first 9 months of the year, but the last week or so is just really depressing. I often refer to it as Post-Prom Depression. It is a rough week because the kids are stressed out and cranky because they are going through a bunch of emotions with high school ending and their teachers piling on projects. I have to battle with them to stay on task because they have senioritis yet I have to be the responsible one. At the same time I just want to hang out with them because they are going to be gone soon. This really makes closure tough to come by.

I try to do somethings to get closure. I give them a little speech with a couple of simple pieces of advice. Then I teach them how to tie a neck-tie. This year I started a new tradition by doing something that my high school calculus teacher Mrs. Courtney O’Berry did that was very memorable for me: I read them Oh The Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss. This was received well and I liked it.

Anyway, I am not really sure what I wanted out of this post. Mostly I just felt like I needed to get some thoughts off of my mind. I love teaching and interacting with students and I would never conduct myself in any other way than fully committed to building relationships with students. This year in particular I have grown particularly close to two students and they have helped me grow as a teacher and as a parent. They may never know they affect they have had on me just like I will never know the effect I have had on many students. I recently read a quote, The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit. I don’t really like quoting other people, but this really sums up what I believe in a very elegant statement. I guess the hardest part is never knowing if the things I do on a daily basis have a positive lasting impact.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpEnFwiqdx8

When I watch a video like this (I have seen similar one before) I feel extremely overwhelmed. The amount of knowledge and information out there is so huge. I find myself constantly saying that the combined knowledge of the world is at our fingertips and we just need to start taking advantage of it. Look at the growth of Facebook, and that was primarily with college students. Also, Facebook was free and televisions weren’t but those number are still huge.Now, I wonder if Twitter is going to beat that to be biggest fastest.

That there are more texts sent each day then people in the world, Holy Cow! Adults often just mock the younger generation and their texting, but to ignore the phenomenon is just ignorant. The Technology Tailor on WGN Radio, Alex Goldstein (or something like that) constantly mocksFacebook and Twitter and says he has no need for them, but it is getting to a point where you don’t have a choice. The world is communicating in these ways, and people who shun the technological change will be like people who rejected TV for radio until that battle was over.

I love knowledge and information, but I think we need to figure out how to handle all of it and what exactly it is that we need to teach kids. The fact that a weeks worth of newspaper is equivalent to a lifetime of knowledge for a previous generation (I don’t remember which century) is staggering. And schools now are trying to teach all of it to kids by the time they are 18. Information that used to be taught to seniors is now taught to freshmen and they are often not ready to hear it and don’t retain it.

Fundamentally I often think we need to take a step back and evaluate what we are teaching and train students to be learners independent of what they learn. I have often thought to myself that my true goal is to make myself obsolete. I have not accomplished this yet, but it would be a glorious day if we could equip all students with the skills to fight for those jobs that aren’t even thought of yet.

That in and of itself is a powerful idea and I am going to mention that the reason they have to learn whatever area of physics  hasn’t been invented yet so they better pay attention.

February 24th — Today’s good thing was getting to go snow tubing with some fun kids and seeing those kids be good representatives of their school. Also, I was thrilled to see them working hard on the problems they needed to work on and finding a way to have fun at the same time.

February 25th — Was just getting the chance to watch young adults work really hard in school today on some difficult physics problems. Most of the really responded today and were trying to raise themselves up to thar bar I set to be creative and resourceful. And even though I felt very poor today, every now and then it all seems to work really well and the kids pull me through a hard day.

1. I love teaching. However, it is way more work than I ever imagined it would be and I have a tremendous amount more respect for the good teachers I have had.
2. I love being a parent, but it is way more work that I ever imagined it would be (people always tell you it will be hard, and I beleived them, but you don’t know until you are there yourself.) I have a tremendous amount more respect for my parents now that I have a son.
3. I love Star Wars. I don’t know why. I know it (probably) isn’t real but the pageantry and the grandeur and the philosophy of it all is just so mesmerizing. It truly is an Oprah.
4. I have ADD and probably have my whole life. I was not officially diagnosed until I was 23, and knowing that I have it makes it easier as a teacher to deal with students who also have ADD (even if they don’t know they have it.) I also take drugs for ADD and, at least for me, they work.
5. I do not currently have a job next year and this weighs on me more than I let on or want to think about.
6. All I really want out of life is to do something that matters. I don’t know what that will be and I don’t know if I will know what it is (it may already have happened) but I will keep working at it until I die.
7. My son is named for Sir Isaac Newton (perhaps the single most important person of the millennium) and I think this is awesome and I don’t know if Gina will ever truly appreciate how much I appreciate and love her for allowing that.
8. When I was in 5th (possibly 6th) grade I wore a sweater to school that apparently didn’t match the rest of my clothes and the other kids called me “Color Blind Pe-Pe,” and now my wife has to approve all of my outfits for matching before I wear them to school so that the kids don’t make fun of me.
9. I have won one popularity contest in my life. I did a poor job fulfilling the office I was elected to.
10. I have a hard time sitting still and relaxing. Even now I am watching Ghost Whisperer, but I feel the need to be typing this at the same time. I think my life would be better if I was better at focusing on one thing at a time.
11. I am not sure if I believe in paranormal activity. I don’t like to discount any possibilities in life, but I also believe that everything in this world has a physical explanation and I don’t know that psychic visions or magic have a real explanation.
12. I don’t mind driving in the snow, but I get very nervous when I can’t see the lines on the road and I don’t know where the lanes are.
13. When the baby cries I do not freak out, and I think this is a good thing,
14. When I am bored or nervous I bite my nails. When my nails are gone I start biting the skin on the tips of my fingers. While I know this may be a little gross, it is what I do.
15. I am often amazed at the fact that the world can be described mathematically and that we didn’t realize this until the 1600′s. The more I learn about science the more beautiful it is and the way it all weaves together is amazing.
16. In that same light, I am amazed at the development of human thought. From the time Aristotle said objects fall down because that is there natural state (great reasoning) in around 400 BC until Galileo and Newton show up in the 1600′s, no one ever thinks to perform and experiment. All of a sudden Newton comes along and says, “Oh, well, we should probably actually test these theories we have.” Mind blowing!
17. I find wearing a sweatshirt and stocking cap indoors very comforting, even when it is a little too warm.
18. I worked at a Boy Scout camp every summer from the time I was 14 until I was 23.  After that I worked at football camp in the summer. All in all, I haven’t had a summer vacation in 15 years, and I have no idea what people do with all of the free time.
19. I am currently actively watching the following non-syndicated shows: 24, The Big Bang Theory (newest addition and awesome), American Idol, House, Lost, Ghost Whisperer, Numbers, CSI: NY, CSI, Scrubs, Fringe. I watch too much TV.
20. I live one block from the high school I graduated from. This was not the plan, but I think it is cool.
21. I have two general ways I dress: I wear dress pants and a polo or shirt & tie to work, and I wear wind pants with a T-Shirt the rest of time. I very rarely wear anything else. It’s all or nothing.
22. I have only had three hairstyles I can remember. The one I have now, a bowl cut, and a normal part to the side hair cut.
23. My favorite things to do on Facebook are to read people’s status updates and see what they are up to and wishing people happy birthday on their birthday. Although I recently heard someone on the radio that they think people wishing other people a happy birthday on Facebook could be a bad thing because it removes the intimacy from birthdays. I disagree. I think Facebook actually helps make social relationships better.
24. I have owned one car in my life (a 2002 Toyta Echo. I love this car because it has a lot of head room and because it makes great 3-point turnarounds and U-Turns.
25. I hate needles and shots. I don’t mind blood or other medical operations, but if I see a needle or even think about getting a shot, I get very sick and uncomfortable.

Diapers (Huggies Size 4)
Babies ‘r Us: 126 Diapers @ $33.99 =  $.2698/diaper (Adjusted to 200 = 53.95) Costco: 200 Diapers @ $40.99 = $.2050/diaper

Forumla (Enfamil)
Babies ‘r Us: 25.7 oz @ $24.99 = $.9724/oz (Adjusted to 38.0 oz = $36.95)
Costco: 38.0 oz @ $32.49 = $.8550/oz

So, we saved $12.96 on the diapers and $4.46 on formula which is $17.42 for the day. The membership was $50.00 so we should recoup the cost in three visits in baby supplies alone. So, it would seem that this was a good decision. It will remain to see how well we will handle the bulk shopping experience.

Well, first a student said finding the displacement was a “super-sneaky” way to avoid doing extra work when in fact this was the correct way to solve the problem. Some of the students who were confused about the problem didn’t find this funny at all, but the ones who knew what was going understood why I was laughing.

Secondly, a student who is not known for homework completion completed his homework the other day and after being assured he would receive credit for it he promptly put the assignment in the recycling bin. Today for his presentation he was convinced by his group mate that he would need his worksheet so he walked over and calmly dug the worksheet out of the recycling bin as if it was his personal locker. I found this far funnier than any of the students.

What really makes me sad is that I am now going to have to go out and apply for jobs. When I am offered one of those jobs in the next few months, I am going to have to take because I need a job in order to take care of my family. So, won’t be able to tell a job that is guaranteed to me to wait until LZ figures it out in April, May, or even June. This really starts to get to me because of the time and effort and really parts of myself I have given to that job. I don’t work at half speed and I really have put myself into that job and I feel like I have been dumped.

But, in all honesty, the part that makes me the most sad (I actually even cried a little because I was so sad) is that I will most likely not get to see the bowling team through next year. I always told myself that minimally I was going to see one class through bowling to try and get the program established and then decide what I wanted to do. I got lucky and the group I have right now is amazing. I never thoght I would feel this close to a group of students, but then, BAM, it happened. There are times when I want to wring some of the necks, but I am really going to miss the fun times we have had.

I really worry that when I get to my new job, that I am going to be relunctant to get that attached to the people there. I hope I don’t end up that way, but that is how I feel right now. I felt like I finally found a district where I had a place and role. I was coaching, teaching, working with technology and then the rug got pulled out from under me. I would like to think that I will be back there next year, but I have no idea and have to proceed as such.

There are people who are worse off than me in this situation, and I wish the district could have gotten their money right the past couple years so that they would have had the reserves in place to handle this. Oh well…

While this is all happening the penguins and other antarctic creatures are going through a fish famine. The leaders of the penguins say that the great “guin” is angered by Mumble slacker ways and his dancing and is punishing them with no fish. Mumbles learns from a large bird and a treachorous encouter with a walrus (or possible a large otter) that “the aliens” (humans) are causing the problem.

After being exiled from the emperor penguins, Mumbles sets off with 5 penguins of a different breed to find the source of the problem and exhonerate his name. The travel a long way until they eventually find a large fleet of fishing boats that are taking the fish.  Mumbles companions are content to turn back now because they have proven the Mumbles is not to blame, but Mumbles actually wants to help fix the problem. So, he jumps into the ocean and starts following one of the boats. He is briefly successly but ultimately ends up trying to chase the boat until he ends up in, what I assume is, Australia.

Here he ends up in a zoo and interacts with aliens. He tries to reason with the aliens, but they don’t seem to understand anything he says. He ends up becoming depressed and hullicinating about his family back home. Eventually one little girl comes up to glass and starts tapping a dancing beat and Mumbles starts to dance. This gets the attention of the whole crowd and Mumbles is ultimately sent back to his home, but he marked with a homing beacon. I’ll leave the rest for you to watch.

The animation in this movie is really good and they weave music and dance into the movie in a really fun way. The voice acting is good especially the role of Noah, the patriarch of the penguins, who is portrayed by Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith from The Matrix.) I would reccomend this movie for anyone who enjoys animated films. Towards the end the movie gets very emotional as Mumbles is temporarily separated from his family and we are not sure what is going to happen. The movie also tells a good story that could open a dialog for parents and children.

In some ways he is still very small. Like when when I put him in his crib, he seems so slight. But when I hold him or put him in his car seat he seems huge! Gina referred to him as her little meatball the other day.

Today we had the football golf outing/fund raiser. It was a nice time outside. The biggest thing I missed while I was doing the Summer School Principal things for my internship was being outside everyday. It has been a nice summer for it so far. This last week has been rough in terms of humidity, but at least I am not in pads.

In addition, I am still loving texting and in particularly updating my Facebook status whenever I want. I now have found that I can reply to my friends’ status on my cell. I find that this really helps me stay in touch.