KRK = Kaki Rasa Kaku

I was talking to someone very dear to me on the phone, telling the person how sad I am to be called Panglima Angkatan Kaki Bangku Sekolah for my KRK kids are so hopelessly 'kaki bangku'.

"Logic what...kalau KRK students are kaki bangku, then Penyelaras KRK la Panglima Angkatan Kaki Bangku Sekolah...kan? Tak betul ke?"

Look...the 'kaki bangku'ness of my kids have nothing to do with my sporting ability...I played handball at state level in Perak when I was at their age and due to long-lasting injury on the spine, I had to stop playing handball, but I was a far better athlete compared to my kids.

But let's be honest...to solve a problem is by first, identifying and admitting it as a problem. Without pointing fingers to anyone, here's a list of some of the proofs that my kids are indeed 'kaki bangku'...

1. In 2008, we took the kids to a camp and a girl sprained her ankle after running for less than 50 metres. And a few others were whining about 'sakit kaki'.
   
2. One of the teachers who joint the camp told me, "Jai...apasal ni...budak kau pasang khemah pun tak reti?"
3. More on the same camp - "nasib kau baik la tak jadi hakim...budak-budak ni masak kari ikan pun ikannya mentah lagi...sakit perut la aku malam ni"...MASAK KARI PUN TAK RETI!!!!
4. One of the students who had to cook the kari asked a teacher, "Cikgu, ikan tu kena goreng dulu ke baru masuk dalam kuah kari?" and the teacher's answer was, "Sayang...tak payah goreng... rendam je dalam kuah tu..nanti dia masak la". But the kid misunderstood the teacher...she put the fish in the kuah after the fire was put out...hai (botak la teacher ini macam...)
   
5. The length of one jump of my kid is equivalent to my one step without having to jump
6. Every year when I teach Physical Education (PJK), I found kids cheating the length of their run...let say if they have to run around one handball field, they will 'mengelat' by running only half the field....
7. None of the kids know how to do warming up activity before teacher show it to them...padahal kat sekolah rendah dah belajar....
   
8. Every year, there will be at least one kid getting injury during PJK class...discouraging teachers to take them to the field again
   
9. I can always find five to ten school athletes in any class, but in my KRK class, we only have one goalkeeper for football, one MSSD athletic sportsman, and....a golfer...they're all in position where they don't have any partner while playing. And the rest...tak involve dalam apa-apa pun...
10. Almost none of my KRK kids know how to march and almost none are involved in pasukan kawad in any UBU. None of them can be a komanden...kalau terlibat pun, berdiri la budak KRK kat baris paling belakang...sebab kawat tak cantik, kena disembunyikan, takut orang nampak...
    
11. Jangan kata nak bersukan...salin baju untuk PJK pun malas....
12. All the reasons above are exactly why I have lost interest in having anymore physical-activity camps for the kids...kita buat Kem Akademik je dah la...ek?

Come on...is there anyone out there among you who are brave enough to take the challenge and prove everyone wrong? It's going to take a lot of effort...but your body is as good as your brain...come on, show me some life...display some spirit...and win some game for me! Take up the challenge....Hari Sukan on February is the chance....come on....prove me wrong...and prove everyone wrong!

Cuti berkabung kemangkatan Sultan Johor

Salam,
Harap maklum kepada semua ibu bapa, penjaga dan murid-murid SMK Kulai Besar, sekolah ganti hari ini (23 Januari 2010, Sabtu) telah ditunda ke satu tarikh lain berikutan kemangkatan baginda Sultan Johor. Oleh itu, diminta semua ibu bapa dan penjaga tidak menghantar anak-anak ke sekolah hari ini. Sekolah ganti sempena perayaan Tahun Baru Cina akan diganti ke satu tarikh lain yang akan dimaklumkan kemudian.


Sekian, terima kasih.

Kita tidak perlu kelas KRK?

Kelas kawalan diskriminasikan pelajar?

PUTRAJAYA 20 Jan. - Seorang tokoh akademik hari ini menyuarakan rasa khuatir dengan peningkatan trend mewujudkan kelas-kelas kawalan atau rancangan khas di sekolah-sekolah kerajaan yang dibimbangi menjurus ke arah mendiskriminasikan pelajar.

Naib Canselor Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), Datuk Dr. Aminah Ayob berkata, trend yang bermula seawal tingkatan satu yang menempatkan pelajar-pelajar cemerlang lepasan Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) itu dikhuatiri boleh mencetuskan satu stigma yang tidak menepati konsep Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Rendah (KBSR).

Bagaimanapun beliau menegaskan, sistem kelas kawalan itu tidak akan menimbulkan masalah atau stigma sekiranya pihak sekolah mampu 'meningkatkan prestasi pelajar lemah ke tahap lebih baik manakala yang cemerlang kepada terbaik'.

"Dalam konsep KBSR dahulu, pelajar-pelajar itu mestilah berada dalam kelas-kelas bercampur (yang cerdas dan lemah). Ini selaras dengan dunia hari ini yang menekankan pendidikan inklusif dan hak sama rata mendapat pendidikan berkualiti.

"Namun jika kelas-kelas rancangan khas ini dipraktikkan secara betul, ia sudah semestinya dialu-alukan, cuma dikhuatiri akan mencetuskan satu stigma di kalangan pelajar bahawa individu atau kelas tertentu menjadi anak emas guru atau guru besar," katanya ketika dihubungi Utusan Malaysia hari ini.

Beliau ditanya pandangannya mengenai trend kebanyakan sekolah-sekolah menengah kebelakangan ini mewujudkan kelas-kelas kawalan seumpama itu yang antaranya bagi memastikan sekolah atau guru besar mendapat imbalan dari segi kecemerlangan atau Petunjuk Prestasi Utama (KPI).

Menurut Dr. Aminah, jika dinilai dari segi keterampilan pelajar dalam akademik, ia ada kalanya sukar dibuat perbandingan pada peringkat awal tingkatan satu.

"Dalam hal ini, saya amat berharap kelas-kelas kawalan yang diwujudkan itu tidak hanya menumpukan kepada pelajar cergas dan cemerlang, yang penting tidak ada bias," katanya.

Baru-baru ini kerajaan mengumumkan sebanyak tiga hingga empat peratus daripada pengetua atau guru besar dan guru di sesebuah sekolah bakal menikmati insentif istimewa sekiranya mereka berjaya memacu kecemerlangan sekolah bermula tahun depan.

Tawaran baru berbentuk pemberian insentif itu merupakan salah satu Bidang Keberhasilan Utama Nasional (NKRA) yang ditetapkan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak dalam pembentangan Bajet 2010 kepada pengetua atau guru besar.

Penyelaras KRK: So...what do you guys think? Should or should not we have KRK class? Write to me via krk.smkkb.kulai@gmail.com

Article taken from: Utusan Malaysia Online, 21 January 2010

The Prisoner of Zenda - Red Hair

Dear students,
Some of you were wondering how red hair looks like - as mentioned in the novel The Prisoner of Zenda that we are learning in English literature class. So I found this good picture that could answer your question.

This is how red hair looks like...not the kind of red that you have in your coloured-pencil box, isn't it?

Picture taken from:
http://beauty.about.com/od/hairstylephotogalleries/ss/shortredhair_9.htm