Beginning teachers we are.

Hello all, congratulations to those who have started your official 4-year service completing or to most of us, our official lifetime career. For those who are still goyanging kaki, hmmmmm….oh well~

There are a few points I would like to share with you regarding us being a new teacher. I haven’t got to know my posting yet, but I have been thinking about a few possible problems that I may/may not face in school. Actually, all of these ‘problems’ are very well known to all of us, and I am just going to point them out and try to give few suggestions, and I would like to invite you to give some other suggestions.

Insecurities and low self-esteem:

Have you ever feel like lacking in any way about yourself? “I am no better than him”, “I am ugly compared to her”, “They like him/her better because I am not good enough”. If you can find the pattern (…Dr. Lawrence *coughs*), these sentences are all about comparing yourself to someone you think is more ideal in that situation. Insecurities is all about emotions, not self-image, that’s why you found people who has got the ‘package’ – pretty/handsome, smart, rich, popular, etc – still finds themselves wanting more and feeling low at times. As a human being, it’s normal to be kiasu, except that now being a teacher, we must get ourselves to change this mindset, not because we are lying to ourselves saying that we are good, but because we ARE actually that good.

LOL.

We are all well-prepared and there’s no such thing as “I am not good enough to be doing this profession”. What you can do is believe in your core ideas of self-image, look in the mirror: “I am well-prepared; I am not disable in ANY way (looks, personality etc)”. Because your students cling on to you, they think highly of you (some, very discreetly). Walk straight, chin up, and you will already feeling better. Don’t slouch. Portray a good image as a teacher and your secret I-hate-myself-thoughts (false self-image) will fade away as well. If it does not, it’s time to apply for a second intake on B.Ed courses this June.

Feeling unworthy and discriminated for being 'different':

You are new; you do all you can to impress the people around you, you gave 120% when you do a task given to you and all you get – Nothing. Sometimes you get this funny look when you turn your back, and you hear a crispy whisper along with a snicker. Well, in the bilik guru there’s always a sisterhood of cikgu, led by a harsh, very opinionated ‘guru darjah’ and no matter how nice you are to them, you can never join this sorority. I’ve met this sorority during my days as a trainee and by the fourth week, I have given up the erm, bootylicking. But be nice to EVERYONE, even though they disagree with you. I would like to quote a casual talk with The Star’s Teacher Talk author – Mallika Vasugi @ Shak’s ma, “You are young and new- these teachers feel that you don’t worth a respect from them. Respect comes with time (a long one)”. Sad, innit? But deal with it. Continue whatever you are doing (be nice), and expect nothing. Maintain your level of professionalism. It's not you, trust me, it's just a general hatred skeptical feel towards all new teachers. Try to have a good relationship with everyone and NEVER ever talk about other teachers behind their back. That’s why we have this blog. We talk about those teachers, here.

Difficult people at school and being a noob newbie.

We are fresh graduates. We are fresh with ideas. We look dashingly neat. We are newbies.

This is how other teachers view us.

There is a different between a noob and a newbie. A newbie is willing to learn, a noob is a stubborn newbie who is unwilling to change. We are no longer in IPBA, we have no timbalan pengarah to write letter to, we have no support system in school as we have in IPBA. We are on our own. It’s really great to bring a positive change to your school – but when it doesn’t turn out well, don’t grumble. As a newbie, we are expected to conform to the ‘tradition’ of the school. And please admit, we are new, no matter how stupid and long a process is done at school compared to what we have learned in EDUC papers. These people at school are more experienced and familiar with how things work in the school – financially, etc. Learn from them and DON’T be afraid to ask, it’s better to ask then risking on doing a redundant/wrong thing. Make the best use of this excuse “I’m new, I’m not aware how to do this and this” while you can. Be generous to share your ideas, they MIGHT listen to you (or not). Be humble. What if a crisis happens and you stuck in the middle? Take no apparent side and ignore the talk behind your back. Discuss with a former IPBA friends if you have doubts, don’t discuss this with people in your school – especially your students. Grow a thicker skin and pasrah with the fact that there are difficult people to handle at work in ANY profession pun. If they cannot accept the change we wanted to bring to the school, it’s time to change OURselves. No kidding. Change your mindset, change your beliefs: Conform to whatever cult they have in the school. Kidding.

In the end…
We are beginning teachers, so learn, learn and learn. Bring a positive change to the school if you can. Expect less, give more. Be humble. This is not a nag but as a friendly reminder to us and to myself. All the best, if you feel suicidal after a week in school, please do not hesitate to seek help from us IPBArians. We are here to help each other out.

P/S: Excuse the informal tone. That’s just me.