Fadhlina tells new teachers: Give yourself time to adapt to new postings

GEORGE TOWN: Education Minister Datuk Seri Fadhlina Sidek has urged newly appointed teachers to give themselves time to adjust to unfamiliar postings, especially in rural areas.

Reflecting on her experiences visiting students in Tasik Banding, Fadhlina said teachers posted far from home might initially feel sad, worried or unprepared, but such feelings did not diminish their gratitude for the opportunity to serve.

"I still remember these children in Tasik Banding. Today, I thought of them when reading the expressions of new teachers who received their respective postings," she said on her Facebook page.

Fadhlina said she understood that while some teachers were happy to finally begin their careers, others might be thinking about their parents, spouses they had to leave behind, long journeys, accommodation and starting life in an unfamiliar place.

"If there is sadness, worry or a feeling of not being ready, it is okay. Those feelings do not make teachers any less grateful for the blessing of becoming a teacher," she said.

Fadhlina said her visits to remote locations had also made her reflect on teachers who had arrived before her and remained there every day to teach and become part of the local communities.

"For a teacher, it may feel like they are going far away from home. For a child there, a teacher is coming closer to them," she added.

She encouraged new teachers not to force themselves to immediately embrace their new surroundings, but instead to gradually get to know their schools, pupils and colleagues while building new routines.

"Give yourself time. Get to know the school little by little. Get to know its children. Find new friends. Build a new routine," she said.

Fadhlina said teachers might eventually discover that the children they initially regarded as strangers could make the distance from home feel less daunting.

"Who knows, when the time comes for a transfer, you may be the one looking back several times because it is difficult to leave the children who once felt so unfamiliar," she said.

Her remarks come as the Education Ministry continues to deploy new teachers according to vacancies, subject-option requirements and the needs of schools nationwide, including rural and interior areas.