Saturday, July 25, 2009

Far away from home


As a teacher in Malaysia, sometimes we are required to serve in different states that are far from our home. And one of the most feared was the East Malaysia postings. This is because, it is far away from Peninsular Malaysia and there are possibilities to be posted to a rural and remote area.

My first posting was in Dalat, Sarawak (East Malaysia). Honestly, when I received my first posting letter, I had mixed feelings about it. Serving far away from hometown, meeting people with different languages and cultures are some of the questions that kept on playing on my mind. Yet, I believe God composes the symphony of life. He seems to know what is best for us. My stayed at Sarawak had revealed a lot of new lessons and help me grow as a teacher. I was blessed to be in a small town like Dalat where teachers are highly respected by the communities and the relationship among teachers are so close. This scenario really helps a lot in developing my character as a teacher.

In fact, teaching in a school far away from town means that I have bigger responsibilities in moulding and shaping the students. With limited facilities and no private tuition classes, the students depend 100% on the teaching in the classroom. Knowing that my students depend totally on me, this prompted me to deliver my best in the classroom. A part from that, what I really enjoy is the fellowship and companionship I have with my students. Being in a small village means that everywhere I go I’ll meet up with my students and the greetings I received from them really make up my day.Check Spelling

Of course, I have this longing to serve at my hometown, close to home and in a place where I am more familiar. Yet, a small and peaceful village by the river like Dalat is a good training ground to prepare me for the challenges ahead. So, even though I am far away from home, it is worth it.


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3 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 26, 2009 at 5:32 PM

    I'm teaching in rural area too. As an educator, is it important to mind where we are serving? Rural area VS urban area? Any differences? My answer is YES.One of the differences(stated in your blog) is far away from home.Is that going to be a main issue for us from stop serving? However, as an educator in rural area i'm proud to say "MY PLACE" is the BEST. I gain a lot of experiences and i categorized it as
    3M ( Memorable, Meaningful & Motivated).In school, students need to master 3M but as an educator in rural area i use to ENJOY my work to gain my priceless 3M. Finally,teachers in rural and urban area are doing the same business that is teaching and their target market is students.
    P/S: Mr.Roy, wish you all the best as an educator in Dalat. Enjoy it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wei JietJuly 28, 2009 at 10:16 PM

    I'm really touched on how you relayed your experiences teaching in East Malaysia. Having just completed my SPM, I've always paid a great deal of respect to teachers and all I can say is kudos and keep up with the good work! You mean a lot to the future generations of Malaysia.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Roy JaivinJuly 29, 2009 at 2:41 PM

    Thanks for your comment. For me every word you wrote really help to encourage me. To know that somebody really take time to read and care about my blog entry really motivate me.
    So let us touch more lives and change the world. We can make the difference.

    ReplyDelete

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THE MEDIOCRE TEACHER TELLS.
THE GOOD TEACHER EXPLAINS.
THE SUPERIOR TEACHER DEMONSTRATES.
THE GREAT TEACHER INSPIRES.

WILLIAM ARTHUR WARD