Jottings

THIS IS NOT A JOKE! LET’S INTRODUCE THE POLICY AND SEE IF IT WORKS

1Toilet to bring students and teachers closer?

The state government of Terengganu will introduce a 1Toilet policy to encourage a sense of oneness between students and teachers.

I do not know how to react. Should I laugh after reading the news article, treating it as some joke? Should I take this policy as a noble cause to create a sense of “oneness”, or my all-time “togetherness”?

I did not study in the local school so I do not know the relationship between students and teachers in the classroom. The following quote, however, got me thinking:

“When students share the toilets with the teacher, they (students) will believe that they are on par with academicians and this automatically invokes a sense of being important to an organisation, which, in this case, is the school,” said State Education, Higher Learning, Human Resource, Science and Technology Committee chairman Ahmad Razif Abd Rahman in The Star.

The policy will also encourage teachers and students to sit in a common place at the school canteen during recess. How can sharing the toilet or canteen space promote a sense (or feeling) of being on par with academicians? Will students go, “Oh wow, I share the toilet with my teacher. I feel important now. Look at me!”

When I was in school, the last time I wanted was to hangout with my teachers (but I am all grown-up now and some are them are on my Facebook list and we are FRIENDS!). If you are a 13-year-old or 17-year-old, do you want to hangout with your teachers?

Then again, I have a great relationship with each of my teachers. I was lucky enough to be educated in the international schools, where on average, there’s only 15 students (maximum) per class. During our classes, we learn (of course we do!) but at the same time, we still “mingle” with the teacher during our class. It was fun, personable and interactive.
So, the moral of the story is… start a healthy interaction between students and teachers in the classroom. There’s no need for students and teachers to wait during toilet breaks and recess to mingle. I do believe that students need proper guidance and a teacher is a great role model to follow. Then again, teachers should also lead by example and getting the best from their students. If a student is already having an inferiority complex feeling in the classroom, how can he/she invoke a sense of importance with the 1Toilet policy?

Our first day at the kindergarten. Our first day of elementary school. Our first day of middle school. Our first day of high school. Our first day of university.Our first day of work.

Remember those? I do.

I have been lucky enough to move from one school to another. Therefore, I went to a different elementary school, middle school, high school and university. Not only that, each was located at various countries.

Being a newbie is nothing new to me. I remember when I was in Grade 7, I had just moved to China. Adapting to daily life in China and exploring the local culture was already a handful, and entering a new school was just dreadful. I had shifted from a British-based school to an American based school.

Exploring the unknown territory is definitely scary. We are a “newbie” at various stages of our lives, but I was most scared upon entering university in 2004 and the workforce in 2007. University was scary because I did not know what to expect other than it is a UNIVERISTY. Even the name scared me. The question that kept playing in my head was, Can I pass? Can I pass? Can I pass? Oh, I did pass, thus I entered the working world in 2007. WHOOOSHH! There should be a course in university about “How To Survive As A Newbie In Your Office”. When we are in the working world, there are so much stuff going on and it is so different than our education years.

Understanding the system and adapting to it well. The American Middle/High School I attended had a “homeroom” system. I was not used to it. Basically, the classroom that we enter every morning is not our permanent classroom. Each grade had to group together for 15 minutes before splitting to our respective classes, which means that we may be in the same grade but we may not be taking the same subjects. It took me a while to grasp that but after a while, I had gotten used to it. This is one important lesson I have learnt during high school, university and work. Each has a certain discourse at work and it is a matter of getting used to it.

Finding THE one. No, I am not talking about love, but when we are a newbie, it is about finding that one true friend that can assist us. When I was in Grade 7, a boy which I shall refer to as “C” was nice to me from day one. He helped locate the various classes. It turns out that he is one of the most hated student at school. Well, that really helped my reputation, especially as a teenger, being “Cool” matters. But at that age I completely realize that he was indeed MY friend. It does not matter if he was hated or not.

Being a newbie is temporary. I felt great when I was in 8th Grade as I was a little senior and was no longer a newbie. At an international school, new students come in at all times during the academic year, so being a senior was nice. I feel that I can take care of the newbie and share some pointers and tips. It works the same way at work when we have interns. (Plus, sometimes the interns get bullied!)

The anxiety and left-out feeling of being a newbie is temporarily. As we progress and adapt, we will make it rhrough.

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