Sep 5, 2012
Teachers' Day
Every year the 5th of September, the birthday of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, our second President, gives us an opportunity to think about teachers; to reminisce our very own favourite teachers who have touched our lives in a very special way and to ponder on the role played by teachers in the moulding of humane men and women, especially in the strife - ridden, commercialized dog-eat-dog world we are living in today.
What I’ll try to do here is pen down a few random thoughts that inevitably cross my mind when I think aloud on the efficacies of what has been and will continue to be my chosen vocation.
Teachers all over the world belong to a unique species. They share the bond of an extraordinary profession. They have the onerous responsibility and the distinct privilege of interacting with their students not only as educators but also as caregivers, counsellors and protectors. As Henry Adams puts it; “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.”
A teacher is essentially a ‘Sakalakalavallabhan”, a veritable all rounder, a jack of all trades and master of all, someone who makes an indelible impact on almost all aspects of his students’ lives. The old adage aptly proclaims that the mediocre teacher tells, the good teacher explains, the superior teacher demonstrates and the great teacher inspires.
The teacher occupies a very exalted niche in the hearts and mind of his students. In the Indian context, the teacher is held in such high esteem that he is normally accorded the veneration that is reserved for gods, and in many instances even has the power to change the destinies of students. This makes teaching one of the most rewarding of professions and also thrusts upon teaching the awesome status of ‘Gurus’. A ‘Guru’ is a guide who accompanies his ‘shishya’ from ‘kevala’ to ‘kaivalya’, the ordinary to the extraordinary. He enables his students to grow from mere knowing to doing. In the words of Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, “When we treat people as if they were what they ought to be, you help them to become what they are capable of becoming.”
Teaching is a ‘calling’ and all teachers are missionaries with the common passion to make their students ‘men and women for others.’ As we celebrate Teachers’ Day, the evergreen Latin proverb inspires all of us teachers to more ahead in our chosen profession with renewed vigour and zest - “By learning you will teach; by teaching you will learn”.
I’d like to round off my ruminations on teachers by presenting a poem entitled ‘An Ode to Teachers’, written by my daughter Rachel last year. This was published in the Golden Jubilee Souvenir of St Mary’s English Higher Primary School, Falnir.
An Ode to Teachers
- Rachel Priyanka Furtado, VII ‘B’
While God is our Creator,
And parents are our Procreators,
Teachers are undoubtedly our Co-creators.
Teachers enter our lives when we are small,
And are sensitive to our every beck and call.
They mould us like a potter who moulds the clay,
And accompany us to ensure that we never stray.
Teachers are embodiments of selfless sacrifice,
Beacon lights who guide our student lives.
They teach us reading, writing and arithmetic,
And are adept at using both the carrot and the stick.
Teachers, by example, our values fashion,
Encourage, empower and channel our passion.
When we are hurt, our wounds they dress,
When we are troubled, our hearts they bless.
Teachers, I believe, are gifts from heaven,
I salute my teachers in 2011.
Long live beloved teachers, may God bless you,
Hold you and keep you, and your families too.
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