Fifth September , birthday of Dr. S
Radhakrishnan ,the first vice president and second president of independent India is celebrated as teacher’s day throughout India.Let us take some time to remember the teachers in our schools and colleges who have played an important role in shaping us to what we are today.
I remember days in the primary classes when my parents had to depend on teachers to make me do the little things that I otherwise refused. Teachers were then the epitome of correctness and truth. So was it for many of us and even now for the little kids in the primary school.But as we grow we tend to lose this close relationship and trust we have on teachers, partly attributed to the little ‘self’ which refuses to yield to authority, which grows with us and partly to the sincerity of teachers we see in our college who resort to telling the page numbers to be photocopied for each module of the subject they teach.
‘Teaching’ as a profession is not a lucrative one compared to the fat salary packages offered to other professions of the day, neither is it something that has to be done for money. So, not many of us would choose to take it as a profession. Added to this, is the lack of number of students pursuing a subject to the post graduation and research levels. These have led to a decline in the quality of teachers in many schools and colleges of our country.
I remember one of my teachers in the high school classes telling “ Teachers have to be updated with the latest happenings in their respective fields , otherwise they are letting their students drink from stagnant water which I cannot afford to do.”
The satisfaction and respect that this noble profession gives cannot be measured in terms of the money earned. Though the ‘
Gurukul’ system of education of ancient India where in ‘
Syshyas’ lived with their ‘Guru’ learning everything from what they teach and how they live , is no longer to be seen, kids tend to emulate teachers to a large extent even today. The role of teachers in shaping the future of our little ones, the touch bearers of an emergent India cannot be overlooked.
After all the trust on education, India still remains a country where, the literacy levels are below the threshold level of 75%. Than pointing fingers and trying to find fault with the governmental system and authorities concerned for this bitter fact, let us resolve to do our part, however small it may be , as responsible citizens of a resurgent India. This teacher’s day let us, give a serious thought to what we can do, to educate the less fortunate among us.
Teacher’s Day for me would remain incomplete without the mention my fifth standard class teacher. She was more of a mother to each one of us in the class.She identified with each of us so well that we would simply pour out our hearts to her .Someone we knew and felt was genuine in her concern for us. Her relationship with her students extended beyond the four walls of the classroom. She was someone for whom teaching was more of ‘living’ than just a means to living, one whom each of us competed to emulate. Though she is no longer alive, I’m sure she continues to influence each one of her students.
Heartfelt tributes to Lucy Paul Madam and all my teachers who have been a great influence throughout my life….!!!
