If you can read this article, thank your teacher who taught you how to! 5th of September is perhaps the only day of the year when we take a second to look back and acknowledge the individuals who made a career out of helping others achieve their dreams.
"Teachers should be the best minds in the country"
- Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
In our society, while career choices such as Engineering, Medicine, Lawyer and Army are seen as 'macho' and 'challenging', anyone who ends up as a teacher is seen as someone who couldn't get any other job! However, the irony is that we search for the best teachers to help us get to the pinnacle. Ever since we tasted bits and pieces of modernization as a nation, we drew an imaginary line dividing the professions suited for male and females. While our society reserved the heavy machine related work for the males, job of a teacher was mostly confined to the females. Resultantly, any male who wanted to be a teacher thought twice before making a decision.
Thankfully, the times have changed. Not only the higher education institutes, but most of the schools also boast of a number of male teachers. While this is a welcome change, it won't be incorrect to say that the credit given to the teachers in our society is still a minor fraction of what they actually deserve. Sans the teachers teaching at highly crowded coaching institutes, most the teachers earn a meagre salary which is a small fraction of what a number of their students end up pocketing.
The Prime Minister's initiative to interact with the students and broadcast it live to the schools via satellite link is indeed an appreciable step. With the highest executive of the country making an effort to highlight the significance of teachers' day, it is sure to give a boost to the moral of the students as well as the teachers.
'Education, today, has commercialized!' is one of the major arguments we hear today against the teachers. Education, undoubtedly, has evolved but so has everything else around it. In the era of computers and smartphones, you surely can't expect the teachers to behave like the 'Gurukul guru's' as they once did. The teachers, today, carefully tread the thin line between friend and instructor. This makes the task of a teacher all the more challenging. Take out a minute to thank the souls who made you what you are. No matter what method they applied, be it the punishments for a wrongdoing or a reward for a good task, they eventually succeeded in making your career!
About Dr S. Radhakrishnan
Arguably the greatest Indian academician and our second President, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born on 5th of September. A Bharat Ratna recipient, Dr S Radhakrishnan was one of the most renowned Indian scholars in the 20th century. His area of expertise included Philosophy and Comparative religion. His views on Hinduism shaped the understanding of millions of people not only in India, but also in the west.