Source: Times of India 22 September 2011 (Student Edition)
My thoughts on Teachers’ Day
Dear All
Teaching profession is considered the noblest of all the professions and a teacher is regarded as the most dignified and trustworthy member of the society. No doubt there has been a steep decline in values in society and a teacher has also not been left unimpacted or unaffected by the socio-economic dynamics. It is rightly said that the change is the law of nature and the only thing that remains constant is the change itself. Since we teachers, are called upon with special reverence and respect by the other members of the society, we have to come up to the expectation of people in all spheres of life be it professional or personal. Since our professional life has surly to be impacted by our personal life, we should not allow any compromise on the ground of our principles.
We, as role models for our students, should uphold a philosophy that is characterized by strong values and sacraments. In other worlds we should preach only what we can practise ourselves. The yawning gap that we sometimes find in what we say and what we do is the root cause of the decline in the respect that we teachers used to command in the past. We used to render a selfless service and were not overcome by greed and avarice for the glare of gold. We did not live in a big mansion that was marked by abundance or plentifulness but in a small house which was ever fragrant by the sweet smell of the deeds of our sacrifice, concern and commitment for the society. Every influential member of the society used to acknowledge our presence and felt proud to have us as a guest. But now inspite of a great upgradation in our financial status or our standard of living, society looks at us with some degree of apprehension and we are wholly and solely responsible for this.
It is, therefore my humble submission that we teachers should also be prepared to go into introspection and find the factors responsible for this decline in respect for us and try to regain it. It is still in our capacity to be best role models for our students and fulfil the dream and aspiration of Dr. S. Radha Krishanan who had gone to the extent of making the greatest sacrifice by asking his students to celebrate 5th September as teachers’ Day instead of his birthday.
Jai Hind! Jai Bharat!
H.R. Sharma
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