Take a stand for Teachers !

September 5th.
The birthday of the most gifted President of India, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.
And, most importantly, National Teachers' Day.

Oh ! the nostalgia of schools and colleges !!
The very word 'Teachers' conjures up an image of a classroom, with one person near the blackboard, with a piece of chalk in hand, and 30 or 40 or even 50 pairs of young eyes riveted on her ( or him) , listening in rapt attention, taking in evey word, waiting eagerly for a question to pop up so that they can 'let their hands bob in the air ' and answer, waiting for an appreciative smile :-).

Remember the Teachers' Day Celebrations at school, when the senior students were allowed to dress up as one of the teachers and take charge of the junior classes for the day :-) ? It was fun !! And, just as wonderful was the happiness in our teachers' eyes, when we wished them , a ' Happy Teachers' Day' in chorus, supporting it with hand-made cards :-)

Just as in India, Teachers' Day is observed in many countries. Afghanistan celebrates it on October 15th, while it is on October 4th in Bangladesh. Greece ( January 30th), Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Oman , Morocco, Libya  ( February 28th), Indonesia ( November 25th), Mexico ( May 15th), Poland ( October  14th) - all of them have their own days for these 'Lamps of Knowledge'.

The UNESCO celebrates World Teacher's Day on October 5th. Many countries like Pakistan and Philippines, celebrate on the same day too. The title of this post is the UNESCO's motto for the World Teachers' Day !

And 'Teacher' is a 7- letter word.  That is one of the reasons why this is perfect for the Write Tribe theme :-)

For me, the 7 qualities that idolise a teacher would be :

Tenacious : A teacher has to be persistent, determined and not ready to give up. His or her job isn't easy, and it might be easy to give up and say, ' I'm sorry, I don't think I can teach you brats ! '. But someone with a love for teaching wouldn't do that :-) He shall hold on and go on, till he succeeds !

Erudite : Needless to say, a teacher has to be erudite. This doesn't indicate the degrees or doctorates that he or she has. It aims to say that a teacher has to have the quality of erudition, whether it be from his degrees, or from the circumstances he has been through as an individual. What matters is his ability to gain knowledge and pass it on.

Affectionate : An affectionate teacher kindles the warmth in you by his love and care. Who is the best teacher you remember ? Is it simply the one who wore the best sarees to school ? Or is it the one who smiled at you often, who took care to see that you understood what she spoke, who treated all students with the same love and affection ? For me, it is the latter. And I am sure, it is so for most of you, too !

Committed : A committed teacher is one who stays rooted to his profession with the aim of seeing his students excel. Commitment to the cause is important for a teacher, because our subconscious imbibes  that from him or her.

Honest : Honesty begets exactly that, in the long run. A teacher who practices honesty can only preach it among his students :-) Honesty doesn't mean only an abstinence from lying, as many of us often think :-)  it means, thorough trueness in words, deeds and intentions :-)

Empathetic : Being able to view any issue from a student's point of view enables a teacher perform his job better. Empathy is required in all walks of life, but more so for a teacher because he's most often dealing with someone younger, and looking at the world with the other pair of eyes is very effective !

Resourceful : Being able to analyse situations and find ways to overcome hindrances to reach the goal is a necessary quality ! A teacher who helps his student reach within and understand the qualities latent in him , his strengths and weaknesses as also his conscience is the best teacher ! A good teacher always finds ways out of a labyrinth. Always !

That is for me, the T-E-A-C-H-E-R of being a teacher. What are yours?

I dedicate this post to all my teachers, my mom who taught me the very first word, ' amma', my (late) maternal grandmother , who first taught me the alphabets of my mother tongue, my teachers in kinder garten, who opened the world of knowledge for me, my teachers at school, who always brought out the best in me, my teachers at college, who guided me to the right profession, and my teachers at my profession, who made me what I am today !

I am indebted to you all !!

*Thanks to Google for all images*