September 5th is being celebrated as Teachers’ Day since 1962 after India’s first Vice-President (1952-1962) and second President (1962-1967), Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (September 5, 1888 - April 17, 1975) – a distinguished scholar who was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1954 – requested when some of his students insisted on celebrating his birthday: “Instead of celebrating my birthday separately, it would be my proud privilege, if 5th September is observed as Teachers’ Day.”
Over subsequent years, in India, September 5th has been celebrated to express appreciation and gratitude to teachers for their inspiration and dedication in guiding students, shaping their minds and instilling values in them, so the latter enjoy brighter futures. The day is celebrated with schools, colleges and educational institutions holding events for students to celebrate the teachers.
Social media gets peppered with users exuding respect for their teachers, highlighting how they have positively impacted their lives. Gifts are given. Calls are made. Messages expressing reverence are sent to their beloved teachers – in many cases from years or decades ago. Emotions flow. The exercise of reminiscence gets triggered as events and incidents from the past are raised and shared. Tears of joy and sadness are shed – of regret in some cases... all in a day – Teachers’ Day.
But are we really reflecting the gratitude for our teachers through our civic behaviour today? Have we truly turned out to be citizens that our teachers took their efforts for us to be? Are we reflecting the principles and values that our teachers promoted, while trying to shape us into being responsible citizens?
Do you remember, whenever we returned to our classes after the morning assembly, or while going on a picnic as a whole class, we had to – and, strictly had to – proceed in a queue, one behind the other? No running or trying to break the queue. Our teachers enforced it, and very strictly. In class, or during the assembly, it was mandatory that we maintain silence, when required. No talking, no shouting, no making noise. We were asked to raise a hand, seeking permission to speak out or ask questions. No breaking the norms.
Somewhere down the line, as we grew up, we laughed it off, and got back to precisely what we were not supposed to do. Today, as grown-ups, we often do not follow queues – not while waiting to book tickets, and definitely not while driving on the roads, which is the main reason why we have seemingly unsolvable traffic jams, while screaming from the rooftops that our roads are inadequate and not well-designed.
The noise pollution that we often speak of is another of our creations, born from throwing the lessons from our teachers into the bin. The teacher’s order “Silence in the class!” was meant only when we were children, right? Not now, when we are all grown up, because we no longer are in any classroom, and we certainly don’t want a teacher to take us back to those days when we had to obey orders from them. We have grown, not just in body size, but in our ego, too. It probably explains our love for honking, passionately contributing to the noise pollution.
About compromising our values and principles, the less said the better. But we need to remember that the way we behave today in personal or professional domains reflects our actual respect for our teachers, who we were taught to think of as “second parents”.
The discipline is missing ... rather we have allowed those early lessons from our teachers to evaporate. We have assumed that those lessons are meant only for children, not for us as adults, which is when we are actually supposed to demonstrate our coming of age as “responsible citizens”.
Teaching and learning is a dynamic interaction between teacher and student. That relationship, while in its functional mode, seeks to bring about desired cognitive and behavioural changes in the student. The teacher imparts knowledge, fosters skills and promotes values. But all this does not restrict only to mere instructions. It involves encouraging learning experiences, guidance and planning. It aims at students being able to achieve goals using critical thinking and creativity. It kindles a life-long love for learning in them.
But somewhere in our mental maps, we draw a line of demarcation, and nurture a feeling of “liberation” when we start earning, a strong sense of “independence” overpowering us. We erroneously minimise – even eliminate – the lessons from our teachers in the early years of our education, while retaining only memories to convey greetings on Teachers’ Day.
There’s a Japanese proverb highlighting the significance of a good teacher and teachings, which goes: “Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher.” Let’s remember the lessons of our own great teachers so we can live their dreams of us being responsible humans and citizens.