Who is your teacher?

This year well before Sep started The Govt has dragged itself into an unwanted avoidable controversy in giving the nomemclature 'Guru Utsav' to the Teachers' Day.Whether people are interested in developing roof less, teacherless schools or not , they are not wanting in creating a controversy as though the words Guru and Utsav are totally alien to them.

Come September, we can't but think of our school days and teachers.

I am a degree holder in Education ( B. Ed ) and worked as a teacher for nearly 4 years before I joined the Bank.Even today my house is crowded with children to clear doubts on various subjects like Maths, Economics, Accountancy, English and Hindi, though I don't commit for regular tuitions.

Each profession occupies a specific niche in society — doctors heal, engineers design and bankers handle our money. Teaching, however, stands out as a special entity. At a preliminary stage, teachers instill the transcendent faculties of communication, decision making and awareness of social responsibilities. Later in life, no matter which field we choose to pursue, we again turn to teachers for training. A strong information base and well developed capabilities of comprehension and analysis are critical for progress. These crucial responsibilities of inculcating knowledge, kindling inspiration and encouraging creative thought are all vested in the teacher. Keeping in mind the increasing trend of both parents working long hours, the teacher is also expected to build a strong moral character and provide emotional support. Thus, the teacher has to build a rapport with the student and be simultaneously approachable and authoritative. His/her role encompasses that of an instructor, friend, role model and confidant.

The society and the set up have changed in the past 60 years. We see total indiscipline and deterioration of values in children.In many schools teachers are daunted or blackmailed by students and there have been murder attempts on teachers.

Schools have great potential as a locus for crime prevention. Teachers have to be more careful in the developmental years especially in crime prone zones.They have much more responsibility to help youth develop as healthy, happy, productive citizens;. and the community

usually supports schools' efforts to socialize youth. Many of the precursors of delinquent behavior are school-related and therefore likely to be amenable to change through school-based intervention.

Once a strong base is created by school and college teachers, everyone understands that learning is never a finished job and it is an ever lasting process.We are always learners in one form or other.1. We learn from our children. They become our teachers.

2.We learn from our mistakes.Mistakes become masters.

3.All our anger & agonies,beatings & burnings,challenges & churns,cries and cracks,toils and turmoils,twists & turns make us mellow down & season us a lot.

4. From good persons we know how to be,and from the so called wicked we know how not to be.

5. When we listen to music,it soothens our hearts & music becomes our preceptor.

6.When we hear the mazhalai or babblings of children, we forget the pressing problems. then children become our masters.

7.The sun,the rain,the mountains ,the rivers & trees- all are teaching the lesson of PAROPAKARA ,without uttering a single word by their mere routine.

(Uddhava Gita ( Krishna's teachings to his friend Uddhava, before He ascended heaven, gives a list of 24 teachers inclusive of reptiles, birds, plants and animals)

8. Above all,"SILENCE" itself is the greatest GURU-MAUNA GURU.It is meditation in SILENCE that brought into our Bharat so many great thinkers,luminaries & Acharyas whom we revere most.

The list is endless.

Let us bow with reverence,not only to human teachers,but also to NATURE and above all to every small bit and piece of experience in our life.

Let Teachers' Day be a memorable day.

Jayasala 42

Who is your teacher?