World Teachers’ Day is celebrated across the world on September 5. Ever since the importance of teachers has been recognized by UNESCO, by adopting the “Recommendation concerning the status of teachers”, this day has been celebrated annually. It includes celebrations to honor the teachers for their special contribution in a particular field area or the community in general.
In India, 5th September is celebrated as Teachers’ day as a mark of tribute to the contribution made by teachers to the society. 5th September is the birthday of a great teacher Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who was a scholar, president of India and above all a teacher.
When Dr. Radhakrishnan’s became the President of India in 1962, he was approached by some of his students and friends and requested him to allow them to celebrate 5th September, his “birthday”. In reply, Dr. Radhakrishnan said, “instead of celebrating my birthday separately, it would be my proud privilege if September 5 is observed as Teachers’ day”. So, since the year 1962 the 5th September is, every year, observed as the Teacher’s Day. The request showed Dr. Radhakrishnan’s love for the teaching profession. He was one of the most celebrated writers in the modern India. Dr. Radhakrishnan believed that “teachers should be the best minds in the country”.
TEACHER LEADS US TO TRUTH FROM DARKNESS
A teacher is one who imparts education to the children or those who want to acquire knowledge. A teacher is considered to be a source of knowledge and wisdom. A teacher not only imparts education but also sets an example through his or her personal life.
Teaching, in other words, involves making the mind of the student luminous, her heart tender and pure and her will steadfast in the pursuit of what is good and godly. The alternative is for the educated to remain petty and pedestrian, existing monotonously on the treadmill of mechanical and mercenary pursuits, chasing goals superfluous to one’s endowments.
Education today is a far cry from the ideal. The goal of education has shrunk to earning a livelihood. Learning stops, in most cases, with formal education. The larger horizons of life are shut out of our vision for education.
The main usefulness of setting apart a day of the year to remember and honour the teachers is also to enable teachers to ask themselves the question, “How do I want to be remembered by my students?” It is also to remind them that they can do memorable work. A good teacher is a national treasure.
As we live in a world deeply torn apart with political, economic and social upheavals being a daily norm, the need to find peace and support has become increasingly essential. When human sufferings occur, there is a spiritual awakening to find peace within ourselves and for others. The importance of human interactions and experiences, the meaning and purpose of life and how important it is for future generations to understand and learn the dynamics of the rapidly changing world is becoming more and more important.
The lack of spiritual awareness and development in the community is leading to various personal and public issues such as cultural and racial differences, violence, lack of acceptance between cultures, lack of identity and so on. The importance of self-knowledge and its usefulness is not fully realised in educational institutions.
As international education involves multicultural challenges, there is an importance of self-knowledge in order to help face these challenges and to incorporate the wisdom of selfhood in multicultural education from the perspective of open and distance education. A teacher’s inner life is explored in relation to self-knowledge. Discussions also cover self-reflections as an important aspect of gaining self-knowledge by using a teaching-learning model to illustrate the benefits and dynamics within the teaching practice and to show its contribution towards self and global transformation.
