RAMBLINGS ON TEACHERS' DAY

Let me at the outset salute my teachers on the eve of ‘Teachers’ Day’-Hats off to those great souls. However, I would not overdo this show of respect by saying that all that I am today is thanks to my teachers. That would mean blaming my teachers. Much of all that I am today are failings and weaknesses. My teachers are not responsible for those glaring aspects of me.
The preparations for celebration of the occasion on campus by the students are fantastic. However, it reminds me of my school days. When we were college goers, Teachers’ Day was considered the exclusive property of schools. Of course, in the last decade or so may things in college have gone the school way. The College uniform is one such thing.
All said and done, everyone, including teachers, would like to be pampered on at least one day in the year. However, I would like to urge the students not to shower so much respect on this day that none is left for the other 364 days! One should not also respect others so much that there is none left for himself!
Teachers today are continuously at the receiving end. Every one teaches the teacher today. Intellectuals, pseudo-intellectuals, politicians, former teachers, assume the role of teachers, while it is the teacher who hardly teaches, for the poor soul is busy enhancing his A.P.I!
Besides, the teachers are constantly under the scanner. Every moment the teacher has nightmares of the cctv camera following him, and the installation of the punching machine. It’s a fact that all the logistics are towards reigning in the teacher. This surveillance grows in proportion to the teachers’ salary. Now that teachers are ‘rich’ post-revised scale, the knives are out. Indeed, to be ‘poor’ is a virtue in India.
However, the teaching profession was never thought of as a ‘hazardous’ one. However, a Times of India article the other day has proved to be a game changer. Teachers, it says, are at risk of allergies because of the chalk powder, they could also lose their voice dealing with large classes. Besides, the postures that a teachers need to take can have a toll on his body.
The utility of the teacher is also under threat. It was Ekalavya of Mahabharata fame who threw the first salvo by opting for Distance mode of education. The spurt in Distance education at present is a renewed threat to the relevance of the teacher. Of course, in one sense, the teacher has to make himself gradually irrelevant. Only then, he or she could be considered a good teacher. Talking of teaching, I am reminded of the saying, ‘an ordinary teacher tells, an average teacher explains, a good teacher demonstrates, a great teacher inspires.’ However, this is often misinterpreted and teachers merely inspire without teaching! Technology too is a threat to the relevance of the teacher. Now you learn everything if you just have a mobile with packet data connection. It is the ‘rule of the thumb’. Use your thumb, and the World Wide Web is your teacher.
These ramblings notwithstanding, let us spare a thought for the man in whose memory this day is celebrated-Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the second president of India. May his tribe increase. We need philosophers, and we need statesmen just as we need teachers. We need philosopher Kings-though not of the Machiavellian kind.