In Indian culture, a teacher or guru holds a superior place. A teacher may be a friend, philosopher and guide whose relationship with the pupil is a sacred bond. To celebrate the day, the nation observes September 5 as Guru Diwas or Teacher’s Day which is the birthday of late President Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan. On the occasion of teachers’ day, Prameya English talked to a few youngsters to elicit who is a real teacher according to them.
A good teacher is someone who encourages students and impart knowledge equally, says Manaswini Baral from Puri.
“Anyone shows a good path can be your teacher. It is not mandatory that a teacher is a person who teaches at school. You cannot define a teacher based on age, qualification, attire or social background, the teaching has to be useful and valuable. For me, my mother is the best teacher who teaches me the first letter. Apart from education, she is the person who helps me in the most confusing situations in my life, and gives me career suggestions. She gives advice, suggestions and sometimes she has to be rude for her children’s sake,” said Manaswini.
Teaching is more a vocation than a profession and a good teacher is someone who never thinks about partiality and encourages a weak student as much as a bright one, says Manoranjan, a social worker from Khordha.
“Teaching is not just a profession it’s a mission-a mission for the development of students. Sometimes, one can learn not only from a teacher but also different situations teach good lessons in life. Failure, for instance, is a good teacher. A good teacher not only teaches students but also trains them how to deal with an issue and find a solution,” opined Manoranjan.
“The best teacher I found in my life is my grandfather. I may say he is a friend, philosopher and guide for me who stands by my side in every situation. Anywhere I find trouble, I need to call him and he comes with a solution. A retired teacher by profession, he is still popular among his students,” he said.
Guru is a person who takes the students to the path of darkness to light, says Somnath Behera, a teacher by profession.
“A person who not only gives you the education, he can add value to your life. From behavioral aspects to professional career, a teacher thinks about the proper development of his students. As a teacher, I always want my students to be well educated with study and outside knowledge as well. The bonding between you and your student helps them to grow more. But I think the sacredness between the teacher and student is going to disappear now. There are many cases that are happening in the society which are shameful for every teacher,” Behera informed.
Nowadays real teachers are hard to find. Lucky are those who grow up under the tutelage of a perfect teacher, says Avinash Patnaik from Bhubaneswar.
“Traditionally, teachers were meant to impart wisdom and skills. But today the concept of a teacher has changed. After all, there are teachers who try their best to see the success of their students. They feel proud when they see their student in the best position. Besides that, a real teacher always wants his students to be good human beings as well as studious. A good teacher always encourages students to go up and achieve the best in their life. A good guru in life is enough to teach you how to face every situation in life,” he said.
Bratati Baral
