Op-Ed: The Value of Education on Teachers' Day in India

Teachers' Day celebrated the gatekeepers of education recently in India. Find out what the teachers from B D Memorial Institute, Kolkata, India have to speak about Teachers' Day.

A teacher who has the necessary qualities is a nation-builder and teaching is the best career option for women, says Director and Administration Ms Usha Mehta. For her, integrity, honesty and hard work, coupled with teamwork has been the guiding light to nurture BDMI to what it is today. On the other end, Principal, Ms Vijaya Chaudhuri, states, "Being the mother of so many children, we just teach them what we have got from life." Senior English teacher, Ms Manjula Chakraborty, is of the opinion that teaching makes for an excellent job. "Being a teacher for more than the past twenty-five years, I have sincerely learnt a lot," she says. She further opines, "The meaning of the term 'teacher' has changed. A teacher is not only a guru but also a friend-philosopher-guide in one." "Teaching is a challenging job in order that we are required to meet the needs of each individual student," so thinks Ms Rinku Sengupta, English teacher. As a language teacher, she feels, it is necessary that she be innovative, caring and understanding. Her advice to aspiring teachers is, "Be ethically strong, sincere and dedicated; be a Mother." Ms Sudipta Chatterjee, of the English department again, stresses that teachers and students share a noble bond; that it is interactive and nothing can impede this bond if both are willing to exchange their thoughts. She is content to have been able to fulfill her dreams and continue to inspire the ensuing generation. Ms Ujjaini Dasgupta opines that exam-results are not all which matter but being a good human being actually does. She, English teacher, has felt herself grow with the school and is gratified for her career. "Our first priority is to teach but children also need a guide and a philosopher," says Ms Ruma Nag, Mathematics teacher. Mr Indrajit Roy, teacher of Sciences, describes his experience over the years with a simple and sincere "good". He adds, "I am not aware of any separate species called students. I am a student myself." He humbles himself as the bridge between his students and Knowledge. A teacher is definitely beyond one who comes to class and mouths fat books, he consents. In line with the opinion of Ms Kuhelika Basu, Dance and Music teacher of BDMI, "teacher" is a respected sound in itself. "Teachers are never professional and are incomparable with corporates and other professionals." She reinvents herself each year of her career of eighteen years and she keeps learning from student qualities. "It is like a rebirth for me," she states. There is no question of monotony for her in that line. She further mentions, "Students are more inclined to the subject teachers and not to those of fine arts, largely because they covet marks and grades. Finally, speaking on whether today's teachers get the rightful honour in Indian society, Ms Usha Mehta simply puts, "Respect is in your hand; you get it if you earn it. If you do not earn it, you do not get it."