With a smile on his face, Vidyasagar was scrolling the various message in the whats app groups that he was in. Some with just a wish that said ‘Happy Teacher’s Day’, some with a quote and the wish, some with a bouquet and a quote and with or without the wish. Many questions arose in him as he read the messages, some contradicting another..

  • Should there be a day dedicated for this?
  • Shouldn’t teachers be remembered on all the days?
  • Is this wish for teachers as in teacher’s who formally teach? or is this for anyone who informally teaches us ‘how’ to live?
  • Then parents, siblings, relatives, friends, acquaintances, society become teachers. Do all of them also qualify to be called a teacher and therefore need to be wished?
  • One quote called ‘life’ a teacher. Well, how does one wish ‘life’ a Happy Teacher’s Day?

These questions made him curious.. curious enough to take the dictionary to find the meaning of the word ‘Teacher’. He found meanings which were similar yet in their own way different from one another..

  • A teacher (also called a school teacher or, in some contexts, an educator) is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence or virtue. Informally the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. when showing a colleague how to perform a specific task). In some countries, teaching young people of school age may be carried out in an informal setting, such as within the family  (homeschooling)- Wikipedia
  • One whose occupation is to instruct – Merriam Webster Dictionary
  • Someone whose job is to teach in a school or college – Cambridge English Dictionary
  • A person who teaches or instructs especially as a profession – Dictionary.com

Vidyasagar thought “If ‘Teacher’ is an Occupation, job or profession, it means that it gives a remuneration. However in the case of homeschooling, the person who teaches is one from the family, so there maybe no remuneration. But they should be then offered a ‘Guru Dakshina’?” Well, that seems only fair!!!

Teacher’s Day is celebrated on September 5 all over India in memory of S. Radhakrishnan, the 2nd President of India and is known to be a teacher par excellence. He is known to have said in 1962, that instead of celebrating his birthday it would be a privilege, if his birthday could be celebrated as Teacher’s Day; to recognise the dedication and work of the teachers. A tradition now of 58 years!!!

This made Vidyasagar even more curious. If a teacher was looked at as a profession, occupation or job, where and why did it change to ‘everyone being a teacher to everyone else’? He had no answers to this question but he was sure of one thing – that Teacher’s Day is to be only for those in the profession of teaching; and they need to be wished and honored. All the others can be thanked and appreciated for the contribution that they have made to make a difference to the others’ life but they can’t be looked at as a teacher. The reality though is different. For him, the moment everyone becomes a teacher, the value of a ‘teacher’ is lost.

Vidyasagar was in a deep thought – if everyone wished everyone else a ‘Happy Teacher’s Day’ as everyone taught everyone else, how come one person was missed out on? That one person is the best teacher anyone could have – A teacher who is always there, always ready to help and always ready to teach but is rarely looked at as a teacher..

Well, did anyone wish themselves a Happy Teacher’s Day?”

If everyone looked at everyone else as a teacher, then that ‘everyone’ should include oneself, isn’t it?