Do you know that a Teacher could possibly impact your child’s life in more ways that you could ever imagine? With the Pandemic scare and the lockdowns globally, 2020 has been a year of appreciation. Now more than ever, the medical faculty and teachers are being respected and acknowledged for their contributions everywhere. Under normal circumstances teaching is taken for granted and teachers most likely overlooked for their addition. Schools, college’s universities are resorting to online teaching practices now; much of the studying, coaching and preparations are from home. Never before has parent participation been so intense or noteworthy. Teachers are now regarded as truly dedicated professionals. They are committed to the process of education as a whole and student participation alike. Teachers will generally do just about everything to meet the needs of their students. Their job never ends. Teaching is not packing up with that last bell. Just as parenting, teaching too demands a whole load of effort, time and energy.

Teachers are your child’s first champions, they are your children’s cheerleaders, voice and advocate. It is a known fact that you may forget your batch-mates over time, but you hardly ever forget your teachers. Through ages little lads have harboured little crushes on their young assistant teachers. Disinclined little boys have performed curiouslywell only to see that pretty teacher smile a little more at him. That appreciative pat on the head from his favourite one – perhaps that first lesson he learnt about scoring with the opposite sex! Always such a dramatic  visual, that difference in the stiffening and sitting up straighter, with the waltzing in of that rather curvy and attractive geometry teacher, gradually watching that class of teenage  boys slowly but blissfully being saturated with the sound of her voice explaining the curves of circles and straight lines of angles! All a little perplexing to the girls present in those classes, wondering why the boys this year seem to be enjoying geometry so much! 

It is, without doubt, manifestly too difficult, too complex and tedious to be appreciated by the majority of humans in the world. But all in all, was it not a wonderful thing in itself? Whether your teacher was the object of your affection or inspiration, teachers are pretty darn important, almost like some superhero of your childhood days! So if you are the present generation with an incredible teacher, be sure to thank her. I don’t know how they do it nowadays but give her a hug, a high-5 or a handshake. That simple, polished apple has long been replaced by an appreciative note or a card and these days even a text, mail or a Whatsapp message could work just as well. 

Teachers are a dedicated bunch; they teach against all challenges – be it low pay scales, lack of funding, lack of support, budget cuts, poor administration, little or no professional development as well. But they are the first to go into their pockets to buy classroom supplies or treat their students to an educative outing! They work beyond their hours to tutor a child that needs help or buy lunch for a student in need. Teaching does not just understand the semantics but a lot about appreciation of values. Teachers matter in more ways than one. They are important to every community on our planet. They probably were your first influencers, save they never posted accomplishments and their contributions on Instagram or Twitter to see how many likes they got. 

While Kim Kardashian may have changed the way we shape and contour our face, any teacher who’s every dedicatedly taught was shaping futures and contouring destinies long before that.  Growing up teachers were your counsellors, life coaches and mentors, only you never paid a dime for all the guidance, support and aid you got from them, back in your formative years. They were the architects that laid those bricks and forged those foundations upon which you stand today. They paved the roads to that future you merrily embraced.

Tap into any success story and chances are you’ll be amazed at how many attribute their success to a single teacher who changed the course of their life. Teachers work with and around children to make them simply the best versions of themselves. They helped the under-achievers fly and kept the over-achievers grounded. Through life they do so much more than teach. It takes a special skill to boost confidence where required or to keep over enthusiasm within respectful levels. To recognize that every child has some strengths and unique talents requires patience and insight. 

Teaching is not just about the academics but the implementation of life skills. To add, subtract, multiply and divide are not mere concepts limited to an arithmetic text book. When these very concepts are utilised to serve life better, to add to your bounty, to subtract your sorrows, to multiply your relationships or to divide responsibilities, your work as an educator is truly done. It’s not how skilfully you sketched that painting or drew those lines, its how adeptly you paint over your life to be more vibrant and colourful that pleases a teacher. It matters not how fluently you speak those languages, how well you spell or pronounce those words, it’s really how humble your tone and kind your utterances that evokes that smile from her. If you can read, write or solve an equation you know who to thank. And for all those times when knowledge, wisdom and skills have served you don’t forget to thank the countless moments that brought you there. It takes a certain kind of individual to makes sure you’ve arrived! 

When Oprah attributes her fourth grade teacher as her first liberator, when actress Helen Mirren dedicated her Bafta award to her old English teacher, when Microsoft founder and philanthropist, Bill Gates remembers his Math and English teachers with special reverence – they all are talking about what they did not solely what they taught. The hand of wisdom has many fingers, all of which are called teachers. A good teacher could be a guru, a mentor, an inspiration, a role-model, but no matter what, he/she will almost certainly leave an indelible mark on your future and an imprint on your soul.