Teachers are some of the most underappreciated members of society, who carry out a very thankless job. After family members, teachers are one of the strongest influences in shaping the minds of the future generation.

However, it is a crying shame that teachers are often mistreated and sometimes even have to face scrutiny by the people. A case from Kolkata comes to mind when a teacher was forced to resign from St.Xavier’s University just for posting a picture on her private Instagram account. This is not an isolated incident, as a transgender teacher was also forced to resign due to her gender identity.

Just six days before the celebration of Teacher’s Day, another case has been recorded of a professor accusing two assistant professors and two students of molestation and assault.

As we celebrate the birth anniversary of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, i.e. Teacher’s Day, it is important to promise a better future for our teachers and re-evaluate the role they play in our society.

While teachers are obviously important for the growth of a child’s future aspirations. They are also important for a child’s social development and can take the role of their guardians as well.

Students should feel safe while talking about their personal issues with their teachers. Most of the teachers come with a specialized education, which could help a child see their issues from a different perspective.

Teachers can also play a role in curbing the rising hate like communalism, casteism, and misogyny. A teacher’s job is not only to shape a child’s future but also to shape them into moral citizens of the country.

Teachers can explain to the child why it is important for students to respect their fellow classmates coming from different backgrounds, and how to interact with them in an appropriate manner.

This, in turn, will help the students to be better citizens of the country, and not be influenced by hate-politics. For example, knowing the importance of affirmative action can help the students sympathize or empathize with students belonging to different religions, castes, communities or gender identities.

Teachers can also play a role in the development of a student’s extracurricular talents. While, scientists, engineers and doctors are noble pursuits. Society itself cannot function on the basis of these careers alone.

As much as we need doctors, there is also a need for philosophers and artists for society to run. There is also a need for students to be socially and culturally aware. Exposing the students to different world views can help the students to think critically and from a different point of view.

For example, the Bison-Horn Maria tribe has solved most of the problems of sexual abuse in their society. However, most people of the world aren’t ready to inculcate the values due to conservative upbringings or are not aware of this different lifestyle.

Teachers can play a part in this, by creating a bridge between students and different cultures. This will help a student to look at other cultures and traditions in a positive manner, and also to look at their own cultures in a critical way.

Child Help Foundation trains the teachers of Ashram Schools so that they can shape the future of children belonging to underprivileged backgrounds. Child Help Foundation also helped 4,82,051 with their education.

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