The Quiet Journey That Shapes a Nation
H Akato Sema
Ikishe Village, Chümoukedima
Every year, on September 5, India pauses to celebrate Teachers' Day in honour of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, an eminent philosopher, statesman and teacher whose life reminds us of the lasting power of education. Students bring flowers, schools and colleges organise programmes, and social media fills with messages of gratitude. Yet beyond these celebrations, there is a question worth asking: what really makes a great teacher? Is a teacher defined simply by an appointment letter, a salary and a classroom? Is teaching just another profession, or is it something deeper that can quietly shape the lives of individuals, communities and even nations?
We often speak of teachers by choice and teachers by chance. Some people grow up wanting to become teachers. They are inspired by educators who influenced their own lives and deliberately choose a career in teaching. Others enter the profession without ever having planned to do so. Circumstances, family responsibilities, financial needs or a lack of other opportunities may bring them into classrooms they never expected to call their own. At first, one might assume that the person who consciously chooses teaching would naturally make the better teacher. But life does not always work that way. Many who entered teaching almost by accident eventually discovered a purpose they had never expected. Standing before students, answering their questions, seeing a struggling student slowly gain confidence, or watching former students grow into responsible adults can change the way a person looks at the profession. What began as a job can gradually become a responsibility, and eventually, for some, a calling.
Having spent a part of my own working life as a lecturer, I have also come to understand that teaching is not always as simple as it may appear from outside the classroom. There are days when a teacher may wonder whether a particular lesson has really made any difference. Yet there are also moments when a student who once struggled begins to find confidence, or a former student returns years later with a word of appreciation. Such moments remind us that the influence of a teacher is not always visible immediately. Sometimes, the seeds planted in a classroom take years to show their value.
Perhaps that is one of the most beautiful things about teaching. A person may become a teacher by circumstance, but becoming a teacher who truly cares is a choice. At the same time, choosing teaching as a profession does not automatically make someone a great teacher. The enthusiasm with which one begins can fade when teaching becomes routine. Passion needs to be renewed, patience needs to be practiced, and the responsibility needs to be taken seriously every day. Teaching is not without its frustrations either. Heavy workloads, limited resources, administrative responsibilities and changing expectations can make the profession demanding in ways that are not always visible to those outside it. Yet ultimately, it is not how one enters the profession that matters most, but how faithfully one serves after entering it. The finest teachers are therefore not necessarily those who always dreamed of becoming teachers. They are those who, once they enter the classroom, decide to make a difference.
A teacher's influence cannot be measured by examination results alone. Marks are important and can open doors to higher education and careers, but education should also prepare a person for life.
Every lesson and every interaction with students carries an opportunity to encourage honesty, discipline, compassion, humility and respect for others. In a time when information is available at the touch of a screen, the responsibility of a teacher goes beyond simply providing information. Students also need guidance in how to think, how to question and how to use knowledge wisely.
This is why teachers have always played such an important role in building nations. Every judge who delivers justice once sat in a classroom. Every scientist who makes a discovery once struggled with a textbook. Every soldier who serves the country was once a student learning about duty and responsibility. Every leader who influences society once had a teacher who helped him or her learn to read, write and think. Behind many successful citizens stands a teacher whose name may never appear in history, but whose influence continues through the lives of those students.
There is another side of the profession that deserves recognition. Across India, thousands of teachers in private schools and colleges continue to work with remarkable dedication despite salaries that may be modest compared with many other professions. They prepare lessons, correct papers, guide students, speak with parents, encourage those who are struggling and take genuine satisfaction in the progress of their students. Their classrooms may not always have the best facilities, but many continue to believe that education can change lives. The same appreciation is due to countless government school teachers who work in towns, cities and remote villages, often under difficult conditions. They travel difficult roads, work with limited resources and give their time and energy because they understand that education is ultimately about service.
It would therefore be unfair to judge teachers only by the institution in which they work or the salary they receive. Commitment has never been determined by a pay scale, and excellence does not belong to one category of employment. The worth of a teacher is better measured by influence than income. Some of the greatest teachers the world has known never became wealthy. Some retired without major awards. Some were never publicly recognised. Some may even have believed that they had lived ordinary lives. Yet their former students went on to become doctors, lawyers, judges, scientists, teachers, business owners, public servants and leaders in different walks of life. Those teachers may never have fully realised how far their influence had travelled. That is the extraordinary privilege of teaching: a teacher plants a tree under whose shade he or she may never sit.
The world of education is changing rapidly. Artificial intelligence can answer questions in seconds, search engines can provide information almost instantly, and digital platforms have transformed the way students learn. Yet technology cannot replace everything a teacher brings into a classroom. A machine can provide an answer, but it cannot truly comfort a discouraged student. An algorithm may process information, but it may not recognise the hidden potential of a child who has lost confidence. Technology can assist learning, but a teacher's personal example can still teach values in a way no software can. The future may belong increasingly to technology, but the future of humanity will continue to depend on what we teach the next generation about responsibility, compassion and integrity.
Teaching remains one of the few professions in which success is often measured through the achievements of others. The greatest teacher is not necessarily the one whose students obtain the highest marks, but the one whose students grow into honest citizens, compassionate neighbours, responsible parents and people who respect the law and the dignity of others. Knowledge without values can be misused, intelligence without integrity can cause harm, and education without character remains incomplete.
As another Teachers' Day approaches, perhaps our greatest tribute should go beyond flowers, speeches and messages of gratitude. It should also remind us of the responsibility entrusted to those who stand before a classroom. Whether someone entered the profession because it was a lifelong dream or because circumstances brought them there matters less in the end. What matters is the choice made every day—to enter the classroom with patience rather than frustration, with hope rather than indifference, and with the belief that every student has potential waiting to be discovered. Those choices may appear small, but over the years they can change lives.
History remembers great rulers for the years they governed, scientists for their discoveries and artists for the beauty they created. Teachers are remembered differently. Their greatest achievements often live on through generations of students whose lives they helped shape. A student may forget a particular lesson or examination question after many years, but may never forget the teacher who encouraged them when they were struggling or believed in them when they had lost confidence.
To every teacher serving in a government school, a private institution, a village classroom or a university lecture hall, this nation owes a debt that can never be fully repaid. The work may not always receive the recognition it deserves, and the financial rewards may not always reflect its importance. But the influence of a sincere teacher can travel much farther than the teacher may ever know.
A teacher may begin the journey by chance. But the teacher who chooses to change lives does so every day, by choice.
Happy Teachers' Day.
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