Good morning to all!
“A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instil a love of learning." Brad Henry
Brad Henry was a lawyer turned politician who also served as the Governor of Oklahoma. In his view, the relationship between teacher and student extends beyond the classroom. In this divine relationship, there will never be a limited amount of textbook explanations and notes. The teacher is the one who is the principal source of inspiration, hope, and imagination.
In this time of pandemic and its aftermath, hope is a word that is anxiously searched by the entire world. A great deal of our today is rooted in the hope of tomorrow. Tomorrow is the life of today. Parents send their children to schools and colleges hoping that they will succeed. Due to the pandemic-related lockdown, a fear of the future, unexplainable anxiety, and fear of the unknown is now etched in the minds of individuals across the community.
In these pandemic times, education is not conducted as smoothly as it was under normal circumstances. Computers and smartphones have become a major part of children's lives. Several parents and guardians refuse to pay tuition fees because their children do not attend physical classes. Private schools are suffering a serious financial crisis because of this. However, all those who work in the field of education work diligently to ensure that education is put at the top of the priority list, and they strive tirelessly to achieve the goals they have formulated for continuing education. We sincerely hope that parents, guardians, well-wishers, and students will support our efforts.
In the Bible, there are more than 180 references to the word Hope. Love, hope, and faith are the three greatest Christian virtues. St. Paul in his letter to 1 Corinthians 13:13 are illustrating beautifully.
“So, now faith, hope, and love abide, these three, but the greatest of these three is love"
To make it more contemporary, Brad Henry's above words could be related to these three Christian virtues that St. Paul mentions.
Each teacher is being called to plant these eternal virtues in the mind of every child. Since hope, faith, and love are the greatest Christian virtues, each teacher has to contemplate it very seriously, that you are being called to plant these eternal virtues in the mind of every child. Your position is not less than an apostle.
The word meaning 'Apostle' is 'one who sent off’. As soon as the apostles received their last commission, they travelled across the known world. In this way, Christianity reached Europe as well as the Indian subcontinent.
According to Bertrand Russell “the world is a small village ". Globalisation and travel modes connected every human being with their counterparts across the world within a fraction of time. Due to pandemic lockdown, classes are being shifted from normal mode to Google meet, zoom, or similar platforms. It's a new development. We all are well connected. This we need to see a blessing from Almighty and should use technology judiciously.
Before the pandemic, we never thought about such an option seriously. Though some premier institutions were offering satellite classes, which was not common to all. Very quickly all are adopted with the new system. Teachers all were not tech savvy’s but with great hope for continuous education, they all adapted and assimilated with the new system. I appreciate the sincerity, hard work, and dedication of every educator. You have proved that hope is not lost.
Imagination has no barriers. It is the key to the world of aesthetic sense. Those people who have created a world of imagination will never die from the heart of people. They will be remembered or rather they will live in the heart of millions forever.
Every teacher has a great role in the life of their student. Love of learning is the key to success. We can put this in another term as a curiosity. When we were small there were hundreds of questions, some are addressed well, some were neglected. As we grow our curiosity never grows with us. Most of our learning curiosity has got a negative growth. Sometimes our questions were suppressed with a loud voice, with a word of scold, or with a loud 'shut up'. Most of us lost the habit of raising questions. We need to learn the sense to raise necessary questions, for necessary corrections. If the question is well answered, with a word of encouragement, it would have been in another level of enlightening.
Someone rightly said you need to learn questions first not the answers. So dear educators never scold or say shut up to your students when they are curious. The path of continuous learning is changing them, and they are growing with questions and curiosity.
It would be helpful if we could be more patient. Come let us quench their thirst for knowledge. In every society, the future rests with its citizens. In every society, they will be the backbone. We must inculcate Hope, Faith, and Love in the minds of every child in order to create a bright and better tomorrow.
Have a blessed day.
God bless you all.
Fr. Dr. P. S. Varghese
Principal MGM College, Dimapur
psvargheseachen@gmail.com