Teachers' Day 2019: Five greatest Indian teachers of all time
(Sourced from PTI)
The very thought of teachers takes us down a path of bittersweet nostalgia. We all have had our moments with our teachers, and the relations were mixed, at best. But we would be lying if we say that we do not love and miss them today. So, this Teachers' Day 2019, here's remembering five of the greatest Indian teachers of all time.
The first Vice President and the second President of India, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan is remembered fondly as one of the greatest teachers to walk around, so much so that the Teachers' Day was declared upon his birth anniversary. After completing education at Madras Christian College in 1911, he taught Philosophy at Madras Presidency College, and University of Mysore. He won Bharat Ratna in 1954.
Former President of India, and an eminent scientist, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, better known as the 'missile man' of the country, addressed thousands of students at various educational facilities through his lifetime. Kalam sahab breathed his last in 2015, while addressing students at IIM Shillong. He used to say, "Let's sacrifice our today so that our children can have a better tomorrow."
"Education is the manifestation of perfection already in men," philosopher and teacher Swami Vivekananda popularly said. He is mainly known for propagating the Gurukula system globally, empowering students, and pushing them for excellence. Furthermore, he introduced Hinduism to the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago in 1893. He also built the Ramakrishna Mission, where students took lessons of Vedanta, and offered social services.
The first Nobel laureate from India- a writer, scholar, and composer, Rabindranath Tagore was way ahead of the curve. He never really took any formal education, but went on to set up the world-famous Santiniketan school. He discarded conventional teaching methods, and believed in the Gurukul system of learning. "The main objective of teaching is... to knock at the doors of mind," said Tagore.
A renowned social reformer, Savitribai Phule spearheaded the cause of women education in India. She, supported by her husband Jyotirao Phule, founded the country's first girls' school in Pune in 1848, defying several social norms, thereby becoming the first lady teacher of India, and bringing about an educational revolution in the country. "Awake, arise and educate. Smash traditions- Liberate," Phule famously said.
