September 5th is celebrated as Teachers’ day in India. Ex-President of India Mr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan’s birth day (1888-1975) is celebrated as Teacher’s day. He was a philosopher and statesman. He was vice president from 1952-1962 and president from 1962-1967.He was born in Tiruttani, then in Andhra pradesh, now in Tamil Nadu. He was the first ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1949-1952. He was very instruemental in Indian politics immediately after the death of Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964.He was in teaching before entering in to politics. That is why the Teacher’s day is celebrated. Best teachers are awarded on this day.
On Teacher’s day, students across India dress up as their teachers and take lectures in classes that are assigned to the teachers they represent. Sometimes, teachers sit in their classes as students, trying to relieve the time when they, themselves, were students. Also,functions are organized in schools on the special day, where students present dance performances, dramas, and various other programs to entertain their teachers. This day provides for a healthy interaction between teachers and students as well.
Teacher’s Day is a tribute to the hard work and devotion of the teachers all year long, to educate a child. In India, teacher’s day is celebrated on 5th of September every year. Indian Teacher’s Day is dedicated to Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who was a zealous advocate of education and one of the greatest scholars and teachers of all times, apart from being the first Vice President and the second President of India. As a mark of respect to this phenomenal teacher, his birthday came to be observed as Teacher’s Day in the country.
A good teacher is like a candle. It consumes itself to light the way for others.
Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition.
The true teacher defends his students against his own personal influence. He inspires self-distrust. He guides their eyes from himself to the spirit that quickens him.
A Few Famous Teachers’ Day Quotes
Some teachers’ day quotes by famous personalities are:
“The best teacher is one who suggests rather than dogmatizes and inspires his listeners with the wish to teach himself”-Edward Bulwer-Lytton.
“A good teacher is like a candle – it consumes itself to light the way for others”-Anonymous.
“What a teacher is, is more important than what he teaches”-Karl Menninger.
“Good teachers are costly but bad teachers cost more”-Bob Talbert.
“Teaching is not a lost art, the regard for it is a lost tradition”-Jacques Barzun.
“Those who educate children well are more to be honored than parents, for these give only life, those the art of living well”-Aristotle.
Some Eminent Positions in Career Held by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan
- 1918 – Selected Professor of Philosophy, University of Mysore.
- 1921 – Professor of Philosophy – University of Calcutta.
- 1926 – Represented University of Calcutta at the Congress of the Universities of the British Empire &The International Congress of Philosophy at Harvard University.
- 1929 – Invited to deliver the Hibbert Lecture at Harris, Manchester College, Oxford.
- 1931-36 – Vice Chancellor of Andhra University
- 1936 – Named Spalding Professor of Eastern Religions & Ethics at The University of Oxford.
Elected Fellow of All Souls college.
- 1939-1948 – Vice Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University.
- 1946-1952 – Represented India at UNESCO.
- 1949-1952 – Ambassador of India to the Soviet Union.
- 1952 – Elected 1st Vice President of India, continued till 1962.
- 1962- 1967 – President of India.
Some Awards Received By Dr. S. Radhakrishnan
- 1931 – Knighted by George V.
- 1938 – Fellow of the British Academy.
- 1954 – Bharat Ratna awarded by the Indian Government.
- 1961 – Peace Prize of the German Book Trade.
- 1963 – Order of Merit.
- 1975 – Templeton Prize. He donated the entire amount to Oxford University.
Also from 1933 to 1937, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize for literature for 5 consecutive years, though he did not win it.
