This month we are celebrating World Teacher’s Day.
When we think of teachers we instinctively think of schools and of children. But it is worth reflecting more broadly on what it means to teach. In reality we are all teachers. Catholic documents have long insisted that parents are the first and most influential teachers of their children. Schools exist to help parents, not vice versa. Even more broadly, all of us, whether in schools, hospitals, workplaces, cricket teams, on dance floors, or in the bush, introduce others to new crafts and knowledge. Nor is our teaching just about explanation. We also model for others how to act as nurses, administrators, walkers or sportspersons. If we are the first people whom others meet in a workplace or on the sporting field, we are role models, for better and for worse, whether by applying linseed oil to the cricket bat or sandpaper to the ball. And if we are role models, we are teachers.
Teacher’s plant the seeds of knowledge that will grow forever.
For all of us the most important teaching has to do with good relationships. In this area of life, the family is the most influential school and parents are the most influential teachers. This is sometimes forgotten when anxiety about young people places governments under pressure to transfer responsibilities to schools. They can then easily be seen as the most important institutions for passing on wisdom rather than for assisting families in doing so.
A teacher takes a hand, opens a mind, touches a heart and shapes the future.
In many ways, teachers are a bright light, a friendly face, and a gentle guide. Day in and day out, they teach and mould the hearts and minds of our loved ones. The very least we can do is offer our support, respect, and prayers that they would remain strong in the Lord.