Teachers’ Day

Teachers’ Day is celebrated in India on September 5th every year, to commemorate the birth anniversary of the second President of free India, Dr S Radhakrishnan. It is a day dedicated to teachers by the man who was a stalwart in academics and education and was regarded as one of the most phenomenal and respected teachers of all time. It is often said that ‘teaching is the profession on which all other professions depend’, and rightly so. The adulation, respect and gratitude of the students, past and present Josephites, for their teachers is proof.

The morning began with a note of underlying excitement rippling through the corridors of the school. Students anxiously waited to wish their teachers, some with roses and the others with cards or chocolates. The exhilaration continued through the day as the students filed into the auditorium, concert hall and the audio-visual room to be part of the celebration on the main stage in the auditorium. The programme, that commenced with the school song, prayer and invocation hymn, proceeded to the lighting of the lamp.
There were adorable action songs by the junior Josephites and songs, speeches, poems, dances as well as skits by the seniors. The teachers were thoroughly entertained by the students throughout the two-hour long programme. It was their day to relax, feel the adulation and experience gratitude after the hard work that they put in on all other days.
Fr Sunil Fernandes SJ, Principal of SJBHS, in his message re-iterated that there would be no school without students and teachers. He said that he was eternally grateful for the hard work, dedication and sincerity of the staff. Fr Sunil elaborated on the four kinds of debts – debt to God, debt to Parents, debt to Teachers and debt to Mother Nature. He told the students that there was no way to repay these debts. He counselled the students to listen to their teachers’ advice which would go a long way to mold, shape and fashion their future!

The celebrations at school, with the students had come to an end. However, the festivities continued out of school as the PTA members transported the teachers to the grand environs of Lalit Ashok. The song and dance, the games conducted and the fabulous fellowship meal that followed was memorable not only for the teachers in service but for the retired staff of the school. SJBHS is a collaboration of its stakeholders and the festivities of today reflected camaraderie for a common goal.

In retrospect, the song by the ISC choir ‘You are the wind beneath my wings’ summarized the teachers at SJBHS as they go about nurturing, encouraging and fostering the students from tiny tots to adolescents and then adults - shaping their ideals, intellect and ethos to become men and women for others