Teachers who made a difference

ARISTOTLE The father of biology, Aristotle, was an ancient Greek who knew a few things about education. He was the teacher of Alexander, The Great. He played one of the most important role in the famous ruler’s life. He even made many discoveries in Biology and Physics. He once made an observation which is sure to rankle some members of the PTA. He said that “those who educate children well are more to be honored than they who produce them; for these only gave them life, those the art of living well.” In other words, parents just make babies. It’s teachers who turn them into people. Aristotle may have lived a long time ago in a different land, but his slightly acerbic exaggeration still has a ring of truth to it. Good teachers still play a significant role in making us who we are. The teachers who shape us may not always be standing at the head of a classroom (including, of course, our parents), but wherever they’re found, they are doing something that no one else can do: changing our view of the world and making us into something better than we were before.

ARISTOTLE

RABINDRANATH TAGORE Rabindranath Tagore: We know him as a Nobel laureate in literature because of whom the name of India shines on the global front. We remember him as a patriot who refused Knighthood from the British Crown and also as the writer of our national anthem. Few know him as the path breaker that he was when it comes to teaching in India. He liberated the Indian education system from the tyranny of classrooms. The progressive school he set up at Shanti Niketan, a tiny suburb of Calcutta had no classrooms. Students were taught under the trees and in the harmony with nature. Children learned what ever they wanted to. Some people called this legendary famous educator crazy and defiled his name. Building this school financially ruined him but today we owe the concept of global classrooms to him. Shanti Niketan remains one of the most prestigious universities in India. He was a great writer as well as a great teacher.

RABINDRANATH TAGORE

ANNE SULLIVAN Many parents have probably felt at one time or another that one of their child’s teachers was a “miracle worker,” a teacher who somehow got results where other teachers would fail. Although the idea of a miracle worker has entered common parlance, the phrase was coined by Mark Twain to describe one particular person. In fact, the term has become almost synonymous with her name. That person is Anne Sullivan, the teacher of Helen Keller. A mere 20 years old when first employed to school the deaf and blind Helen in 1887, Anne Sullivan herself was blind for much of the first part of her life. Educated at the Perkins School for the Blind in Boston, Sullivan had recovered part of her eyesight by the time she travelled to Alabama to begin her job as Helen Keller’s governess. Undoubtedly, Sullivan’s own partial blindness gave her insight (in the fullest meaning of the word) into the little girl’s closed-off world.

ANNE SULLIVAN

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born on 5th September, 1888, in Tamil Nadu. He had his early education in Christians Missionary Institution in Tamil Nadu. He obtained his B.A. and M.A. degrees from Madras Christian College. He worked for some time as Assistant Lecturer in Logic at Madras Presidency College, and then, became the Professor of Philosophy at the University of Mysore. Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee, the renowned vice- chancellor of Kolkata University, offered him the King George V chair of Mental and Moral Science when Radhakrishnan was only 30 years old. During , Radhakrishnan was the vice chancellor of Andhra University. Then he worked as a professor in Eastern Religion and Ethics at Oxford University for about three years. During , he was the Vice chancellor of the Benares Hindu University. He wrote many articles and books on religion and philosophy. He delivered lectures in many countries of the world. Dr. S. RADHAKRISHNAN

During , Radhakrishnan was the Vice President, of India. In 1954, he was awarded the 'Bharat Ratna' award along with C.Rajagopalachari and C.V. Raman. During , he was the President of India. In 1969, he enjoyed a life of retirement. Radhakrishnan was a great educationalist and humanist. His birthday is celebrated as the 'Teacher's Day' all over the country, by the Indian students. On this day, they show love and respect for their respective teachers as a mark of respect to the great Indian, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who passed away in 1975.

DR. SARVEPALLI RADHAKRISHNAN

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