Other States - Puducherry   

“Great teachers create great citizens”

— Photo: T. Singaravelou

Students dressed up like Mahatma Gandhi, poet Bharati and Mother Theresa greet former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in Puducherry on Wednesday.

PUDUCHERRY: It was a special day for students of Pope John Paul II College of Education as they had an opportunity for not only interacting with former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam but also celebrating his 77th birthday on Wednesday. As loud cheers and applauses welcomed Mr. Kalam, he spoke to the students on the essential qualities of teachers and answered a few questions from them.

“Teachers create beautiful minds. The best learning happens when teachers infuse creative learning ability in students and make it part of a lifelong quest for knowledge.”

Recalling his days as student in school and college, he said great teachers created great citizens. He went on to speak about a few teachers who made a mark in his life – Muthu Iyer at the Rameswaram Panchayat Elementary School, Siva Subramania Iyer in Class V and Fr. Chinnadurai at St. Joseph’s College, Tiruchi.

“My teacher Siva Subramania Iyer’s class on how birds fly instilled in me that my career has something to do with flights and I went on to become an aeronautical and rocket scientist and space technologist,” he fondly remembered.

Schools and colleges should have a lecture given by great teachers every week on civilisation, heritage derived from the value system, to elevate young minds to love the country and other human beings, he said.

Coming up with a 11-point oath to the future teachers, he said teachers should love teaching. Teachers should realise that they are responsible for shaping not just students but ignited youth who are the most powerful resource on the earth, he added.

“Teachers should encourage students to ask questions and develop the spirit of enquiry so that they would blossom into creative and enlightened students,” Mr. Kalam added. Above all, he said teachers should celebrate the success of their students, he said.

Answering a question whether technology in education was important when compared to enrolling poor children in schools, he said technology was equally important to take education to children in villages through tele-education.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Construction of houses to begin in a few days
Educational channels may become part of DTH bouquet of Doordarshan
“Great teachers create great citizens”
Colleges, bus services in co-op sector planned
Quality medical care facilities should be available in villages: Kalam

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu