What is a teacher? I’ll tell you: it isn’t someone who teaches something, but someone who inspires the student to give of her best in order to discover what she already knows.” - Paulo Coelho
Chinese philosopher Confucius and Greek philosopher Aristotle are some of our earliest teachers whose influences have transcended centuries.
Aristotle has written on subjects including physics, biology, zoology, ethics, poetry, theatre, linguistics and politics. One of his more famous students is Alexander the Great.
Modern civilisations across the world today recognise teachers for their achievement in academics and their influence that traverses it. Albert Einstein who won the Nobel Prize for Physics for his explanation of the photoelectric effect, pursued research along with professorship. Fellow Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore set up the renowned Visva-Bharati University. Alumni of this school includes Nobel laureate and economist Amartya Sen, and legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray.
Meanwhile, some like Helen Keller, Maya Angelou and Booker T. Washington who were also teachers and lecturers, are recognised more for the socio-political influence they wielded.
Though Helen Keller was visually and aurally challenged, she managed to overcome her obstacles to become a respected author and political activist who campaigned for women’s suffrage. Born to a slave, Booker T. Washington pursued education to become a teacher himself and founded the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Alabama. U. S. (known as Tuskegee University). He also became an advisor to the President of the U.S. on racial issues.
American high school teacher Christa McAuliffe is a familiar name. She was the first American civilian selected to go into space in 1985, when she won NASA’s contest to take a teacher into space. Unfortunately, on January 28, 1986, she along with six other crew members were killed when the Challenger space shuttle exploded shortly after lift-off.
In more recent times, Nancie Atwell has the honour of winning the first Global Teacher Prize, also called as the ‘Nobel Prize of Teaching’, this year.
