World Teachers Day

The world celebrates the effort and contribution of our beloved teachers on a special day set aside for them each year – the World Teachers Day. This special occasion is usually celebrated on the 5th of October every year. This is a wonderful occasion highlighting the work and life of our beloved teachers and what they do to help mold the young and to contribute to the betterment of our society and making the world a better place.

Teachers are often called our second parents, and aptly so, since they act as our parents in school. In this jurisdiction, teachers are given by law a special parental authority over their pupils and students. Teachers provide not only knowledge and wisdom, but also guidance, encouragement, and inspiration to their pupils and students as the latter journey towards becoming independent, enlightened, and contributing citizens of our country, true to what Dr. Jose Rizal said that the youth is the hope of our nation.

This hope comes with a price though. Our teachers, in part, pay this price for us. We cannot become beacons of hope without the light of knowledge and wisdom. Hope shines in us because it is the knowledge we have gained that lights this match of hope. Educated young people paint a hopeful nation. Thus, we look forward to this hopeful nation, this progressive society, because our youth today, guided and molded by their teachers, will do what is good and right when it is their time to shine.

In the Philippines, we usually celebrate World Teachers Day in our schools by having a program dedicated to our beloved teachers, i.e., giving them flowers, cards, tokens, and gifts as a sign of our gratitude for their tireless efforts in teaching and molding our young minds. In Catholic schools and institutions of learning in particular, the celebration is usually highlighted with a Holy Mass for our dear teachers. In other instances, school administrators take their teachers on a day of leisure and relaxation away from the school.

No matter the manner of celebrating, it is all done in gratitude to our beloved teachers who are indeed blessings to us and are in turn blessed themselves with unending supply of dedication, optimism, and energy regardless of the hard work they do each day. In addition, even if teachers are not rich in material terms, they are rewarded by immeasurable blessings and graces. That’s what happens when one follows in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Greatest Teacher of all.

To all teachers out there, HAPPY WORLD TEACHERS DAY and may God continue to bless you abundantly. (Atty. Grecel B. Paclipan)