From Classroom to Community

By Mushtaq Hurra 

Prophet Mohammad Salallahu-alaihi-wasalam has said, “I have been descended as a teacher.” This Hadith is enough to document the worth of teachers in a human society. If there had been no teachers on the planet earth, the divine commandments, heavenly decrees and moral values would have been confined to skies and angels only. Nectar of knowledge would have been miles away from human comprehension. People would have been naive and ignorant. Cattle and man would have been standing in the same queue. I mean, the world would have been dull and boring. Beauties and gifts of nature would have been hidden from human perception. But, God chose people called teachers to shower His blessings upon humanity. 

The teachers lead us from darkness to light. They are the bridges between God and men, as they teach the latter to tread the path of God. Teachers are the people who have broken the shackles of subjugation, and have helped nations in obtaining freedom from the yokes of slavery. History bears testimony to the fact that great revolutionists, prophets, messiahs and reformers of the world have either been teachers or have been disciples of great teachers.  They are the architects of human destiny. They have been instrumental in the rise of nations and societies.  MohammadiArabiSalallahu-alaihi-wasalam – the embodiment of mercy and love, is the universal teacher whose doctrines and values possess the relevance even after some 1500 years.This world would have been a hub of ignorance, superstition and darkness, if there had been no teachers.

According to Quran, Allah became the first teacher of Adam Aliahi-salam, then angels taught Him the names of various things.Thus, this noble profession has descended from the heavens. Since times immemorial, the legacy of teaching has passed from one generation to the other, and this continuity will never cease. A nation is not great by its armies, wealth and natural resources, but,  by its dedicated and honest teachers. Here, I am reminded of Ralph Waldo Emerson who says that not gold but only men can make a people great and strong. If a nation has plenty of natural resources, but has no required work force to harness and exploit those resources, means that nation can’t tread the path of progress and prosperity. Great teachers alone can give a nation the honest, dedicated and skilled workforce to exploit its natural resources to the best possible levels, otherwise the rich resources are in vain.

Man has explored new vistas of life. From the bottoms of the earth to the heights of skies, man has touched and explored unimaginable peaks of success. We have advanced in every field of life to exceedingly high levels. If all this human progress will be put to one phrase, it won’t be science and technology but it would undoubtedly be ” Teaching and Teachers. ” It is the teacher who develops critical thinking and inquisitive nature in a student. A teacher not only transfers the treasure of knowledge to the next generation, but constructs its fate within the four walls of classroom. It is the teacher who enables us to think rationally.

Besides the development of scientific temper among children, it is the teacher who works hard for our social, moral and economic reformation. In the recent times, we have been facing the pangs of growing indecency and lewdness. Moral and human values are crumbling. People have fallen to the lowest of low which has been termed  by the holy Quran as “Asfala-Saafileen.”  This is the state where man is a man by looks only, and sans the character of man. Here, the role of a teacher increases by manifolds. Only a teacher can liberate us from the clutches of indecency and value deterioration. Teachers can revive the legacy of moral uprightness and honesty in our people. Changing times have made this profession more challenging, and has added a lot to its domain. A teacher must not forget to impart values and virtues to children in particular and to society in general.

Thus, teacher should not confine himself to the boundaries of educational institutions rather the realms of his domain must be very vast. Our Teachers can’t afford to produce robots from colleges and universities who can work like machines albeit ethics and morals. Thus, teachers have been playing the great role of social reformers , and shall continue to play it till the day of resurrection to make the world a better place to live in. I strongly believe that only our teachers can take us out from the tumultuous situations and provide us the much needed salvation. Unfortunately, the teacher in our part of globe is not at par with the teachers of other regions of the world. Our teacher is not lacking intellectual mettle and capabilities, but the ineffective system in vogue forces him to lag behind. The teacher in advanced countries is a 24*7 teacher while as our teacher is a 10 to 4 teacher. The former is not worried about any requirement, amenity or comfort like food, shelter, adequate remuneration and other necessities of life, while as the latter is treated as a simple government servant.

Thus, the intellectual acumen of our teachers never reaches to its zenith. The former spends his spare time in libraries while as the latter is seen busy in non-academic jobs. Here, our teachers should break the stereotype, and should equip themselves with changing pedagogies and techniques. They should develop the habit of reading which can enhance and sharpen their capacities. Laggards and shirkers should quit otherwise they will be facing tough times ahead. Our teachers must acquaint themselves with the changing and latest trends in the teaching-learning process. 

Though we don’t have libraries and reading rooms at par with developed countries, we must not leave it to authorities only. We must buy our own books and must make use of e-books to overcome the deficit. We must encourage group readings at Mohalla and village level.  A tragic irony has struck our part of the globe  that teachers don’t consider themselves learners. This attitude hinders the academic performance of our teachers which ultimately hits our children badly who are supposed to assume important positions in the tomorrow of our society. Teachers lay the foundation of a nation. An engineer, an administrator, a leader, a successful parent and a doctor is shaped up by the teacher. The teacher is a gardener who must be honest, dedicated, trained, resourceful and careful enough to deliver his duties in the best possible way.

• The author is a Teacher and Columnist

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