When one thinks of the hard work, the self-sacrifice, and the consecration required, one may seriously ask, “Does it pay to be a teacher?
The teaching profession is one of the oldest of all the learned professions known in the civilization. The teacher in this country, is a bulwark of democracy and shares the great task of education, therefore the teacher’s main duty is to build democracy and keeping the flame of knowledge in society.
The greatest work that can engage the thought and invite the activity of man is the education of the young. Upon the education of the young, in its broadest sense, depends the future welfare of the individual, the home, the community, the nation and the world. We being the teachers are the high priest of the future. Upon us, more than on anyone else, rest the responsibility of education. While teaching is a great responsibility, it is also a great opportunity because teaching is the noblest of all human endeavors, the greatest of all privileges, and the most sacred duty that one can undertake.
No one should enter in this work without an appreciation of the great opportunity. It offers for high service and gratifying achievements, and without a sense of the responsibility involve in being a leader and instructor of the young children. Every teacher ought to prefer his calling and have the spirit of devotion. Teaching in the right sort makes one aware of what lies most deeply in the minds and hearts of people, what they a core for most, what foe distresses them, what they have fight against. Perhaps it is fear, or shyness or a sense of incompatibility. It’s wonderful just to tell them that they are not alone, that we all fight against fears, insecurity and loneliness. To be able to say this with conviction to someone in trouble or bewilderment is one of the greatest reward of teaching.
It is a great joy to see children grow, to witness their development in physical, mental or intellectual and in moral beauty. It is the keenest delight of us to find that our pupils can do today, what they could not do yesterday, to see them grow and expand through our assistance. It is also a greatest satisfaction of us to note the prosperity of our former pupils, some far more successful than us, and to be conscious that in some measure we have contributed to their success. Thus, in the very life of the school we are daily reaping rich rewards for our fruit of our labor. Rich memories of bygone days, of lives inspired, of encouragement given of men and women are surely a great reward for us when we feebleness of old age creeps upon us, because happiness lies not in the mere possession of money: it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.
We are the living heroes of the new generations, because we are the producers of good, the interpreters of the past, the preservers of the present, and the determiners of the future. Dedication and willingness to serve will determine our true value to the community and to the nation. This is the essence of being a teacher.