Happy World Teachers' Day!

Happy World Teachers’ Day!

The United Nations has designated the 5th of October to be World Teachers’ Day to commemorate the signing of the UNESCO/ILO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers in 1966, a document detailing the rights and responsibilities of teachers around the world.

Today, most especially, is a day to to thank the people who we have often times taken for granted, the people whom I am sure we have raised up fists to behind their backs for giving us too much to do, the people who we may never have noticed were always there for us in the good and bad times, the people who have not only seen us grow, but who were actually the reasons for our growth – our teachers. And before I even begin the rest of the content of this blog post, I hope you indulge me by letting me thank all the teachers who have made an impact in my life by mentioning them by name here.

I would especially like to thank the first teacher I ever met. He taught me how to teach my small class of debate students, how to do my taxes, how to compute NIBT, how to make things on MS Powerpoint, how to type on a computer, how to sing karaoke, how to take my first steps in this world, and how to smile – my dad, who by ikigai (remember my first post?) happens to also be a teacher. Happy Teachers’ Day, Daddy! And happy birthday as well!

Reflecting on World Teachers’ Day and the impact that teachers have on all of us, I can’t help but think about one important person in all of humanity who has been the primary influence and inspiration for the educational system we have today, the patron saint of teachers, St. John Baptiste de La Salle.

Now, I don’t mean to seem cheesy, but having tried my hand at being a teacher, living with a teacher, and going to a school that is run by teachers in mission, have made me reflect on the life of St. La Salle on more than one occasion. It has also allowed me draw many a lesson from the kind of life St. La Salle lived.

Born into a wealthy family in Rheims, France, Fr. de La Salle was a man of culture, status, and class. But, despite his wealth, he had a heart for the poor and underprivileged, so much so that when he was approached by Adrian Nyel, a French lay educator, who asked for help to build a school for the poor, Fr. de La Salle immediately jumped on the opportunity to, not only fund the endeavor, but to oversee its completion as well. This began his life-long mission to teach.

Over the years, Fr. de La Salle recruited and trained lay men to become teachers, all the while supporting and funding their education and the education of their students who could not afford to go elsewhere. His efforts were met with resistance, even from within the Roman Catholic Church, especially for not employing the help of priests, as what was custom in 17th-century France. But, St. La Salle devoted his life to the plight of the poor, employing all means necessary, even resigning from his canonry, to deliver to them excellent education, in a style revolutionary to the time.

St. La Salle, together with his teachers, established the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, also known as the De La Salle Brothers. Like priests, they took a vow of chastity, poverty, and obedience, but unlike the priests of their time, they dedicated their lives to teaching others.

Eventually the De La Salle Brothers established schools all over the world, and, as you already know, have even found themselves on the shores of the Philippine Islands.

St. John Baptiste de La Salle was canonized by Pope Leo XIII in 1900, and was proclaimed by Pope Pius XII in 1950 to be the patron saint of teachers, for living his life in the service of others through education.

I believe THIS is what it means to be a teacher. Like St. La Salle, our teachers have to give so much of themselves to their vocation. To St. La Salle, it was his family wealth, his canonry, his reputation, his LIFE, everything that he used to know and love, so that he may give to the others. To our teachers, it is, sometimes literally, their blood, sweat, and tears. To be a teacher means late nights and early mornings of rowdy pupils who can either barely keep awake in their class, or simply cannot sit still. To be a teacher means endless frustrations over students being unable to understand the lesson, doubts over their ability to communicate what has to be learnt, and fervent prayers for each one in that class, that they may finally, hopefully, comprehend. To be a teacher means investing, not only your time and talent, but your emotions, your heart, your spirit, in the hopes that, someday, your students will become men and women who will help change this world for the better. And, most of the time, being a teacher means being cursed, being ridiculed, and worst, being forgotten. It is truly a thankless job.

This World Teachers’ Day, I hope we take the time to remember the teachers in our life. But, more than that, I believe the best reward we can give to our teachers is to be the change-makers this world needs, to become better than how they remember us to be, and as St. John Baptiste de La Salle wills us to pray, that we “continue O my God to do all my actions for the love of you.”