Teachers toil, sometimes in difficult conditions, to transform and mould society in a social service profession. They are like second parents and social instruments with responsibilities to the community. Many of us bear the indelible imprints of our teachers. Armed with diplomacy, patience and perseverance, a teacher praises, admonishes or encourages pupils to navigate on the right path of life against all odds on the high seas. He/she is motivated by the personal satisfaction of helping pupils realise their potential. In later years, he/she experiences immense joy and takes great pride in their accomplishments. On the roads, in offices or social functions, ex-pupils as a token of gratitude and affection stop the teacher to express their priceless appreciation and recall nostalgically the good old days spent under his/her pastoral care; though some may shun him/her out of shame for their reprehensible acts.

The teacher inculcates in pupils the desire to learn. He/she senses their interests, recognises their needs and makes their learning purposeful. Teaching is not an end in itself but a means to an end aimed at developing human personalities. A teacher’s words or acts can mark a child for life for better or worse. A successful teacher finds ways to build the self-image of children so that they can develop a strong interest in learning. In lower classes, spoon-feeding can prove effective and rewarding but in upper forms pupils must be taught to develop a critical mind to evaluate issues in their own perspectives.

Discipline lays the foundation for enjoyable and profitable learning: there are few fortunate teachers who have only to walk into a classroom to create order and command deep respect: an atmosphere conducive to good learning will prevail automatically while there are others whose entry is a signal for chaos and the class is transformed into pandemonium.

A teacher has to upgrade his/her skills with the ‘knowledge explosion’, otherwise he/she will become obsolete. He/she must keep abreast with new learning trends and new communication systems. He must not confine him/herself to ‘chalk and talk’. A good teacher is a great psychologist able to detect and advise on pupils’ mental blocks. Nowadays, with many social evils besetting us, he/she must identify emotional disturbances in pupils with problems like truancy, broken family, battered mother, drunken father, bellicose neighbours, materialism, and antisocial behaviour. He/she must manage the world of frustration, pent-up feelings and twilight zones of adolescents. Pupils are always ready to work to the best of their ability for a teacher they respect. They want to please him/her and they know that he/she has at heart their interests. The teacher can instil a love of the subject taught.

In an industrial society, teaching has become most challenging. Values have altered drastically and changes are so fast that we find ourselves drifting apart. Children gripped by a materialistic mentality are too pampered nowadays: they know only their rights but forgo entirely their duties. In some schools, the teacher finds him/herself at a loss without any measures to combat insolence, truancy and rebellion. Teaching has become demanding and stressful and it is not surprising to see a number of teachers suffering from stress and cardiac problems. Yet people from outside envy the long holidays of teachers! Teachers are the unsung heroes of our time.

<B>Philip Li Ching Hung</B>