Not an apple but a beautiful flower for the staff at Aalam Vizthuthugal Preschool
Happy Teachers Day!
Every year on Teachers Day children honor their teachers for shaping not just their intellect, but their character and values. In their classrooms teachers are creating the next generation of citizens. Teachers are shaping the future of India.
At the preschools, “teacher” refers to all staff, acknowledging the role each plays in modeling values of care, respect, commitment, and hard work. Staff from all the Kodaikanal schools gather to see how the site development is coming for Peach Tree Preschool’s new home.
Teachers empower and educate. The staff creates daily opportunities for the children to become comfortable with speaking and performing in public. The ability to speak for one’s self and others is the first step in taking ownership of one’s basic human rights. By necessity, the staff have found their own voice; now they’re teaching students to find theirs. We credit the entire staff with one of the finest transformations brought by the preschools; giving voice to a marginalized community.
In a drawing by a teacher, Dr. Sarvepalli Radharkrishnan watches over the children. A renowned philosopher and scholar, he also served as India’s second president, 1962-1967. When asked by his students if they could celebrate his 77th birthday, he instead choose to honor all teachers. Teachers Day is celebrated all over India on his birthday, September 5th.
The staff at Helping Preschool sport new blue sweaters with very handy pockets.
The long-serving staff at the preschools are also long-time friends and colleagues. All staff share a sense of purpose: to care for the bodies, minds, and spirits of the children they cherish. In turn, the children revere and emulate their teachers. Throughout their education they see each other frequently in their villages. Students know their teachers expect great things of them and are keeping an eye on them long after preschool. Former students often invite staff to their weddings, and when the babies come, they bring them to their own first teachers to hold and admire.
Dr. Radharkrishnan would have appreciated. seeing children from the poorest village families gathered here, to honor their teachers. These little students are starting an educational journey with the aspiration and drive to leave poverty behind. It is with thanks to the teachers who are setting them on the way.
I touch the future. I teach.
–Christa Mcauliffe
When educating the minds of our youth, we must not forget to educate their hearts.
–HH the Dalai Lama
The staff at Aalam Vizhuthugal welcome guests on Independence Day.
The staff opens India’s rich history and traditions to the students, their parents, and their communities. While the children are helping to prepare the celebrations and performances, they are absorbing India’s incomparable heritage. The preschool teachers expand the children’s world, both their past and their future.
and where are all those sweets on a tray going?
To the children, of course!
