May 1, 2016

To all the teachers of Bhutan.....

May 2nd marks the birth anniversary of our third king Jigme Dorji Wangchuck who insightfully played indispensable role in shaping Bhutan through modern education. And for all his worthiness and unmatched timeless deeds, the day is celebrated as TEACHER’S DAY in Bhutan. To ‘The architect of modern Bhutan’, we owe you a boundless gratitude.

On this special day, I wish all our teachers a happy teacher’s day.

It’s no denying that a teacher is an artist who inspires creativity, a constant warrior relentless in pursuit of a better world and a steadfast surrogate parents committed to the lives of countless souls.

I am well aware of sacrifices and compromises every teacher make just to keep going the lamp of learning in every child. It has been my three enriching years into the world of teaching coupled with bitter sweet emotional state. And the most beautiful feeling I realize today is the learning I pursued in every moment of my waking hours to keep my learners inspired. At the end, it was comforting to see my hard work pay in a form of success and bettered human beings.

My humble gratitude also goes out to teachers dotted far across the wilderness who are committing day in and day out to bring the best in our children’s lives keeping every personal chores apart. I know how grueling it is to sit for another two or three hours and prepare for the next day when you are already beaten by the day’s activities. I admit to the fact that teaching is not a cup of tea as others put it.

Moreover, it is not just students but the entire society that benefits out of your hard work. So dear teachers let us not leave the task unfulfilled. Together we will push and add wings in the lives of students.

Even as I write this little note, I can already feel the air of celebrations and a song that almost all the schools in Bhutan will dance to as an ice breaker today. I can picture the adages and catchy literary works dancing on the lips of some students ready to pounce the mic, let burst and garner rounds of applauds from fellow mates. Some would even be up by this wee hours thronged with excitements.

How I wish I was the part of rare jubilations.

I take this time out to remind all our students of their purpose in school. Work hard and be curious because even a falling apple has the power to enlighten the world. Praise not your teachers with exorbitant gifts on this day but with punctuality and readiness to imbibe from them anytime.

As I reluctantly put end here, let me leave some lines for our industrious teachers:
No matter how digitalized the world become, the joy of learning from a teacher can never be beaten by anything.

Let us consume ourselves to light them. Let us put in efforts to inspire them. But Let us not forget to celebrate success together even its decades later.

Best regards
Pelden Nima
Graduate school of bioagricultural science
Nagoya university, Japan.