Teachers, the world over have the power to mould and remould the lives of young people in a bid to create a society worth living in. This has led to the coinage of the popular saying that "teachers rewards is in heaven". Unfortunately, this statement has often been repeated over time and again to the point that teachers are no longer celebrated as expected but they are rather left to their own appraisal rather than giving them a resounding ovation towards their contributions to the process of national development. More importantly, this statement also triggers the raising of some humble and legitimate questions:what happens to a teacher who has failed to go to heaven? :Is there the assurance that the teacher is automatically going to heaven?
Progressing, it is not out of place for one to opine that the reward of teachers can not be enjoyed only in heaven. Apart from the meagre salaries teachers take home , they are also exposed to a wide variety of knowledge. In the exercise of discharging their mandate as teachers, they are exposed to children from diverse social and cultural backgrounds.They are open to the rare opportunities of learning from these children in many ways including their cultures. This finds corroboration in the view of the Cognitivists that children are not 'tabula rasas'. More so the teacher is widely regarded by their students as the reservoir of knowledge and the store house of knowledge. In that sense, teachers usually go into lifelong learning to widen their own horizons so as to live up to these standards and expectations. Ultimately they acquire a lot of knowledge and reasoning that could be translated into solving his or her own problems on earth here.
In the same line of reasoning, teachers considers nothing more rewarding than knowing and seeing the evidence that they have made an impact on someone's life or multiple lives. As a result, this feeling of pride drives them safely in the course of performing their duties as teachers. Teachers, according to Henry Adams, "affects eternity;he can never tell where his influence stops". In other words, teachers are very influential, as no one, not even a teacher, can say with certainty the extent his work can go. This, to many teachers is valuable than materials rewards.
Similarly, to many teachers, it is so rewarding to go to work and be surrounded by love all around you as this can wear a smile on your face. Not only that, the showering of praises and appreciations unto teachers by students and parents because of the role teachers play in changing the destiny of their wards is the favorite reward of some teachers. Against this backdrop, teachers are mostly accessible to help any where they find themselves.
Furthermore, the observation and celebration of the World's Teachers Day on every 5th October also soothes the nerves of teachers to some extent. Teachers Day is an occasion that pays tribute to teachers and acknowledges the relentless services and contributions of teachers to education and national development. The day, also tends to resolve some of the issues regarding the profession and hence tries to attract the brightest young minds towards the profession. In the height of events on the said day, prizes are given to hardworking and dedicated teachers across the globe. For example, the UNESCO-Hamdan bin Rashid Al-Mahtoum prize for outstanding Teachers was created in 2008. The prize is generously supported by Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al-Mahtoum of the United Arab Emirates.
To crown it all, the saying that the Teachers reward is in heaven can not be relegated to the background because teachers cannot be fully compensated for the services they have rendered over time. However, it is clear, from the foregoing that the rewards of Teachers is also on earth here.
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