Speech on Teachers' Day

Good morning, respected teachers and dear friends. Today is Teachers' Day, the birthday of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, a great teacher who became the President of India. Teachers do more than finish the syllabus. They notice when we are sad, they believe in us when we do not, and they correct us because they care. Dear teachers, we may forget a formula, but we will never forget how you made us feel. On behalf of all the students, thank you. Happy Teachers' Day!

Respected Principal, our dear teachers and my friends, good morning. Today the students have taken over the stage, and I have been given the happy job of saying what every student here feels.

We celebrate Teachers' Day on 5 September, the birthday of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. He was a scholar and a teacher long before he became the President of India. It is said that when his students wished to celebrate his birthday, he asked that the day be observed in honour of all teachers instead. That one wish tells us what kind of teacher he was.

Friends, think of a potter. The potter takes plain clay, wets it, turns it and shapes it with steady hands. When the pot is weak in one place, the potter supports it from inside and taps it from outside. Our teachers do the same with us. The tap from outside is the red ink in our notebooks and the "see me after class". The support from inside is the quiet word, "I know you can do better."

Our teachers arrive before us and leave after us. They carry home bundles of our answer sheets. They remember which child is afraid of maths and which one has not eaten breakfast. They celebrate our small victories as if they were their own. And they do all this for class after class, year after year, while we move on and forget to look back.

Dear teachers, we are sorry for the homework we did not do and the noise we should not have made. We promise to try harder. One day, when we do something worthwhile in life, a part of it will belong to you.

On behalf of every student of [School Name], thank you for your patience, your scolding and your love. Happy Teachers' Day!

आदरणीय शिक्षकगण और प्यारे साथियो, सुप्रभात। आज शिक्षक दिवस है, डॉ. सर्वपल्ली राधाकृष्णन का जन्मदिन। शिक्षक केवल पाठ नहीं पढ़ाते, वे हमें जीना सिखाते हैं। जब हम हार मानते हैं, तब वे हम पर भरोसा करते हैं। जब हम ग़लती करते हैं, तब वे प्यार से सुधारते हैं। प्रिय शिक्षको, हम सूत्र भूल सकते हैं, पर आपका स्नेह कभी नहीं भूलेंगे। सभी विद्यार्थियों की ओर से आपको धन्यवाद और शिक्षक दिवस की हार्दिक शुभकामनाएँ।