India, July 12 -- Educators are probably playing roles in our world that are amongst the most hallowed of all. The trouble is that they themselves scarcely know it, and the rest of the world certainly doesn't. To hone, refine, nurture and even raise children, who are fledglings, into becoming hopefully mature, educated, intelligent and capable adults, is a humongous responsibility in the context of our world; even if it is mostly a collective and collaborative one. To be the angel of knowledge, wisdom, and even character building is no small mantle to don. Yet, our teachers are amongst the most lowly paid, scantily appreciated and certainly the most taken-for-granted professionals on our planet. The manner in which government school teachers and even college professors, at times, are treated, is quite appalling. The lack of sympathy that the rest of the government community feels for them is even more abysmal. Teaching staff members are often deputed for census duties, election duties, event duties, chaperoning duties etc., by the government, and their core teaching work suffers as a result. Indeed, I recall a visit by me and some colleagues to a village school once and I was mightily impressed by the carriage and conduct of one particular teacher in a classroom that we happened to invade, without warning. Thus, I was taken aback to find the same gentleman serving us cashews and green tea a little while later, in the principal's office. Needless to say, I ensured that the cashews were immediately back inside the box from which they had emerged and that the impressive educator was back in his classroom, doing what he did best. But what of the culture that our society has adopted in respect of the educator segment of society, at large? There is a need to cultivate a sense of awareness, gratitude and respectfulness in respect of the true role that teachers play, in our human cosmos. Parents of school-going children, in particular, need to be almost compelled to view and understand documentaries, podcasts and even reels about the essential place that teachers hold in our framework. Young parents of today must understand that they themselves, and generations before them were chiselled, so to say, by educationists who embodied many vaunted qualities of head and heart. Today's parents tend to mollycoddle their young ones so much that even a scratch on the knee or exposure to the sun for 'two whole minutes' is taken as a transgression of the ultra-sheltered manner in which they intend to bring up their progeny. My wife, Neena, often tells me that the toddlers in her pre-school are bubbling bundles of boundless joy. But their parents often give the impression that they could do with some spoonfuls of the best medicine, which is still laughter, themselves. In fact, if we were to accord a more elevated stature to our educationists, our society would itself improve by leaps and bounds. Increased salaries, greater appreciation and far more recognition are needed for educators to come into their own. It is all very well to say that teachers have shorter working hours than office-goers, but what of the numerous copies to check and evaluations to undertake? In fact, during Covid times, the worldwide teaching community had to metamorphose itself into playing the roles of online instructors, without preamble, almost overnight. College professors often have to play a very sensitive role in handling the mental wellness problems that denizens of gen Z are undergoing these days. Enhanced expectations of parents and inordinate levels of social media-induced comparisons, have increased the vulnerability of young minds, which might buckle under the enormous pressures of today. A UNESCO global report on teachers emphasizes the need for greater participation in decision-making, of teachers, at all levels of the education spectrum. "I touch the future, I teach," said Christa McAuliffe. And although the word 'touch' has taken on touchy connotations in this era, she made a very valid point. Each one of us, this writer included, can be very grateful to the teachers who somehow pegged away at our infirmities and shaped us into what we are today. What would we have been otherwise? I shudder to even think of answering that poser....