Srinagar, Sept. 8 -- No one remembers the exact day they learned to read. But almost everyone remembers the teacher who taught them. That asymmetry, between the forgettable moment and the unforgettable person, tells us something essential about teaching. A teacher leaves behind something that cannot be easily measured: the confidence to try, the discipline to persist, the curiosity to ask, or sometimes simply the belief that one is capable of more. Thus, teaching cannot be classified as anything less than an art.

The National Awards to Teachers, conferred each year by the Hon'ble President of India, honour a chosen few whose contribution has risen above the rest. Nonetheless, in every corner of the country, in classrooms, skill labs, pol...