One more Teachers’ Day passes by. Bouquets are handed, selfies are clicked, quotes are shared on WhatsApp groups—and yet, once the garlands wither, the hard questions remain unanswered. What does it mean to be a teacher today? Why is the profession losing the respect it once commanded? And what urgent steps must we take to restore dignity and safety in classrooms across India?

In recent weeks, troubling videos have emerged of students manhandling, threatening, or physically assaulting teachers. These clips ricochet across social media, provoke outrage, and then vanish—until the next one surfaces. As an educator and clinician, I want to separate signal from noise: violence against teachers is not the norm, but it is serious, it is harmful, and it is preventable. Treating it as “just the times we live in” is a moral and policy failure.

But to address it honestly, we must also reflect on the privileges and responsibilities of the teaching profession, the qualities that society should expect from teachers, and the systemic supports that teachers deserve as human beings with families, health needs, and vulnerabilities.

The Privileges of a Teacher

Teaching is one of the few professions that shapes the moral, emotional, and intellectual fabric of society. A teacher holds the privilege of:

• Guiding impressionable minds at their most formative stage.
• Instilling values alongside parents, becoming a second pillar of moral authority.
• Witnessing the transformation of children into responsible citizens.

But privilege carries expectation. The respect teachers command is inseparable from the quality of their practice and the dignity of their conduct.

When Teachers Lose Acceptance

Why are some teachers not receiving respect—from students, parents, or even society? A hard truth: it is not only because children are changing, but also because the quality of teachers has eroded in many contexts.

• Teachers who lack emotional balance, who cannot handle classroom challenges with maturity, struggle to sustain authority.
• Without the ability to understand human behaviour holistically—to conceive life’s complexity and respond with calm empathy—teachers lose the trust of their pupils.
• A profession chosen as a last resort, without passion, will always betray itself in the classroom.

Before entering this profession, every aspiring teacher should ask:

• Am I patient?
• Can I handle anger without retaliation?
• Do I genuinely enjoy guiding young people?
• Am I ready to keep learning about psychology, behaviour, and society?

Recruiting authorities must also rise to this responsibility. Assessment must go beyond degrees and certificates. Institutions need robust evaluation frameworks that measure a teacher’s emotional stability, social empathy, passion, and ability to connect with diverse children.

Beyond AI: Why Teachers Matter

Artificial Intelligence may mimic lectures, generate lesson plans, and even evaluate written work. But what it cannot do is instill values. Only teachers can read the anxiety in a child’s eyes, sense the silence of loneliness, or notice the subtle signs of neglect. A good teacher requires 360-degree awareness of human behaviour—something no machine can replicate.

This is why violence against teachers cannot be normalized. If we continue to weaken teachers—by failing to recruit quality educators, by ignoring their health, and by undermining their authority—our children lose not only guides but also moral anchors.

The Often-Ignored Reality: Teacher Well-Being

We must also look at the other side: teachers are human beings, with families and fragile bodies.

• Many stand for hours, straining their voices, and return home to household duties. Prolonged standing, loud speech, and inadequate rest lead to back pain, varicose veins, throat problems, and burnout.
• Teachers juggle their own emotional and physical health with family responsibilities, yet are expected to show up as role models every morning.
• When we evaluate teachers, we must also ask: Are we giving them the conditions to thrive?

Respect for teachers requires structural changes: regular health check-ups, voice care workshops, ergonomic classrooms, and family-friendly leave policies.

Why This Cannot Be Minimised

Safety and dignity for teachers is not optional. Without it:

• Retention suffers. Talented teachers leave, especially from government and rural schools.
• Learning collapses. Fear and disrespect corrode the climate of curiosity.
• Civic values erode. If children learn that disagreement can be settled with aggression, society pays the price.

Assaulting a teacher is not an “incident of the day.” It is a line crossed—against learning, against community, against our children’s own future.

But solutions must be two-sided:

• Schools and governments must protect and empower teachers.
• Teachers themselves must meet the profession’s sacred responsibility with passion, psychological maturity, and holistic awareness.

The classroom is not only a place of instruction; it is a laboratory of humanity. If we act with clarity—recruiting the right teachers, supporting their well-being, setting boundaries for students, and honouring the dignity of the profession—we can reclaim it.

Most students want safety and respect. Most parents want the same. Most teachers wake up every morning willing to make both possible. Let us give them the systems—and the societal spine—to do it.