We yearn to learn from a teacher. In an ideal world, that is possible, or at least in the movies, it is not difficult to sympathize with or even adore teachers. Think of Mr. Miyagi (played by Pat Morita) in the Karate Kid or Henry Jones (acted by Harrison Ford) in the Indiana Jones series. Many of us grew up admiring these heroic characters and only a demented mind would disagree that both Miyagi-sensei and Professor Jones represent something that is noble and right in civil society. We want to emulate these characters and it is not because they symbolize immense wealth or near absolute political power — Miyagi and Jones had none of these. The reason seems to be our innate recognition that teachers are invaluable in human societies — they impart knowledge that allows us to understand ourselves better. Civilizations are shaped and enriched by teachers.
Teaching is a vocation that requires technical skill, selflessness and commitment. Every discipline from the basic sciences and mathematics to medicine and engineering, needs its own coterie of talented teachers in order to avoid stagnation and decline. Teachers ensure that skills are continuously refined and passed on to the next generation. They guarantee that specialized knowledge is shared and tested incessantly through time. To accomplish these difficult tasks, teachers often put the interest of their students first above their own even in the absence of a tenable material reward.