Instruments of Hope

Every 5th of October, the world pauses to celebrate World Teachers’ Day, a day when we honour the men and women whose vocation is to form minds and touch hearts.

When I think of teachers, I don't just see them in classrooms. Every one of us is a teacher: parents teach their children at home; siblings teach their siblings; and everyone who shares information and helps others thrive is a teacher. Teaching is beyond schools and academics.

Parents as First Teachers

Parents are a child’s first teachers, and the home is a child’s first classroom. A child learns basic skills in life from the family. A child learns about God’s love through the embrace and guidance of parents and the values that are practiced within the family. A child learns good manners at home, and these are tools that children use for life.  

Families that pray together before meals, siblings that share their things, and everyone practicing kindness and forgiveness in everyday life teach a child that these small acts are important and that these are the things that actually matter in life.

As a parent, it is my responsibility to prepare my child before she takes her first step into classrooms and the outside world. This was my mindset when I authored books about good manners to help other parents.

Teachers in Today’s Asia

In today’s rapidly changing society, the role of teachers is more critical, especially with social media pressures, consumer-driven identities, and a fragmented moral landscape. Teachers must not only convey knowledge; they must guide young people to navigate life’s complexities with wisdom and integrity.

When I taught in China, my students were curious about the outside world, so I took it upon myself to open their minds about other people and other cultures. I showed them how values are the same everywhere, that good is good, and that bad is bad.

While technology can teach facts and skills, only human teachers can impart the beauty of courtesy, the strength of patience, and the joy of generosity. These are virtues that allow societies to flourish, these bring people together, and these are values that must remain for life.

Role of Catechists and Christian Education

In Sunday schools, catechists explain the doctrines of the Catholic Church, serve as role models, and create opportunities for children to serve God and to encounter Jesus in the parish.

Catechists are teachers of faith who are responsible for unveiling God’s presence in our world. They prepare our children for the sacraments they have to experience. They encourage prayer, and they help children see life through the lens of the Gospel.  

I am a product of Christian education. I attended schools run by nuns, and I can attest that the simple Bible stories I learned as a child have endured long after the classroom sessions are over. Lessons about forgiveness, justice, and charity have become my guiding principles in my own family, my workplaces, and the communities I live in. Even as I moved and lived in different countries with people from different faiths, my Catholic faith has remained intact, and I show others what it is to be a follower of Jesus.  

Jesus as the Model Teacher

For teachers everywhere, including our priests who preach, Jesus provides the model of patience, humility, and perseverance. He reminds us that teaching is not about prestige or authority but about service. He taught through words and through example. He taught anywhere and everywhere, and His lessons were not confined to scrolls or lectures but were embodied in acts of compassion, service, and truth.

Jesus listened before He spoke, and his method of teaching was relational—He knew His disciples by name, understood their struggles, and met them where they were. More than anything, He taught with love, a love so radical that it transformed lives and continues to do so today.

As a speaker to pilgrims who visit the Church of Immaculate Conception, Port Dickson in Malaysia for the Jubilee Year, I look to Jesus as a teacher and speak as an act of hope. 

Every presentation is a statement of faith. I believe in the goodness that lies within every person. I believe in the promise of tomorrow. I believe that God is at work in the lives we nurture. In a world often clouded by uncertainty, everyone’s role as teachers is more vital than ever.

When we follow Christ’s example, we become a teacher who patiently guides a struggling student until he finds confidence. Or a parent who teaches a child to pray before meals, planting seeds of gratitude. Or a catechist who listens to a child’s innocent question about God and answers with honesty and gentleness. These small, everyday acts often leave the deepest impressions. Teachers may not always see the fruits of their labour immediately, but years later, the testimony will come. When children realise that the teachings from parents, teachers, priests, and other people are the same, the message is powerful. Faith is not a theory to be memorized but a way of life to be embraced.

On this World Teachers’ Day, I stand with parents, teachers, catechists, priests, and everyone spreading the Good News and believe that teaching is among the most powerful ways to transform the world. Guided by the example of Jesus, the greatest Teacher of all, we continue to form generations who will carry the torch of truth, kindness, and faith today and into the future.

(Clara Guzman is a freelancer based in Malaysia. She is the author of a six-book series on good manners for children, published by St. Paul’s.)