Selfless teachers who put their students first

Teaching is a labor of love and real teachers are the ones who put the needs and interests of their students ahead of theirs. They are selfless and make sacrifices to bring a smile to the face of their students. After all, they are supposed to be a role model for students, and society at large, to promote humanity.

Hamshahri Ayeh, a monthly, has conducted an interview with one of these selfless teachers who tries his best to cheer up an ailing student of his. The following is the translation of part of the interview:

A teacher serving in a rural area has gone to great lengths to help a student of his. With fatherly love, he pledged to stand by his ailing student when Soheil lost his hair as a result of chemotherapy.

In his bid to help his student, Kazem Jafari even sold his minor Hajj permit [a permit that allows Muslims to set out on the most important spiritual trip of their lifetime]. That is not all; the teacher now wants to spend all his pension savings on the treatment of Soheil.

The teacher is not pleased about the fact that his measures have found their way to news media, yet he is hopeful that it will raise awareness and invite more benefactors to help patients like his student.

On the reason behind his efforts, Jafari said, to him there is no difference between his children and students, asking how a father could stay indifferent to his child who is fighting cancer.

When asked if his family ever opposed his efforts to help his student, he said, “When I told my family about Soheil and that I wanted to help, they expressed delight. I have two sons and have always advised them to pull out all stops to help others.”

Jafari is not alone in his selfless efforts to help his students. Mohammad Ali Mohammadian, who teaches second graders at a primary school in Marivan, Western Iran, made headlines at home and abroad when he shaved his head to show solidarity with his student who had loss his hair after undergoing chemotherapy.

The 45-year old teacher who has been teaching for 23 years believes that a teacher should be there for his/her students all the time.