C an you select a profession of good status from among the following? Doctor, engineer, lawyer, civil servant, banker, teacher, scientist, entrepreneur. Now select the noblest of them. Invariably, most of us would choose teacher, as this profession lays the groundwork for all other professions. How many of us chose this a noble profession and one of high social status? The figure would be very less. The reason for this would be that many of us equate a profession of good status as a lucrative profession. Unfortunately, the noblest teacher profession of the past, now does not have a high status in a money-driven society. The respect and value for teachers’ profession faded away when money came into play, leading to teachers becoming service providers and students becoming customers. Before we continue, let’s answer this. Who is a good teacher? Simply put, teachers impart knowledge, shape students’ character, and helps to create responsible citizens. While we celebrate film actors, sports personalities, politicians, entrepreneurs, social activists, and influencers, why don’t we also celebrate and appreciate teachers, who act as an important pillar for the betterment of society? A question may arise that in today’s society, not all teachers are noble. Many focus mainly on earning their salaries and limit their efforts to improving students’ grades. The reasons for this shift in teachers’ attitudes toward their responsibilities are a separate topic. Nevertheless, there are some teachers in society who go the extra mile to improve the lives of their students. They do not work solely for their salary but strive to enhance students’ lives academically, socially, economically, and even spiritually. These teachers deserve to be celebrated every day, as the world needs examples to inspire others to do what is right, which is crucial in today’s times. Celebrating teachers isn’t just about holding an event once a year and ignoring them the rest of the time. True celebration means that as a society, we should show lasting respect, love, and gratitude for teachers throughout our lives. However, these values are meaningless unless put into action. What the government, organisations, and institutions can do comes later. As the saying goes, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Even the biggest revolutions have always begun with a single individual. No individual can achieve success or grow without the contribution of teachers. Unfortunately, as we grow older, we often forget their sacrifices. So, what can we do as individuals? The first way to honour teachers is by living the values and ideals they taught us. Additionally, we can use the knowledge they imparted in a righteous manner to help others within our ability. From primary school to graduation or even a doctorate, all of us have learned under many teachers. However, as we move forward in life, how many of us have reconnected with those teachers? Individually, we can each try to improve the lives of at least two teachers in any way we can. If that’s not possible, we can help others in need, even if they weren’t our teachers. The number of people we help can always be adjusted to fit our means. In today’s society, parents don’t usually encourage their children to become teachers, as many prefer other careers. This mindset needs to change. First, we must be convinced of the value of teaching and then inspire the younger generation to pursue this profession. Moreover, there is currently a shortage of teachers. If we do not produce quality teachers, the entire education system will collapse, as teachers play a crucial role. Despite the rise of AI in this technology-driven world, the need for teachers is even greater, as they are the ones who instil culture, tradition, and, most important, humanity in the younger generation. Ultimately, if someone becomes a dedicated teacher out of passion, contributing to a better society, it is the best way to honour teachers every day. In this way, the former student has now taken on the responsibility of following in their teachers’ footsteps, inspiring many others, and shaping good citizens for society. vithyamari.ms@gmail.com Published - December 22, 2024 02:16 am IST Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit
NFL world reacts with excitement, surprise, questions after Bill Belichick is hired to coach UNCAmazon and Starbucks workers are on strike. Trump might have something to do with it Amazon delivery drivers and Starbucks baristas are on strike in a handful of U.S. cities as they seek to exert pressure on the two major companies to recognize them as unionized employees or to meet demands for an inaugural labor contract. Strikes during busy periods like the holidays can help unions exercise leverage during negotiations or garner support from sympathetic consumers. One expert says he thinks workers at both companies are “desperate” to make progress before President-elect Donald Trump can appoint a Republican majority to the National Labor Relations Board. Workers at Starbucks, Amazon and some other prominent consumer brands are fighting for their first contracts after several locations voted to unionize. Farmers are still reeling months after Hurricane Helene ravaged crops across the South LYONS, Ga. (AP) — Farmers in Georgia are still reeling more than two months after Hurricane Helene blew away cotton, destroyed ripened squash and cucumbers and uprooted pecan trees and timber. Agribusinesses in other Southern states saw costly damage as well. The University of Georgia estimates the September storm inflicted $5.5 billion in direct losses and indirect costs in Georgia alone. In rural Toombs County, Chris Hopkins just finished harvesting his ravaged cotton crop and figures he lost half of it, costing him about $430,000. Poultry grower Jeffrey Pridgen in Georgia's Coffee County had four of his 12 chicken houses destroyed and others badly damaged. Farmers say more government disaster assistance is needed. Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has died Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI’s strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products. But he grew disillusioned with the company and told The Associated Press this fall he would “try to testify” in copyright infringement cases against it. Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge shows price pressures eased last month WASHINGTON (AP) — An inflation gauge that is closely watched by the Federal Reserve barely rose last month in a sign that price pressures cooled after two months of sharp gains. Prices rose just 0.1% from October to November. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, prices also ticked up just 0.1%, after two months of outsize 0.3% gains. The milder inflation figures arrived two days after Federal Reserve officials, led by Chair Jerome Powell, rocked financial markets by revealing that they now expect to cut their key interest rate just two times in 2025, down from four in their previous estimate. Albania to close TikTok for a year blaming it for promoting violence among children TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albania’s prime minister says the government will shut down video service TikTok for one year, blaming it for inciting violence and bullying, especially among children. Albanian authorities held 1,300 meetings with teachers and parents following the stabbing death of a teenager in mid-November by another teenager following a quarrel that started on TikTok. Prime Minister Edi Rama, speaking at a meeting with teachers and parents, said TikTok “would be fully closed for all. ... There will be no TikTok in the Republic of Albania.” Rama says the ban will begin sometime next year. Albanian children comprise the largest group of TikTok users in the country, according to domestic researchers. Stock market today: Wall Street rises to turn a dismal week into just a bad one NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose to turn what would have been one of the market’s worst weeks of the year into just a pretty bad one. The S&P 500 rallied 1.1% Friday to shave its loss for the week down to 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped nearly 500 points, and the Nasdaq composite gained 1%. A report said a measure of inflation the Federal Reserve likes to use was slightly lower last month than expected. It’s an encouraging signal after the Fed shocked markets Wednesday by saying worries about inflation could keep it from cutting interest rates in 2025 as much as earlier thought. Starbucks workers begin strikes that could spread to hundreds of US stores by Christmas Eve Workers at U.S. Starbucks stores have begun a five-day strike to protest a lack of progress in contract negotiations with the company. The strikes began in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle and could spread to hundreds of stores across the country by Christmas Eve. Workers at 535 of the 10,000 company-owned Starbucks stores in the U.S. have voted to unionize. The Starbucks Workers United union accuses the Seattle-based coffeehouse chain of failing to honor a commitment made in February to reach a labor agreement this year. Starbucks says the union prematurely left the bargaining table this week. It said Friday there's been no significant impact to store operations. It's beginning to look like another record for holiday travel Drivers and airline passengers without reindeer and sleighs better make a dash for it: it’s beginning to look like another record for holiday travel in the U.S. The auto club AAA predicts that more than 119 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home between Saturday and New Year’s Day. The two weekends on either side of Christmas are tempting a lot of people to head out earlier. U.S. airlines expect to have their busiest days to be Friday and Sunday this week and next Thursday, Friday and Sunday. A government shutdown that could start as soon as Saturday was not expected to immediately affect flights and airport operations. Amazon workers are striking at multiple facilities. Here's what you should know Amazon workers affiliated with the Teamsters union are on strike for a second day at seven of the company’s delivery hubs just days before Christmas. At midnight on Saturday, the Teamsters say workers at a prominent unionized warehouse in New York will also join. The union has not indicated how many employees were participating in the walkout or when it will end. The Teamsters say the workers were continuing their strike on Friday after Amazon ignored a Sunday deadline the union had set for contract negotiations. The company says it doesn’t expect the strikes taking place in Southern California, San Francisco, New York City, Atlanta, and Skokie, Illinois, to impact holiday shipments. Alabama profits off prisoners who work at McDonald’s but deems them too dangerous for parole DADEVILLE, Ala. (AP) — No state has a longer, more profit-driven history of contracting prisoners out to private companies than Alabama. Best Western, Bama Budweiser and Burger King are among the more than 500 businesses to lease incarcerated workers from one of the most violent, overcrowded and unruly prison systems in the U.S. in the past five years alone, The Associated Press found as part of a two-year investigation into prison labor. The cheap, reliable labor force has generated more than $250 million for the state since 2000 — money garnished from prisoners’ paychecks. Kelly Betts of the corrections department defended the work programs, calling them crucial to the success of inmates preparing to leave prison, though she added some of the incarcerated workers are serving life without parole.Manchester City's struggles continued as Pep Guardiola's side remarkably blew a three-goal lead to draw 3-3 with Feyenoord in the Champions League on Tuesday, while Bayern Munich beat Paris Saint-Germain to leave the French club in danger of elimination. There were also big wins for Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen, while Inter Milan went top of the standings after five games and Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski reached a century of Champions League goals. However, the biggest drama came at the Etihad Stadium, where City were cruising early in the second half with a three-goal advantage as they sought to end a run of five successive defeats in all competitions. Erling Haaland opened the scoring from a penalty just before half-time, and Ilkay Gundogan's deflected shot made it 2-0 in the 50th minute. Haaland struck again to make it 3-0, but Feyenoord's comeback began on 75 minutes when Anis Hadj Moussa took advantage of hapless defending to round goalkeeper Ederson and pull one back. Substitute Santiago Gimenez bundled in to make it 3-2 on 82 minutes and the equaliser arrived a minute from the end. Ederson was again caught out with Igor Paixao going around the goalkeeper and crossing for Slovak international David Hancko to head in. "We concede a lot of goals because we are not stable," complained Guardiola. "We lost a lot of games lately. We are fragile and of course we need a victory." It is the first time that a team has gone into the last 20 minutes of a Champions League game trailing by three goals and still avoided defeat, as the point boosts the Dutch side's hopes of progressing. City are two points outside the top eight places which offer direct qualification for the last 16, while Bayern moved above them by beating PSG 1-0 in Munich. South Korean defender Kim Min-jae scored the only goal seven minutes before half-time, heading in after goalkeeper Matvei Safonov failed to clear a corner. PSG had Ousmane Dembele sent off in the second half and the French champions have just four points, and three goals, from five games. They are a lowly 26th in the 36-team league, a point adrift of the positions which offer a place in the play-off round in February. "We need to win our last three matches, otherwise we risk being eliminated," admitted PSG coach Luis Enrique. Lewandowski notched his 100th goal in the competition with an early penalty in Barcelona's 3-0 home win over French side Brest. Dani Olmo netted midway through the second half before Lewandowski sealed Barca's win at the death, his 101st goal in the Champions League -- only Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have scored more. Inter lead the standings with 13 points, a point ahead of Barcelona and Liverpool, after a 1-0 win at home to RB Leipzig which means they are also still yet to concede a goal. Castello Lukeba's own goal made the difference at San Siro, and Leipzig are one of only three teams to have lost five games out of five. Arsenal romped to a 5-1 victory away to Sporting in Lisbon, as the Portuguese side adapt to life without coach Ruben Amorim, who has departed for Manchester United. Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Magalhaes all scored in the first half for Arsenal, before Goncalo Inacio pulled one back shortly after the restart. Bukayo Saka converted a penalty on 65 minutes after Martin Odegaard had been brought down, and Leandro Trossard headed in to seal Arsenal's win late on. Atalanta romped to a 6-1 win over rock-bottom Young Boys in Switzerland, with Mateo Retegui and Charles De Ketelaere both scoring braces. Sead Kolasinac and Lazar Samardzic also netted for the Italians, with Silvere Ganvoula getting the hosts' reply. Florian Wirtz struck twice, including a penalty, as Leverkusen crushed Red Bull Salzburg 5-0, with Alejandro Grimaldo scoring a superb free-kick and Patrik Schick and Aleix Garcia also netting. Julian Alvarez and substitute Angel Correa each scored twice and Marcos Llorente and Antoine Griezmann once as Atletico romped to a 6-0 win away to Sparta Prague. Christian Pulisic, Rafael Leao and Tammy Abraham were the scorers in AC Milan's 3-2 win at Slovan Bratislava, whose goals came from Tigran Barseghyan and Nino Marcelli. Marko Tolic saw red at the end for Slovan, who are without a point. as/nfGovernor Uba Sani has said that he is taking development to all parts of Kaduna State, in fulfilment of his pledge to run an inclusive government, anchored on equity, fairness and justice. The hovernor expressed gratitude that ‘’the people of Zone 3 have reciprocated by ensuring that peace prevails, so that there will be unhindered development.’’ Governor Sani made this remark at the 2nd edition of Southern Kaduna Festival which held at Kafanchan on Saturday, where he was the Chief Host of the event. According to him, culture plays a role in shaping identities and values, and inspiring creativity, adding that ‘’our cultural heritage is the foundation upon which we build our progress, and it is our responsibility to preserve it for future generations.’’ The governor emphasized that ‘’our administration is committed to massive transformation of rural communities, recognizing the immense potential that lies within them. ‘’We believe that by empowering rural communities, we can unlock the secrets to sustainable development, economic growth, and social prosperity,’’ he further said. Governor Sani pointed out that his administration has recorded a lot of transformative projects in the 18 months of being in office ‘’that are reshaping our communities and enhancing the quality of life for our citizens.’’ He recalled that the Kafanchan Township Roads ‘’were abandoned for many years, bringing untold hardship on the people of this area. Contractors have been fully mobilized and work is ongoing.’’ The overnor further said that his administration is constructing a 22.5km Road from Gwantu through Kibam to Godogodo, a 21.95km Road from Madauchi to Kafanchan through Madakiya, including a branch to Matsirga Waterfalls, linking Jema’a to Zangon Kataf LGAs. Governor Uba Sani said the Kaduna state government is also re-constructing a 21.85km Pambeguwa to Kauru road through Kahuta, linking Kubau to Kauru LGAs. ‘’We have installed 200 units of All-in-One Solar Street Lights across various local governments in Zone 3, illuminating our streets and enhancing safety for all.’ ‘’Alongside these infrastructural advancements, we are prioritizing agriculture, as evidenced by our distribution of fertilisers, farm inputs and agricultural implements. ‘’Additionally, we have been constructing new schools and upgrading existing ones.. We have also been carrying out massive distribution of educational materials to schools, ensuring that our children have the resources they need to thrive,’’ he added. According to the governor, ‘’the construction of the Kaduna State Vocational and Technology Skills Acquisition City at Samaru Kataf is a testament to our commitment to empowering our youths with relevant skills for the modern economy.’’ He said that the Skills City at Samaru Kataf is about 90% completed, adding that when completed, it will graduate about 12,000 trainees annually with international certification. The governor disclosed that Sir Patrick Yakowa General Hospital, Kafanchan, will be converted to a Federal Medical Center, to serve the diverse population spanning several LGAs and the neighboring states of Plateau, Nassarawa, Niger and the FCT. ‘’Upgrading it to a Federal Medical Centre will greatly improve healthcare accessibility, strengthen tertiary healthcare delivery, and provide opportunities for advanced medical training and research in the area,’’ he said. Governor Sani thanked the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa for initiating this process, adding that ‘’he brought it to my attention and we wasted no time in forwarding a formal request to the Honourable Minister for the conversion.’’ The governor said that the entire healthcare sector in Southern Kaduna, like other senatorial zones, is being remolded, upgraded and equipped to standard, adding that the projects of General Hospitals in Kafanchan, Kaura, Kachia and Sanga are almost completed. He also said that contracts have been awarded for the revitalization and upgrading of 53 Primary Healthcare Centers (PHCs) from Level 1 to Level 2 across Zone 3. ‘’We flagged off the distribution of essential medicines worth over N1 Billion last week, at Kachia LG. These essential drugs will be distributed free of charge to children, women and the elderly,’’ he recalled. The event witnessed cultural dances from the different tribes of Southern Kaduna. Governors Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang and Senator Douye Diri of Plateau and Bayelsa states respectively graced the occasion
Lehigh holds off Long Island U late, earn a 60-59 winHalfway homes: Justice should be corrective and not retributive
BALTIMORE (AP) — Wayne Bristol Jr. scored 21 points as Hampton beat Loyola (MD) 76-68 on Saturday. Bristol added 10 rebounds for the Pirates (7-5, 1-0 Coastal Athletic Association). Etienne Strothers shot 4 for 10 (1 for 3 from 3-point range) and 5 of 6 from the free-throw line to add 14 points. Richard Goods had 13 points and shot 2 of 3 from the field and 9 for 10 from the line. The Greyhounds (5-5) were led in scoring by Milos Ilic, who finished with 22 points and eight rebounds. Jordan Stiemke added 12 points for Loyola. Jacob Theodosiou also had nine points. Hampton took the lead with 7:30 to go in the first half and did not relinquish it. The score was 32-26 at halftime, with Goods racking up nine points. Hampton outscored Loyola (MD) in the second half by two points, with Bristol scoring a team-high 13 points after the break. These two teams both play Saturday. Hampton hosts Howard and Loyola visits DePaul. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by and data from . The Associated Press
Xavier tries to get right vs. Morgan State before rivalry clash
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers activated linebacker Dre Greenlaw to play Thursday night against the Los Angeles Rams for his first action since tearing his left Achilles tendon in last season's Super Bowl . Greenlaw had been practicing the past few weeks and was activated from the physically unable to perform list on Thursday. San Francisco placed offensive lineman Ben Bartch on injured reserve with an ankle injury to make room on the roster. Greenlaw was one of the emotional leaders of San Francisco's defense before the freak injury in the first half of the Super Bowl loss to Kansas City. Greenlaw bounced up and down on the sideline and then started to run onto the field with a few teammates when he collapsed holding his left leg. He was then helped off in a cart. Greenlaw was drafted in the fifth round in 2019 and emerged as one of the key defenders for San Francisco in 2022. He started 30 games the past two seasons with 247 tackles, eight tackles for loss, 10 passes defensed and three takeaways. The Niners have missed his intensity and physical play this season, especially against the run. The Rams and 49ers both promoted players from the practice squad for the game with Los Angeles adding defensive back Charles Woods and San Francisco promoting running back Ke'Shawn Vaughn. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFLLeBron James continues to prove why he’s not only an enduring basketball icon but also a social media phenomenon. In the 2024-25 season, is the , racking up an incredible 623 million views across platforms. Even at nearly 40 years old, James’s unparalleled star power shows no signs of waning, with his digital presence eclipsing younger stars and cementing his position as the league’s most influential figure. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Thanks for the feedback.