'Mother Gives Birth to Child, Teacher Gives Life,' PM Tells Students: Highlights

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed students across the country ahead of Teacher's Day in New Delhi.

• We pay tributes to Dr. Radhakrishnan and mark his birthday as Teachers' Day
• Sometimes people ask why spend time with students on Teachers' Day?
• The student is the identity of the teacher
• Students makes elders proud
• Whatever the teacher says - 'keep the pillow like this' - we'll remember that for the rest of our lives
• Sometimes, I think teachers should write their memoirs. It is then that we will know how much they have invested in the life of their students.
• Dr Radhakrishnan always kept reminding us of the importance of the teacher
• Students spend most of their hours with teachers, thus they have a huge role in the life of students
• In villages, grandfathers naturally assume the role of a teacher
• Youngsters did not live during the time of Dr. Radhakrishnan but you have seen Dr. Kalam. He always wanted to be remembered as a teacher.
• Even in his last days, he died while teaching.
• How true was his passion that he never left students for a moment in his life.
• I once heard the story of an Anganwadi worker. She had barely studied till the 5th grade.
• So what she did was, with an old saree she had - she made small pieces and taught the students how to use a handkerchief
• Just imagine how a huge lesson this was - to stay clean
• Being a teacher is not like any other career. It is something different
• A doctor if he saves someones life, his photo is published in a newspaper
• Today is the day to recognize, honour them
• Teachers Day has always been celebrated
• We have to think how far we can take Teachers Day
• I bow to all the teachers. It is the teachers who make the generations.
• PM's interaction with students:
• I don't think any one person makes a life. It is about having a receptive mind, people keep teaching us something or the other.
• You can learn something new even during a train journey. I have learnt a lot from my teachers. I spent lot of time in the library.
• When I had time on my hand, I went the library and read about Swami Vivekananda. I think it taught me a lot.
• On Politics:
• Good people and people from all walks of life are required in politics
• Do you recall how people from all walks of life joined Mahatma Gandhi during freedom struggle. It benefitted the nation.
• Leadership quality is essential. You must also be clear why you want to be a leader: to fight elections only or to make a difference.
• If we want to solve problems of people then you need to be attached to people very much. Their pain should not let you sleep.
• You should be very clear why you want to become a leader - for happiness, for elections or to solve problems
• On Electricity, Digital India:
• Digital India is an empowering movement. It is not about collecting phones, computers
• There are villages with no electricity. In next 1,000 days we have taken up the effort to give power to 18,000 villages.
• On the Swachh Bharat initiative:
• If class 9 girls can make an app for waste management, what challenges can be there?
• Swachh Bharat is connected to people's habits
• If school students are achieving so much, making Apps on Swachh Bharat and winning laurels then am sure India can be Swachh
• Everybody is supporting Swachh Bharat Campaign
• There are some simple ways. If there is a small town, with villages nearby. Get earthworms and dump them in the garbage. Garbage turns into manure.
• Can serve the nation not only by joining the armed forces or being in politics. Several ways to contribute to nation building
• It is not like there are no good teachers in the country. The children i've been speaking to today, are there because of their teachers.
• Today's programme will inspire teachers as well.'Teaching is a profession to inspire a generation.
• I want to see that people who have done something well, can they dedicate an hour every week or 100 hours a year to go and teach some students, that will change things a lot.
• There is no shortage of talent, but just need to channelize it
• On success:
• There is no recipe for success. There can be a resolve for success.
• Biggest thing is to never get bogged down by failures. We should learn from them.
• Only those who learn, not get stopped by failures can succeed.
• I suggest you read a book - Pollyanna
• On Public speaking:
• To be a good orator, you need to be a good listener
• You are all Google-guru's students, take pointers from there. Watch speeches on YouTube
• Parents should never inflict their dreams on their children. They should be allowed to do what they like.
• Want to thank you all, and am happy children played a key role in this programme