10 February 2023
DOES IT MATTER WHETHER A TEACHER HAS A DISABILITY?
My teacher, when we first met you did not know what to do about me, and even so you said, “there must be something to be done,” and wanted to try. Every time you brought out my potential you were happier than anyone and wanted to share it with others. Most did not understand you; perhaps they did not find what you said convincing — “a child with a disability, and apparently he can read, do mathematics, memorise and recite poetry.” In spite of all this you did not give up. You gave even more of yourself. Thanks to you I studied and gained a profession. I can support myself, I can help my family, and I try to contribute to my nation and to humanity. If, at first sight or later on, you had excluded me and not taken me by the hand, what would I have done? Just as they did not understand you, perhaps they will not understand my gratitude and thanks to you. My teacher, I love you very much. Whether you were a woman or a man, young or old, with or without a disability was never important. You are my teacher.
Beyazay works and struggles for the sentences above, and sees Teachers' Day differently because of them. Our wish is that every student and every teacher should be able to form those sentences, and our efforts will continue. We offer our gratitude and thanks to all our teachers and wish them a happy Teachers' Day.
Lokman Ayva
President