Teaching or Inspiring?

A wise primary school headmaster I met yesterday told me, "Teaching is about touching children's lives. If you are a great teacher, you may transform their lives and inspire them to do greater things!" Conversely, he warned, "If we do badly, we help to create a bad society."
I visited the Uganda School for the Deaf* yesterday where about 219 children with hearing impairments are taught with 193 of them staying overnight in the dormitories. Most of the children have been referred by doctors, while some by teachers, neighbors but the children come from as far away as Kenya, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. One of the teachers took me on a tour and I remain unused to the stark conditions: no electricity in the classrooms, many children, the 3-5 year old classroom without toys but just wooden tables, benches and chalkboard. I met a young man from Germany who volunteered for the past year, through a German government grant program, to help in the classroom and with games after school---he is returning home tomorrow and will continue his instruction in deaf education.
Otherwise, there were outdoor toys. I was impressed to see an active knitting, weaving and crocheting program for deaf/blind children and fabric dying and a bakery. The headmaster, of sixteen years, has seen many children grow through the program, pass their entrance exams and then graduate from secondary school. However, he offered that few had been able to obtain a job.
As I walked towards the exit of the grounds, I asked my teacher-guide what drew him to work at the school? He responded: "But I must help!" Noblese oblige: those who can, give. I wonder whom or what inspired this young man to build a better world citizenry? I wonder whom each of us is inspiring or has inspired to build a compassionate society? How do we do that? Well, aha! Those are some of the things I had fun learning about while conducting the research for my dissertation!!!
* Of course, it is distressing to see children pulled out of their peer groups for education. I have seen a couple of examples of children with special needs included in the classroom. Hopefully, these young learners will grow into teachers who have the capacity to teach well in an inclusive setting.