In primary school, debates were one of the highlights of our class. They were not just a class exercise then, it was more of a chance for us to shout, argue and prove who was smarter. The topics were always interesting, sometimes silly and sometimes serious. I remember we did day school vs boarding school, money vs education, boy vs girl, chalk vs marker, and of course the classic doctor vs teacher
Anytime that last one came up, I always at the front. I don't know if I enjoyed arguing or if I just liked the attention then, but I was always ready. And without fail, I stood with the teacher's side. My main point was simple: without teachers, they would be no doctors. I would argue with all my small confidence that teachers were the root of all professions. Then my opponents on the other side would rise and say something like, "But when you're dying, will you call a teacher? No, you'll call a doctor". And immediately the class would burst into claps and cheers. That's how our debates usually went back and forth, loud voices and more claps for whoever made the funniest or strongest point. I honestly cannot remember a single time anyone "won". Our teacher usually ended it when the noise got too much.
At that age, it was all fun and words. We argued with no real life experience, but now I see things differently. Life has a way if showing you that nothing is as simple as it looked when you were around ten years old.
Yes, my points back then still stands. A teacher is the foundation. They take children who knows nothing and open their minds to letters, numbers and the world itself. They shape how the child thinks, how they approach problems and even how they see themselves. I've had teachers that encouraged me when I doubted myself. Some of the lessons they give stay with the child for life, even more than what's written in a textbook.
But doctor too have a kind of importance that you can never ignore. When sickness strikes or life hangs by a thread, all the wisdom of a teacher cannot help. In that moment, you need healing hands, knowledge of medicine and someone who can save your body. A doctor may not shape your mind but they can give you the chance to keep living and using all that your teacher gave you. No matter how smart you are, if you're lying sick and helpless, only a doctor can pull you back.
So now, I no longer argue like before. I believe we need both. The teacher makes you who you are, and the doctor keeps you alive to continue being that person. They are not rivals, but partners in the story of every human being. Both of them play roles we cannot do without. If I could go back to that classroom debate, I think I would surprise my classmate by saying "both are important" and quietly sit down. Maybe then the class would have no comeback
Thanks for reading.
Images are mine