Traditionally, we devote one of the columns in September and October to honoring our teachers. The piece coincides with the international celebration of “World Teachers’ Month” culminating in the marking of “World Teachers’ Day” on Oct. 5.

Perhaps like the rest of the nation, we were distracted during that period and missed the chance to properly honor our teachers amid current controversies. In focusing on challenges, we overlooked the ongoing dedication of teachers—the very optimism we now celebrate.

Though late, this piece is devoted to honoring the teachers who the world calls the hallmark of the “noblest profession.”

By way of a backgrounder, Oct. 5 is meant to mark the anniversary of an important event. On this day, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) signed a set of recommendations.

On the momentous of Oct. 5, 1966, the two organizations signed a joint recommendation on the status of teachers. The document is meant to show the world the importance of the teaching profession and the need for people and governments to ensure that they are well cared for, protected, properly compensated, and given the help they require to perform their valuable role in society.

It also paved the way for countries to pause and reflect on what our teachers have done for us and on the need to honor them by setting aside one day each year to pay tribute to them.

This year, I join the rest of the world in honoring our teachers by pointing out one aspect of their character that we may not have appreciated much.

I refer to the fact that “Teaching is the greatest act of optimism in the midst of the challenges facing our nation today.”

What I mean here is that teachers are perhaps the greatest, the biggest, the most wonderful optimists.

This was the essence of the message I gave to a large gathering of the private school sector in Antipolo recently. In my message, I pointed out the difference between optimism and wishful thinking.

I said that both of them are based on our idea of a bright and beautiful picture of the future. They are both based on hope. They are both fueled by a strong hope that the future we imagine will one day become reality.

There is something that separates optimism and wishful thinking.

The difference is called “action.” Optimism means we take concrete actions so that the imagined future we hope for will one day become reality.

That is what our teachers do. Each and every day that they show in our classrooms is an expression of that sense of optimism. They are taking action; they are taking concrete steps so that the bright and beautiful picture of the future we imagine for our children will become reality someday.

When they look at the young faces seated in the classroom chairs, our teachers see not only the reality of the present but also the possibilities of what these children can be in the future. Today, their students may look uninterested, distracted, or lacking in the usual indicators of someone who can become a successful individual.

Behind that look, they sense the potential. They know that there are students in that pack who would someday become leaders, change-makers, and game-changers. It is the teacher’s faith in what they can be that helps them overcome the difficulty of their tasks, the limitation of their environment, and the lack of sufficient recognition for their valuable contribution to our society. They will push on, no matter. They are optimism personified.

I honor and thank you for that inspiring sense of optimism.

We need that today more than ever.

In the midst of the socio-political chaos we find ourselves in, our teachers serve as a model of optimism. There are times when we are tempted to say, “It appears there is no more hope in the world.” The spirit of optimism pushes us to keep imagining a clear picture of a future when today’s chaos will be replaced by a more lasting collective sense of calm.

That same spirit teachers inspire in us pushes us to keep hoping, to never succumb to despair.

The spirit of optimism pushes us to take action, to take clear steps to make sure that one day, the socio-political chaos we find ourselves in will be replaced by a longer-lasting, more sustainable calm.