There's the much loved Miss Jennifer Honey from Matilda, the wise Albus Dumbledore from Harry Potter's magical world and the eccentric Valerie Felicity Frizzle from the Magic School bus series, fictional teachers all who live on in children's literature down the ages -- and make us still go "to sir (or ma'am as the case maybe) with love".
The many teachers imagined from the creative minds of the likes of Roald Dahl, J K Rowling and even Enid Blyton, who introduced educators kind and stern in her many school series, are everyday role models for several who opted for teaching as a vocation rather than just a career.
As they explore newer ways of imparting lessons to the young, the teachers of today look at the teachers from books for inspiration and also handy tips.
Ms Frizzle, the fourth grade science teacher from "The Magic School Bus", uses eccentric teaching methods to explain the most complex scientific phenomena, letting her students' imaginations run wild. She often says, "Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!''
Bindu Saini, principal at Pune's SB Patil Public School, swears by American historian Henry Adams' thoughts on the role of a teacher in a student's life -- "A teacher affects eternity, he can never tell where his influence stops."
And when there is talk of a teacher-student bond, can thoughts of Ricky Braithwaite's seminal autobiography "To Sir, With Love" be far behind?