Dear, honourable teachers, educators,
Honourable Mr Danusēvičs,
Let me start by thanking you and your team for this tradition, which started in 1989 and is probably one of the oldest traditions in Latvia after renewal of our national independence. We restored our independence in 1990 and the tradition established by you predates it by one year. It is a vital tradition because education is fundamental for our state and society, and it, of course, starts in family, nursery and reaches the full speed in school. Education to a large extent determined the future of Latvia.
We have gathered here, at the Riga Castle, today to continue the tradition of starting the new school year with award ceremony honouring teachers and schools that have reached top excellence in terms of measured learning outcomes.
Teachers, educators – their passion, personal example, ability to reach out to children and young people, to create interest in science and teach how to rationalise the surrounding world – have been celebrated since ancient times. Schools play an enormous role in training young people how to rationalise our world and pass the values we have inherited from our ancestors down to the next generation. Our lives are largely shaped by the educators we have met along the way.
It is important for teachers who pass the knowledge on to their students and shape their personalities despite constant pressure and confrontation with global entertainment industry, various technologies and purveyors of false doctrines, and various technological innovations not to forget what their primary goal is and how to achieve it.
Learning and school knowledge has come under enormous pressure, which means that you, dear teachers, have managed to outcompete the global entertainment industry. You are broadening horizons while there are so many things that narrow them on the outside.
The integrity of a school depends on its spirit. Thank you for creating a school spirit, which accompanies your graduates throughout their life, a spirit furthered by school reunions.
I hope preparations for the new school year are successfully nearing the end and wish you all the best in the next school year. But, more importantly, I want to say a big thank you for everything you do for our society and state. You are shaping the personalities of our children, and thus giving a strategic input into the future of our country. Thank you very, very much for that!