Interim PM Predoiu says school teachers' role increasingly important in fast changing world

The role of school teachers in shaping critical and selective thinking has become even more important for discerning what is right and what is not, what is true and what is false, in a world that has changed so profoundly and so rapidly in recent years, interim Prime Minister Catalin Predoiu said Thursday, in a message marking School Teachers' Day.

'Today, Romania celebrates School Teachers' Day, dedicated to all those who have chosen, with vocation and responsibility, one of the noblest missions: shaping young minds and souls. We remember the people with whom we experienced the miracle of words for the first time. With them, we deciphered letters, connected sounds, and moved, as poet Nichita Stanescu said, from letters to the first word. And with that word, we entered a new world. Teachers are the ones who taught us how to hold a pencil, read our first sentence, and ask a question. But also, how to ask questions in general. They saw us when we knew nothing and weren't scared of that. They were patient. They praised us when we succeeded and corrected us when we erred, without humiliating us. No grand words are needed, just sincere recognition: without them, no journey begins. Not school, not reading, not thinking out loud,' said Catalin Predoiu.

He pointed to the importance of the teaching profession in a constantly changing world.

'On Teachers' Day, we are not talking about the system, statistics, or reform, we address those every other day of the year. Today, we talk about people. About those teachers who, on some ordinary day, stopped next to our desk and said: You did well. Keep going.' Today, when the world has changed so deeply and so quickly in recent years, and when adults, teenagers and children alike face a flood of new information daily, every hour, every minute, through countless means of communication, social or individual, the role of teachers in forming critical and selective thinking has become even more vital for distinguishing what is right from what is wrong, what is true from what is false,' Predoiu said.

Freedom of thought and expression are merely abstract concepts without a solid education from early childhood, which serves as the natural filter for information and the foundation for fully developed discernment over the course of a person's life, from child to adolescent to adult, the Prime Minister underscored.

'All the more reason to value this vocation and profession of teaching, and to create the right conditions for its development and constant adaptation to serve others. Their ongoing effort to improve is equally important. Our respect, our support, and their dedication are the foundations for giving every child, every young person, a chance at a deep, high-quality, refined education,' Predoiu said.

In conclusion, he wished all school teachers a 'Happy Teachers' Day!'.