TEHRAN— On Wednesday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei met with a group of teachers and education ministry officials to thank them for their efforts in educating the youth, especially during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Leader called teachers people who are proud to lead future generations and said the purpose of his meeting with teachers is to highlight their role and establish and perpetuate the value of the teacher in public opinion so that both the teacher and his or her family would be proud of his or her job as a teacher.

The Leader of the Revolution also thanked the good points mentioned by the education minister during the meeting, saying, "The country is not deficient in terms of law, document and good decisions. It is important that these decisions and laws are pursued and implemented with serious and diligent work."

Explaining the two uses of the concept of teacher, the Leader noted that teacher in the sense of teaching is a great value because God is a teacher according to the verses of the Quran and the Prophet (Muhammed) and all scholars, scientists and prominent personalities possess this very high value of being a teacher.

“A teachers’ mission is a very great task. This is not about just ordinary, normal teaching. This is about a fundamental training,” he noted.
 
He then went on to say that Iranian teachers should train their students in such a way that they develop a national identity. This is more important than or at least as important as learning science, Ayatollah Khamenei noted.

“A nation must be able to resist coercion. This must be formed in us from childhood,”
 
“We should train students to develop a feeling of national self-confidence in them and for them to learn about the country’s honors. Survey the students at schools and see what percent know the late Kazemi Ashtiani (founder of the Royan Institute)? What percent know Ronaldo?” the Leader asked.
 
He then noted that students must understand the value of resistance. 

“What’s a resistant nation? One that doesn’t submit to extortion and coercion. The elixir to cure the country’s problems is a spirit of resistance. A nation must be able to resist coercion. This must be formed in us from childhood,” Ayatollah Khamenei elaborated. 

Referring to the long-term goal of creating a new and flourishing Islamic civilization, the Leader said that human resources are the infrastructure of any civilization and the founders of the new Islamic civilization are the generation that is now available to teachers, so the importance and value of a teacher should be understood from this perspective.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said, “This generation with this great goal must have an Iranian-Islamic identity, strong and deep beliefs, be confident, self-made, aware of the obsolete civilizations of the East and the West, be a scientist and proficient in order to shape that great civilization.”

Referring to the training of prominent persons in post-Revolution education, Ayatollah Khamenei added, “Thanks to the efforts of teachers in the last four decades, effective elements have grown in various fields, but it is not enough, and for that flourishing civilization, such cultivations must be widespread.”