In a message issued on the occasion of Teachers’ Day and Workers’ Day in Iran, the Leader said the 11th and 12th of Ordibehesht in Iranian calendar are days on which the status of the worker and the dignity of the teacher are honored. Beyond the verbal and symbolic tributes — which are in themselves appropriate and correct — the progress of any country depends on the two wings of knowledge and action, the message read.
The teacher plays a role in the very first stage of realizing this goal. The critical responsibility of imparting knowledge, enhancing skills, and shaping a significant part of the insight and identity of the next generation rests on the teacher’s shoulders. School and university students, as well as seminary students who grow under a teacher’s guidance, will in the not-too-distant future put their acquired skills and knowledge to use. In many cases, in their character, conduct, and speech — from the warm circle of the family to the workplace and the public arena — they will reflect, like a mirror, the conduct and words of their teachers.
On the other hand, the arena of labor is a vast field, as expansive as the country itself, stretching from inside homes, offices, business units, and mosques to farms, workshops, factories, mines, and a wide range of service occupations. The more this vast expanse benefits from the two elements of hard work and commitment — which are among the pillars of any great success — the more the country’s advancement will be guaranteed.
We know that a worker, in the light of commitment and good work, at times attains a status so lofty that, much like the affectionate hand of a teacher and mentor, his capable and skilled hand too deserves to be kissed in gratitude and appreciation. This, of course, is something that can first be provided in the embrace of every person’s earliest mentors — namely, the father and mother — and thereafter, from the presence of the teacher.
Now that the Islamic Republic of Iran, after more than forty-seven years of struggle and by relying on divine grace, has demonstrated part of its remarkable capability to the world in the military battle against the enemies of its progress and elevation, it must also frustrate and defeat them in the stage of economic and cultural jihad.
Teachers are the most influential link in the cultural battle, and workers are among the most effective elements in the economic battle — to the extent that one can claim that these two serve as the backbone of the cultural and economic arenas. It is therefore necessary for them to be fully aware of the importance of their special position, and to see it as far more than a job for which wages are received.
At the same time, it must be noted that while the annual or occasional verbal tributes are appropriate and fitting, the appreciation of the efforts of these two segments must be deeper and more practical than this. The Leader said he believes that just as the beloved Iranian nation, by turning out in squares and streets, has offered worthy support to the country’s military forces, it is also fitting for them to show strong support for teachers and workers.
Among other measures, the engagement of the families of school and university students in the running of schools and universities should be facilitated more than before. Moreover, by prioritizing the consumption of domestically produced goods, support should be extended to productive workers. In particular, the owners of struggling businesses should, to the extent possible, avoid dismissing and laying off their workforce, both in production and service units. Instead, every worker should be regarded as an asset to that production or service unit. The esteemed government, too, should support this benevolent act as much as it can.
Beloved Iran, just as it has emerged as a military power after years of effort, will — God willing and by divine grace — traverse the path toward the peaks of progress and elevation by delineating the lines of Iranian-Islamic identity and having them penetrate ever more deeply into the minds and souls of the country’s youth at the hands of mentors and teachers, and by prioritizing the consumption of domestically produced goods, which are the fruit of the efforts of Iran’s hardworking laborers. This will, of course, come about ever more swiftly and fruitfully with the blessed prayers and mediation of our Master — may Allah hasten his noble reappearance — by God’s permission.
