Education is a must

Teachers, the new generation will be your masterpiece.

In the village where I was born, there was no middle school, as it was called at the time. We moved to the city early for our education. The other children in the village, who were not as lucky as I was, went to the village above for their middle school education.

They walked 15-20 kilometers every day.

Bused education existed even back then.

But with a "rubber-soled" transport model.

I will write separately about the story of the "twigs" stolen from here and there to burn in the classroom stove on the walking path.

Years later, my path crossed with the village above, where the children of my village went to school. During my visit, I wanted to tour the school, which was closed due to a lack of students. While touring, I found a suitcase full of documents in one of the classrooms.

The documents belonged to the 1960s, long before my time as a student. Inside were the traditional school correspondences of that era. A small notebook, old worn-out report cards, and teachers' grade books caught my eye. The writing in the grade book was still easily readable.

When I looked carefully, I immediately recognized my elders, older brothers, sisters, and other villagers from the village by their names.

Since the names were familiar, I became curious. I started to examine the grades in more detail.

The grades were not very encouraging. They were generally weak or average. After spending a little more time, I saw a few excellent grades.

The names were very familiar. One of them had even married my uncle's daughter.

I analyzed the grades given in the 1960s with the life cycle principle they now call "lifelong learning."

I saw that the students who received the excellent grades given by the teachers at that time were very successful in their later lives.

My uncle's daughter's husband had graduated from the Middle East Technical University (METU) Department of Civil Engineering and had become a very successful engineer. He had even served as a General Manager in the public sector for a long time. One of their children became a doctor, and the other graduated from the same school as his father and became a computer engineer.

Of course, my uncle's daughter also contributed a lot to the success of the children. She was also very intelligent, but because she was a girl, she was not sent to the chemistry faculty she had earned a spot in because it was in another city.

I saw that those with weak grades generally could not continue their education and either farmed or migrated to big cities to become laborers.

Let us appreciate the value of the grades our teachers give us.

Let us not ask for extra grades.

Inflated grades are of no use to anyone.

It is what it is.

The rapprochement of the Republican generation with the teaching profession comes to life with the story of teacher Feride in Reşat Nuri Güntekin's novel Çalıkuşu.

The misery in the novel Çalıkuşu does not take place in the wasteland of Anatolia as many of us think, but in a village in Bursa, right next to Istanbul.

This misery began to disappear with the revolution policies and educational investments of the great statesman and Head Teacher Atatürk, and it continued to accelerate over time.

In the early years of the Atatürk era, there was an increase of nearly 400 percent in the number of female teachers and female students at the primary education level.

The Village Institutes that were opened and the subsequent Education Institutes contributed to the modernization process of the Anatolian people.

The increase in participation in educational life manifested itself not only in quantity but also in quality.

Prof. Dr. Aziz Sancar, Prof. Dr. Canan Dağdeviren, and Prof. Dr. İrem Dikmen Toker are just three of the most genuine examples of these revolutions.

While there were no female teachers in faculties and colleges before, this number exceeded 100 in 1938. Today, the number of female academics has even surpassed the number of male academics.

Education has reached the masses.

The girls' institutes of the period, the modern-day vocational high schools for girls, were opened to ensure that female students could participate in economic life.

In addition to the Darülfünun inherited from the Ottoman Empire, the School of Political Sciences (Mekteb-i Mülkiye), the Academy of Fine Arts (Sanayi-i Nefise Mektebi), the School of Engineering (Mühendis Mekteb-i Âlisi), the Hamidiye School of Commerce (Hamidiye Ticaret Mektebi), the School of Forestry (Orman Mekteb-i Âlisi), the Higher School of Agriculture (Yüksek Ziraat Mektebi), the Higher School of Veterinary Medicine (Baytar Mekteb-i Âlisi), and Robert College were transferred to the Republic as higher education institutions.

Almost in parallel with the civilized world, our education reforms have been continuing uninterrupted for 250 years.

Thanks to these reforms, we are among the top 20 out of 206 countries in the world.

The others are lagging behind.

I have no doubt that we will enter the G8 countries again, thanks to the efforts of our devoted teachers.

Although our natural resources are extremely limited, as a result of education reforms, we have become one of the most successful countries in the world in automotive exports, tourism revenues, health, contracting, and many other fields.

The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association recorded that as of 2022, Turkey is the 7th country with the most factories.

In tourism, Turkey ranks 4th after France, Spain, and America with more than 50 million guests.

According to the data of the World Health Tourism Council, Turkey ranks 3rd in the world in health tourism.

According to the data of the World Engineering Institution, Turkey holds the 2nd place in the world in the field of contracting after America.

Turkey, which was previously known only as an agricultural country with figs, grapes, and hazelnuts, now stands out with its successes in all fields with industrial products.

The reason why Turkey is currently among the most effective countries in the world in many fields is the upbringing of our brains by our teachers and our education investments, which have been continuing for 250 years, despite occasional difficulties.

It is not as if there is no atmosphere that the difficulties experienced in the meantime have increased.

Anyway, let's not get off the subject and come face to face with the Çukurhisar Gendarmerie.

Despite all the negative conditions, our teachers are taking our country above the level of contemporary civilizations with their supernatural efforts and dedication.

Our teachers, who make the most important contribution to our inclusion in the G20 countries today, have dealt with the illnesses of the people in the remote villages of the country since the early years of the Republic and have been a light to the citizens as a beacon of education.

Such a Republican teacher is also described in the film "Gönül Yarası," played by the great actor Şener Şen and directed by Yavuz Tuğrul. In this film, which takes place in a remote village in Anatolia, the life of a devoted and long-suffering teacher who focuses on the education of his students is revealed. The main character of the film, "Teacher Nazım," is a teacher who has focused on the republic and its revolutions, has placed himself at the center of his country's education and development, and feels the process in his entire body with the blood flowing in his veins.

He is also a teacher who does not separate his students from his own children, and even goes further at times, putting their future and health ahead of even his own children's.

So it is,

We cannot repay our teachers who dedicate their lives to their students and the future of their country, and who adopt a profession with heavy difficulties and responsibilities as their ideal.

May God be pleased with them all.

Who knows, the reason why I am writing here and have not been cast aside yet is my mother, who was a teacher.