One of the tasks in my first lectures is to tell the student what knowledge is NOT required in the industry. In most cases, students start listing everything in sight, while I counter with relevant examples of which job in the chosen industry actually DOES require such knowledge or skills. For instance, informatics. We cannot imagine the forestry sector without IT! We have to deal with it every day. Or, for example, there is a common belief that physics is not needed in logging. Then I tell the student real-life cases where a forest machine operator has overturned a forwarder simply because they had a 'gap' in their physics knowledge and did not understand where the machine's centre of gravity was. This is one of the hardest tasks for all teaching staff – in absolutely every study course, to show where this knowledge will be needed, regardless of whether it is technical drawing, mathematics, physics, or the use of wood biomass. Laboratory or practical work must also be linked to the industry so that the student sees where it is or will be necessary in real life. So there is no feeling that they are just sitting through classes and paraphrasing books.
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In recent weeks, both in the Saeima and the Cabinet of Ministers, the thesis has been heard once again: “We must act this way, otherwise there will be penalties, infringement procedures, etc.” Often, such a pseudo-argument completely excludes reasonable disputes, discussions, or alternatives, forcing those responsible to make decisions hastily and not always in the interests of Latvia. Why is that?
Old habits are hardening - someone somewhere knows better, let us rely on them
Lack of sufficient capacity or laziness to defend a different point of view
A generation of cabinet officials has been created who are accustomed to accepting rather than delving into matters
This is a serious problem for Latvia for which no solution is being sought. It will probably be all right somehow...



