Teacher and entrepreneur Ronald Laarmaa: "It's no longer self-evident that success requires constant effort"

How do you combine teaching and entrepreneurship while contributing to Estonia’s future? Ronald Laarmaa, a chemistry teacher at Viljandi Adult Gymnasium and an entrepreneur, shares his journey and experience from the educational programme “Lae end”.

What inspires you most in teaching?
I’ve been a teacher for over ten years now, working in universities, basic schools, and gymnasiums. What inspires me the most is the opportunity to experiment with new ideas and create new assignments. I’m inspired by the freedom given to teachers in Estonia.

What concerns you?
What worries me most is students’ ability to absorb knowledge and their attitude. It is no longer self-evident that success requires continuous effort, or that school should be treated like a workplace. In my view, school is increasingly becoming a warm and pleasant place to be when there’s nowhere else to go. Instead of putting in effort and securing better prospects for the future, people find countless excuses not to act.

What does your company do?
My wife, who is a psychologist, and I run a classic consulting company. We’ve combined various additional activities into it: lectures, counselling, consultations, development of materials, and more.

What led you to become an entrepreneur alongside teaching?
In my daily work, situations began to arise that didn’t fit within salaried employment. There were people whose children or relatives needed private lessons, consultations, or even psychological counselling. Sometimes I was invited to teach in camps or run workshops, and to be paid for that, I needed to establish my own company. At the moment, my full-time job already keeps me very busy, so there’s little room for additional activities.

How do you balance these two roles?
It has all developed quite organically. Since entrepreneurship is more of a supporting activity for me and my wife, we don’t deal with it daily or worry about it. However, it helps in situations where we need to contribute outside salaried work or receive compensation. It also broadens our everyday scope and creates new opportunities.

Why did you join the educational programme “Lae end”?
First of all, it was very rewarding to be noticed and nominated. That alone felt like a prize. I joined because the programme seemed mysterious and somewhat elite—and if you pass such a selective process, it would be a shame not to take part. Before that, I had participated in a similar programme in the United States, the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP), where we explored the education system across four states.

In my opinion, Estonia’s “Lae end” programme offers tremendous value because you get to see real companies and workplaces where engineers are in high demand. It gives extra motivation to make teaching more engaging and to bring real-life context into lessons.

What was the most eye-opening moment?
One such moment was when Enefit’s HR manager told us that communication roles attract dozens of applicants, while engineers often need to be recruited from competitors. It made me think that we should more actively guide what kind of specialists we send to the labour market and adjust admission numbers accordingly.

Another insight was that companies are very eager to host student groups, yet this information often doesn’t reach schools. At the same time, there is inequality—many companies are located in Tallinn or nearby, making visits expensive for those from further regions.

Personally, I am grateful to all the companies that opened their doors, explained what they do and why, and shared their future challenges. It was a pleasure to reflect together with them.

What new perspective did company visits give you?
I was really looking forward to visiting LHV, but at that time my Jack Russell Terrier Imbi had just had her first (and only) puppy, so I had to stay home. I’m truly sorry to have missed it, especially since others spoke about it very enthusiastically. What I appreciated most was the openness and hospitality of the companies—we were welcomed like stars.

How have you applied this experience?
Mainly in my lessons. It inspired me to focus more on practical work and to think about where knowledge is applied in real life. Many young people (and even adults) have a rather limited understanding of future career options.

What advice would you give parents?
It is easy to give advice and be wise when you are not a parent yourself. I can only imagine how difficult and exhausting it is to raise one person into a well-functioning adult. But the advice is quite simple, and people sometimes overlook it: please take an interest in what your child is learning at school, even if it is already the third child in your family attending school.

Let your children explain all subjects (instead of answering “it went well”), ask what kind of assignments they have been given to do at home, and in a good way, be like a parrot who keeps asking “why” questions. This way, you teach your children to analyse and express themselves. Do not worry that you no longer remember Newton’s laws or how to write and balance reaction equations — now it is your child’s turn to work through that. Remove the pressure from yourself that “as a parent, I must know and be able to do everything” and instead be a partner and guide in the learning process.

And if it still feels like you cannot work through it together, instead of immediately opening your wallet and finding a private tutor, direct your child back to school to consult their teacher. In the end, they will submit their work to their own teacher, not to a private tutor.

Why have you chosen LHV as your financial partner?
It’s very important to me to support Estonian companies, as that’s how we create value locally. I like that LHV Pank’s website is simple and clear, without unnecessary distractions. Whenever I’ve needed to contact the bank, the experience has always been pleasant, fast, and professional.