Dénes Dienes: History of the Reformed Church Collég in Sárospatak (Sárospatak, 2013)
SPIRIT AND MOOD - From College Teacher Training to State-directed Teacher Training in Sárospatak
171 theology program. Parallel to this, very lively discussion emerged about the in-discipline strengthening of the smaller schools. Rural deans (such as István Báthori from Gömör, Ábrahám Komjáthy from Felső-borsod or Sámuel Liszkay from Felső-zemplén) and professors (István Nyiry or Gábor Szeremley) prepared detailed concepts in which they collected all the criteria relative to the work being done in these schools. There was much discussion on ‘Litteraria Deputatio’ which dealt with the state of the College but more attention was consecrated to the foundations of elementary education than had been in the past. This was not surprising since more and more requests came from the church counties to provide more better prepared teachers. Complaints also came about the fresh graduates lacking sufficient knowledge. As the number of permanent teachers increased, the possibility of having to accept, for long years, teachers lacking sufficient pedagogical knowledge and talent began to pose a real threat. Establishing a separate institution for the training of teachers seemed to be the only solution and the church district made the decision pertaining to this in 1843. According to the decision, the plan was to establish a faculty which would replace the generally nationwide existent training program with its relatively poor standards by a new one which would be an integral part of the college structure and would fit in well somewhere between the secondary education and academic levels. The plan was eventually finalized and then publicized. Students could enroll in a separate training program of three years duration after having completed secondary school. Those pursuing studies in theology, who still intended to go out to teach for two to three years, were to participate beforehand in a course of two months duration. Thus, not only the permanent teachers but also prospective pastors, Sunday school teachers and local school inspectors became familiar with the basics of education and pedagogy. The preparations dragged on. Although the church district published Professor Gábor Szeremley’s textbook on pedagogy in 1845 and the intensive work was begun, financial difficulties, the war of independence and the subsequent consequences of a lost war all delayed everything for decades. During these years, however, a suitable young man was found who was familiar with the textbooks - both Hungarian and international - dealing with pedagogy; he had studied in Germany, Holland and Switzerland and had firsthand experience in the positive effects of progressive techniques. Thus József Árvay, a formal secondary school teacher who was moved to the new institution, became the founder and leader of the Teacher Training branch. The first school year of this program was started in November 1857 with twenty-five theology students and five full-time students enrolled in the six-month program. The following spring, the first three-year program and its associated system was launched with thirty-two enrolled students. József Árvay, founding father The first decade was the time during which the necessary roots developed. of teacher training in Patak This was when the members of the school’s staff were assembled. In addition to Árvay, József Kiss and István Zsindely also became full-time teachers. József Árvay was born in 1823 in Kisráska (Zemplén county), his father was a pastor. He worked as a private teacher and chaplain, and later as a full time pastor in Golop.
