Dénes Dienes: History of the Reformed Church Collég in Sárospatak (Sárospatak, 2013)
SPIRIT AND MOOD - The teaching staff
similar predicament, its introduction being proposed from time to time by the leadership but it was even less popular than German in Patak. The inner structure of the College’s education system was modified several times. After much argument and many changes, it was agreed in 1796 that education which leads to college studies will consist of two years of primary education (so-called “nationalis classis”) followed by eight levels of secondary school education. This was then followed by nine togatus years and four or five non-togatus years. This changed already in 1803 when primary education was reduced to one year. József Vay defended this structure wholeheartedly, while certain conservative forces in favor of Latin instruction tried to reduce the years of schooling to better correspond to the Debrecen model. Their efforts, however, were in vain. 1810 witnessed another restructuring which practically automatically laid the groundwork for the separation of lower and higher classes for the subsequent decades. Thus, the curriculum to be followed for the grade one to four classes was distinctly different from that of the grade five to eight classes. This progressive modification, nonetheless, was obviated by Vay’s opponents after his death in 1828. The different subjects were once again taught at the College according to a linear logic. The last restructuring of this period was effected in 1837 when the length of elementary level instruction was increased to its once former duration of two years. The final level of secondary school instruction, whose subject matter included logic, was promoted to academic rank, this being exclusively due to the promotion of Professor András Majoros himself who taught the subject. Thus, until the end of the Reform Era, the secondary school in Patak functioned according to a system having six grades. THE TEACHING STAFF The changes and modifications of the 1790s resulted in significant changes in the composition of the teaching staff, also. The changes at this level were partly due to the increased number of teachers and partly due to permanent adult staff called ’humanorium professors’ arriving as new teachers, from 1796 on, to work at the four upper class levels. From time to time, external teachers entrusted with specific tasks also worked at the College. Furthermore, the the role of student teachers was still significant, as will be later described in detail. The professors were responsible for the teaching of one specific discipline. In addition to this, many of them regularly published in scientific journals and often produced monographs and manuscripts. Their further duties included participating in the school’s daily business, this being mainly done according to an annual rotational system whereby they would each in turn fill the position of rector-professor of the institution. Until 1793, there were four professors (theology, philosophy, history, physics-mathematics) on staff in Patak. The fifth professorship was established to ensure the instruction of home law and, at the beginning of the 19th century, the department of theology was reorganized into two separate chairs, that of dogmatics and of practical theology. The natural sciences were taught by two professors working in parallel. Thus, from the initial decades of the 1810s, seven teachers lectured at the College in Patak. 107 One of the outstanding sculptors of the Hungarian nation, Miklós Izsó (1831- 1875), had already excelled in drawing when he was a student in Sárospatak
