Teachers are the "heart and soul " of education
Teachers are the „heart and soul” of imparting knowledge and public education, and teachers play a key role in the kind of adults that our children grow up to be – President Novák said in Tolcsva in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County on Saturday.
At the unveiling ceremony of the plaque commemorating the 106th anniversary of the birth of Béla Kovács, citizen of honour of Tolcsva and former secondary school teacher of Hungary’s Head of State, the President pointed out that the education of children begins and takes place in the family, but most of their time outside their family is spent at school, where teachers help them to acquire knowledge and gain experiences.
"This is why it is important to make this profession as attractive and appreciated as possible, as naturally, we would like our best talents to choose the teaching profession, we would like those who have a calling for education to complete the upbringing of our children in daily life, next to us, the parents " – the Head of State said.
She said that everything should be done to attract young people to the teaching profession, and to bring back those who have left it for some reason.
"We need good teachers, dedicated to their profession, educators with a Capital E who can influence our children for a lifetime " – Katalin Novák emphasized.
Praising the lifetime achievement and the work of the teacher of French, Hungarian and Latin both in imparting knowledge and helping young people find their way in life, Katalin Novák said that the example of Béla Kovács shows that certain teachers have the capacity to influence the development of several generations, and that the knowledge and experience young people receive in this way cannot be given to them by any other means.
The President explained that a single sentence, a single look or a single lesson can leave a lasting impression on students and later also on their children; and that this power of teachers must never be forgotten...
At the ceremony in Béla Kovács’s birthplace, Tolcsva, a memorial plaque for the teacher in the wall of the local elementary school was unveiled in the presence of his former students. Speeches were delivered by Ernő Csoma, the Fidesz-KDNP mayor of the village, Péter Rásonyi-Kovács, the son of the teacher who had also taught in Szeged and Gödöllő, and László Balogh, Deputy State Secretary for Macroeconomic and European Affairs of the Ministry of Finance, who spoke on behalf of the former students.