A loveless profession

A portrait of former Budapest high school teacher, Miklós Tóth.


Teaching has the potential to inspire and motivate. It is a profession that should automatically command respect and is fundamental to the cultivation of a future generation. Unfortunately, teaching is not as revered as it should be and the students do not always respond as if they were miraculously touched by a Mark Thackeray character straight out of the revolutionary movie ‘To Sir With Love’. It is a grim reality that the education system, along with vital institutions such as the medical, are lowly prioritized in many nations. Hungary’s education system has undergone many transitional phases over the past years compared to its western counterparts. There was, of course, the fall of communism, and a new generation of younger teachers entering the education field, but there was also the staying power of older teachers enforcing archetypal methods of teaching, stuck between a new and rapidly evolving Hungary and the old ways before it. To gain an inside perspective into one half of this complicated fusion, I had the opportunity to speak with a young teacher whose career spanned four years; enough time for him to comprehend the bittersweet reality of being an educator in modern Budapest.
Miklós Tóth spent four years teaching German to students between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one in an eighth-district Economics High School. Growing up in the Lake Balaton town, Fonyód, Tóth was surrounded by German guests and picked up the basics naturally. It was during his high school years that he seriously concentrated on his German studies. While most of his friends studied extra mathematical classes he continued extracurricular German studies under the tuition of a liberal and inspirational teacher. Tóth was accepted into ELTE University, completing his Bachelor of Arts in German Teaching after four years. Tóth concedes he was more interested in basketball and music than teaching German, but vocational opportunities were fairly limited unless one studied a specific profession. He was inherently adept in German and was aware of the future opportunities made available to him through the acquisition of a teaching degree. During the last year of his degree, he was placed into teacher training for half a year at a local gymnasium. It was the first taste of teaching for Tóth, and an experience he reflects upon fondly. ‘It was as if I was playing with my band on stage, (teaching), and I was comfortable standing on that stage in front of new people. I realized I had acquired knowledge and I had the ability to pass this on to others, and I was incredibly comfortable and secure with this notion.’ Spurred on by his new found conviction, Tóth was accepted into his first (and last) posting as German language teacher and co-coordinator in the inner city Economics High School.
There are a myriad of responsibilities entwined into the ethos of teaching and balancing these aspects can be a daunting and intense struggle.

contemporary dilemmas

Tóth enjoyed many components of the responsibilities over his impressionable students. Being closest in age proximity, he had the privilege of empathizing on a similar level with their contemporary dilemmas- something some of his older colleagues had trouble relating and dealing with. ‘I enjoyed being a surrogate father and I enjoyed sharing my experiences with those who were just starting out in life. I wanted to be approachable. But this was problematic because I had to embrace the authoritative role also, so it was a fine balance between the two.’ Being constantly frustrated by his elder colleagues’ negativity towards the students was difficult for Tóth to contend with. In his opinion, positive reinforcement was severely lacking between the student/teacher relationships, something he personally strived to deliver to his students. However, the special attention he encouraged often created damaging gossip by those same colleagues who discredited their student’s potential. The art of pedagogy was a method Tóth could relate to: determined by his role as teacher, his compassion, the students’ personal troubles and the environment in which these elements co-existed. Student de- motivation was blatantly omnipresent for a number of varying reasons. Tóth alludes to unstable family backgrounds, the responsibility of raising younger siblings due to the absence of parents, and the apathetic attitudes of parents during parent-teacher consultations. ‘Some of these kids had the potential to really inspire me, as I never had to deal with the kind of problems they were faced with. But it could also be a toxic obstacle preventing them from succeeding. Fabrication and lying was rife, and it became difficult for me to filter through the excuses to reveal the truth.’ To combat his students’ de-motivation, Tóth embarked on less conventional teaching techniques. Classes were held outdoors on sunny days, new and old methods of teaching were tried, role plays were executed, but nothing seemed to work. ‘None of these methods seemed to resonate with them and it was all about instantaneous gratification. My motivation reached a new low at this point, and this was when I felt as though I was losing control as the teacher. The students seemed unwilling to take on personal responsibility for their actions.’
It was at the end-of-year final exams that the actuality of his four years with ‘his kids’ became acutely apparent. Many of the students failed in most areas of their subjects, and were not only disappointed with themselves but with their teachers as well. The sense of rejection and failure resonated deeply with Tóth and influenced his decision to cease his teaching career. ‘I felt as though I had not succeeded as a teacher to bring out the best in the pupils. I had given one hundred per cent of my energy to aid them, but it was not enough. It was a tough time because the kids wanted someone to blame, and all I could do was to try and force them to recognize the reality of their apathy.’ Admittedly, Tóth’s experiences are subject to the school in which he taught and the socio-economic demography of the pupils. Government education funding is sparse, and many public schools rely heavily on family contributions, sponsorships and fundraising. ‘My opinion is that the Hungarian education system used to be a highly successful system, but is now marred by the adoption of Western teaching models after Communism. The marking structure became lower, and was made easier for students to obtain, which has lessened general resolve and perseverance to succeed. There have been some great new communicative methods introduced, and there still exists a high level of professionalism and high quality educators. But, it’s difficult to motivate teachers who have been teaching a certain way for years and to implement new strategies. It’s also difficult for younger teachers to inject fresh blood into the foundation.’
Tóth is now working in a new profession, relishing the new-found communication and mutual respect he felt was absent from his teaching days. As a teacher, positive reinforcement from colleagues and students alike was mediocre. To function to the best of ones ability, these elements in any occupation are paramount to personal development and one of the reasons Tóth cites as the instigator behind the dissipating incentive in the education field. Tóth is not embittered by his experiences; instead he is grateful for the communication skills he acquired and what he describes as ‘my heightened ability to emphasize on a human level.’ The icing on the cake would be a call from one of his past students in forty years just to say ‘I thought about what you said and I took it in. Thanks Mr. Teacher.’


Jaime Winchester

12.12.2008