Forrai Memorial in Szarvas

On November 7th 2009 a Memorial Session was organized by the Hungarian National Association for ECE Kindergarten and Primary Teachers in Szarvas, where one of the invited speakers was IKS President Gilbert De Greeve. This is what he said:

"Ladies and gentlemen,  On this special occasion –it is the 5th Commemoration day for Kati– I would like to tell you a short story.

It is a story about two little Hungarian girls, Judit and Gabi, both born a longtime ago in 1950. They were neighbors and played together from the time that they were babies.

When they turned 3 years old, they were very lucky because both were registered in a Music Kindergarten program. Both showed to be intelligent children and they adored their music teacher. For them “aunt Kati” was the best teacher in the whole world. She played with them, sang with them, danced with them and taught them little interesting things with which they could surprise their families. They loved the school and the music moments.

They remembered, be it a little bit vaguely, that on one particular day an older man with a beard came to sit with them and to watch what they were doing. Aunt Kati had mentioned his name and even wrote it on the blackboard. They both remembered Zoltán, because Judit’s favorite little boy I the class was also a Zoltán… After all it was not so important. The most important was that he seemed to be very happy with aunt Kati and the children and, with his nicely sounding voice, he told the class “how beautifully they were singing and dancing”.

And time went by. As all children do, Judit and Gabi grew and soon turned 6 years old.

Again they were fortunate. Together they went to a Music Primary School. What a feast that was. All the new things they learned. And of course the daily 45 minutes music lesson with Ms. Anna. She, Ms. Anna, could sing so beautifully that even the birds remained silent…

Judit and Gabi learned language, mathematics, etc. and also learned how to read and write music and to sing beautifully, even when singing different melodies, because Judit was an alto and Gabi a soprano… They learned about composers, when and how they lived and sang themes of– and listened to their great compositions. And much more they did in the music lessons. And of course, Judit and Gabi sang in the school choir, which was also conducted by Ms. Anna. They even did concerts and went to competitions. It was all great fun.

What was really interesting is that the same man who came to listen to them in the Kindergarten also came this time. Now they knew his full name: Zoltán Kodály. He looked very severe and in the beginning they were not so sure whether he liked it. But after 10 minutes they knew that he was very friendly and they loved him right away. Ms. Anna told them that it was “thanks to him” that they could enjoy music so much and they even applauded. Mr. Kodály must have been really pleased because he wanted to be on a photograph with them…

In the meantime, Judit began learning to play the piano and Gabi preferred the violin. Before the end of the primary school they were playing together and also with other children in school ensembles and orchestras. School was great for children of their age, at that time.

And time went on. After all, it never stops.

Judit and Gabi finished the 8the grade with excellent results and went to the secondary school. Both chose to go to a Music Secondary School although Gabi had decided that she wanted to become a doctor.

The Secondary School was very challenging. Studying was now a serious matter and the expectations were high. But the music teacher, Mrs. Mária, was fantastic. She was like a “magician” and made the girls sing like nightingales. They talked about “modern composers” and learned difficult things about harmony and even counterpoint… And they sang in the school choir, among others many pieces of Professor Kodály and of his famous pupils. They were very proud that Professor Kodály regularly came to their concerts and praised the choir and the conductor. They were only 16 years old and if anybody would have told them that they would go on singing in the same choir for many years afterwards they would not have believed it. But so it happened.

And then came graduation from the Secondary School.

Gabi pursued her intention from childhood already and was to go to the medical University. Partially their paths divided here. But twice a week they met in the choir with Mrs. Mária. Gabi also joined the University choir and went on playing the violin. Furthermore she often went to concerts or the opera or so, because music had become an indispensable part of her life and she was convinced that because of her emotions towards music she could become a better doctor.

Judit decided to continue in music. She felt so strongly connected to it that she wanted to become a music teacher just like aunt Kati or Ms. Anna or Mrs. Mária. She did an entrance examination at the Liszt Academy and was accepted. One of the highlights of her time in the Academy were the classes of Professor Erzsébet. (To respect the anonymity of the story I cannot mention “family” names…). Professor Erzsébet became her mentor, her beacon for that part of her development, just like “aunt Kati” had been in her early childhood. Judit graduated with great distinction and became a music teacher herself. She and her colleagues continued the work of their various mentors under the carefully watching eyes of aunt Kati, Ms. Anna, Mrs. Maria and Professor Erzsébet. Judit discovered shortly after that many former students of Professor Erzsébet also called her “aunt Erzsi” and she thought: “that is interesting: from aunt Kati to aunt Erzsi, from Kindergarten to University the same spirit, the same line and the same intentions; it is like the circle is fully round now…” And then she suddenly understood what it was: it was all the vision and inspiration of the wonderful man that she had seen in Kindergarten already, that she lively remembered from the Primary School and the Secondary School and in many concerts where he was present. She had studied his music and was extremely proud that he was a country citizen fellow. At one occasion she was even introduced to him and he had spoken very friendly with her and asked her what she did. When she said that she was a music teacher in a Primary School he replied: if a teacher is a learned musician and loves her profession, the job will go well, the children will sing beautifully, will gladly attend their music lessons and most importantly: they will be guided to liking good music..

Ladies and gentlemen,

Believe me please. If someone would have told me this story “before” I came to Hungary in 1972 for the first time, I would have responded: “what a beautiful fairy tale…”

But I was one of the fortunate foreigners, together with many thousands from all over the world, who discovered that this was not a “fairy tale”; it was a daily reality in hundreds of schools and numerous Gabis and Judits and Ilonas and Mónikas and all the other ones received something invaluable for their whole life.

In 1965, Zoltán Kodály received an Honorary Doctorate at the University of Toronto in Canada. During a Question-Answer Session at the Dartmouth College a participant asked him: Dr. Kodály, would you tell us something about the special singing schools in Hungary? Kodály answered him: do you call “singing schools” those schools in which the children have daily singing lessons? The participant confirmed it. Kodály continued: But they are entirely average schools. They must teach every subject that the ordinary schools have. Music in those schools is a plus. They are obliged to be on an equal level with the other primary schools. But they have this curious experience that they achieve better results in almost every subject — so that our psychologists are beginning to study what may be the reason for that. I have said we want more psychologists. We can tell them what is happening. Daily music-making stirs up the mind and makes it sensitive to everything else. And that is the best argument for such schools. We cannot multiply them quickly enough; it is first a question of building good teachers. And from the State’s point of view it is a question of money. But it will come— It will slowly come. I tell you we will not be quiet until we have, instead of 103 such schools, 1003 — and even more, because we feel that music belongs to general education as well as mathematics and everything else. And so if music has the time that it deserves in general education, everything else will be better. (End of quote)

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Did you hear what Zoltán Kodály said? Daily music-making stirs up the mind and makes it sensitive to everything else. And that is the best argument for such schools. We cannot multiply them quickly enough. And now it comes: it is first a question of building good teachers. And from the State’s point of view it is a question of money. But it will come— It will slowly come.

It is a legitimate question to ask whether that dream of Kodály is still alive today. It may surprise you but I would be the first one to answer: “yes, absolutely”. Just think of the thousands of schools all over the world using the Kodály concept nowadays. This is far more than 1003. But, of course, we know that Zoltán Kodály was referring to his home country, Hungary. That picture, unfortunately, is less promising at the moment. The present situation has been accused on numerous occasions already but without much success and with little or no response from the responsible government authorities. Perhaps it is time to change the strategy. Instead of concentrating on “what was but is not anymore” it could be better to concentrate on “what is not but should be”. What I mean is: to turn the picture around. From looking at what this country “has lost” (which is negative) to what this country is still able “to win” (which is positive). However, in order to realize that positive intention, an intensive collaboration between all parties involved will be indispensable.

To begin with: the parents. They ought to understand again that the children in the 103 Music Primary Schools in 1965 received a better education, thanks to the value of the integrated music program and that a “better” education, also in 2009, means a better future.

The Curriculum writers. They ought to understand again the unique value of an integrated and full-fledged music program. They do not have to just “believe” us. There are enough scientific proves to check the truth.

The Heads of Kindergarten, Primary- and Secondary Schools. They ought to remember that in educating children only the very best is just good enough and that each compromise on “quality” will have a vicious effect on future generations.

And the Ministers of Education and Culture. They ought to be aware of the fact that this country still has the potential to be a “model” for the rest of the world, just like it was for such a long time. The world would look at Hungary as an “example”. Would not that be a completely different picture from the present reality…?

In 1997, on occasion of the 13th International Kodály Symposium in Manila on the Philippines, Kati Forrai gave an important address with the title: Pre-school Music Education in the Spirit of Zoltán Kodály. She said: Pedagogy has been aware of the susceptibility of early childhood and the decisive role, life-long influence of the early impressions for several thousand years. Outstanding personalities of the leading educational trends of this century, Piaget, Montessori and Waldorf as well as the pioneers of 19th- and 20th-century music education, such as Dalcroze, Orff, Suzuki and Kodály recognized the significance of early beginning in music education and attached great importance to it.

Government Excellencies, we, the International Kodály Society, being a strong voice of the international music community, together with colleagues from Hungary and the rest of the world, call upon you to reinstall the importance of music in general education, to the benefit of all children of Hungary and in order to regain for Hungary the status of being a “model” for the rest of the world. It is not difficult. It is very simple. It is all clearly explained in the writings and speeches of Zoltán Kodály. It just has to be “done” and the “fairy tale” will again become reality."