Category Archives: Activism

Pálné Veres was a Hungarian teacher and feminist who opened the first secondary school for women in Hungary in 1869 and founded the Hungarian National Association for Women’s Education.
Her school’s philosophy was that girls should be taught to be self-sufficient, and to learn to appreciate arts and culture while avoiding a tendency towards self-indulgence in luxury. Girls were to be taught to be direct representatives of God in their future married lives, and to embody Christian ideals in their behaviour. The school itself was divided into 11 grades: four in the elementary level, four at the intermediary level, and three in the superior level. The curriculum for the superior classes included Religious instruction; Hungarian Language; Hungarian Literature; Aesthetics; Pedagogy; Anthropology and Psychology; Logic; History of Civilization (partiularly as it related to women); Algebra and Geometry; German language; French language; Manual arts; Vocal and Instrumental Music; Gymnastics; Mathematics and Stereometry; Drawing.
Veres was disappointed at the high rate of departure of the students before the superior level, as the upper bourgeoisie and aristocratic parents of her students did not see a practical use for their daughters to advance beyond a certain age. The superior-level classes were seen as useful only for young women who intended to become school teachers themselves. Veres did succeed in influencing the upper bougeoisie and aristocracy attitudes, in acknowledging the benefits of education in general for children of both sexes.