Being Headmaster: “A passion for education”

Being Headmaster: “A passion for education”

In most movies and television shows, “the headmaster” is a terrifying and somewhat evil character in the lives of students. Other times, they’re just strange and off the rails. With this in mind, I went to interview Mathijs Hekkelman, the head of the international department and the deputy head of our school. Immediately, even someone who  has never met him before could realise that Rijnlands’ head is the very opposite of the movie and tv renditions of his character. He kindly (and excitedly) accepted me into his office, and we spoke about his experiences in this major role.

Mr. Hekkelman never really left school. At heart, he’s an English teacher, and still takes joy in his English B classes for the DP program two times per week. However, being headmaster fills most of his time. At Rijnlands alone, he’s been in charge for the past 17.5 years, and before that, he was head of an international school in Shanghai! We certainly are in expert hands. The list of his daily tasks is long, but besides the slightly duller responsibilities such as the endless meetings about everything and anything happening in school, the administration work and contact with new families, Mr. Hekkelman values one thing above all: direct contact with students.

“I try to be the first-person students meet,” he told me, “I bring new families on school tours, and I try to help out whenever I can.” To Mr. Hekkelman, standing in front of the reception in the morning is more than just “saying hello”, it means getting an overview of what’s happening around. He told me that from all the anecdotes he could recall, the best ones came from students. He loves to see just how much students have grown and changed in DP2 since MP1; students who have succeeded in proving wrong all those who doubted them; calling into the office a pair of students but letting them off since they were only trying to prank their older siblings. “It’s the little things that make this job so great.”

At an international school, students are likely from other countries, perhaps they just moved and left everything behind, maybe English isn’t their first language. It can be hard to feel accepted even among peers with similar experiences. When the first person you meet wants above all to make you feel seen, it can truly change your perspective on the situation. When I asked him how he ended up being a head, he confessed that it was due to “never saying no to a challenge,” opportunities show up and “life takes you somewhere”. This is a lesson we should all take to heart. High school may be 7 long years of our lives, but when those in charge have our backs, they may not be so dark after all.

In most movies and television shows, “the headmaster” is a terrifying and somewhat evil character in the lives of students. Other times, they’re just strange and off the rails. With this in mind, I went to interview Mathijs Hekkelman, the head of the international department and the deputy head of our school. Immediately, even someone who  has never met him before could realise that Rijnlands’ head is the very opposite of the movie and tv renditions of his character. He kindly (and excitedly) accepted me into his office, and we spoke about his experiences in this major role.

Mr. Hekkelman never really left school. At heart, he’s an English teacher, and still takes joy in his English B classes for the DP program two times per week. However, being headmaster fills most of his time. At Rijnlands alone, he’s been in charge for the past 17.5 years, and before that, he was head of an international school in Shanghai! We certainly are in expert hands. The list of his daily tasks is long, but besides the slightly duller responsibilities such as the endless meetings about everything and anything happening in school, the administration work and contact with new families, Mr. Hekkelman values one thing above all: direct contact with students.

“I try to be the first-person students meet,” he told me, “I bring new families on school tours, and I try to help out whenever I can.” To Mr. Hekkelman, standing in front of the reception in the morning is more than just “saying hello”, it means getting an overview of what’s happening around. He told me that from all the anecdotes he could recall, the best ones came from students. He loves to see just how much students have grown and changed in DP2 since MP1; students who have succeeded in proving wrong all those who doubted them; calling into the office a pair of students but letting them off since they were only trying to prank their older siblings. “It’s the little things that make this job so great.”

At an international school, students are likely from other countries, perhaps they just moved and left everything behind, maybe English isn’t their first language. It can be hard to feel accepted even among peers with similar experiences. When the first person you meet wants above all to make you feel seen, it can truly change your perspective on the situation. When I asked him how he ended up being a head, he confessed that it was due to “never saying no to a challenge,” opportunities show up and “life takes you somewhere”. This is a lesson we should all take to heart. High school may be 7 long years of our lives, but when those in charge have our backs, they may not be so dark after all.