He can barely speak Dutch, despite a week “with the nuns in Vught”. But that doesn’t make the conviction of the new director of the International School Eindhoven (ISE) Roy White less big: it is necessary to internationalise the entire education. Bilingualism is an important step in that endeavour.
The intention of White is part of the onderwijsvisie Brainport. The key is the internationalisation of the entire school system, including primary and vocational education.
White is a cosmopolitan. In Eindhoven he has found, in his own words, his 35th home. He used to be head of the international school in Hong Kong. He was born in Canada but was educated in England. “As an educator and a parent I believe that we have to help each other. Maybe some will find it weird that an institution is giving tips to a competitor, but that’s different with schools. We like to share all of our ideas, the more shared knowledge, the better.”
White has been responsible for the ISE since September. He doesn’t only see himself as a teacher, but also as entrepreneur, since he made the small school in Hong Kong develop into a large institute. But the most important thing to him is the future of his students, he wants to let them grow into “future leaders”. For that there are six important conditions in education, according to White:
- Being innovative
- Focus on science & technology
- Learn to work together
- Learn to be convincing and inspiring
- Language skills (at least with regard to Dutch, English and the mother tongue of the respective student)
- Being entrepreneurial
White: “The individuals at our school will have to be able to compete with the rest of the world in the future. Our job is to prepare them for that.”
Photo: Yvonne van Hest (Brainport) interviewing Roy White
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