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At the age of 24, you took over the management of Stříbro Primary School. How did you gain respect among your more experienced colleagues?

I would say that the big advantage was that I had been working here for five years before I became headmaster. So I didn't come into a strange environment, people knew me, they knew what to expect from me and I, in turn, knew what to expect from them. I think that respect can be earned by what you can do. I also hope that the steps I am taking here, which should improve the school's existence not only for the students but also for the teachers, hopefully prove that I am a person in the right place.

What motivated you to become a headteacher and what challenges did you have to overcome?

I have always wanted to be able to influence what happens in the school. I started here as a teacher, then I was also a class teacher and I have experienced different roles. I've always felt like I could do something different. But I wasn't in a position where I was able to make decisions about it. I had a desire to move the school somewhere, to get it somewhere, which you just can't do without being in a leadership position.

How did your studies at the Faculty of Education at UWB prepare you for the role of headmaster? Were any subjects or practices crucial for your professional preparation?

I was prepared for the job of director by a course at FPE, which I remember very fondly, a course with Associate Professor Slavík called Reflection and Evaluation of Teaching. The course partly prepared for hospitality, where we used models of specific lessons to try to evaluate and analyse what the essentials of a given lesson should and should not contain. The other courses were more teacher-oriented than preparing for principalship, which is not the purpose either.

In addition to being a principal, you still teach chemistry and math. How do you manage the combination of teaching and management roles and what benefits do you see for the school and yourself?

I love teaching, I love being in the classroom with the children, so I try to come in to cover for colleagues when there is a staffing emergency, for example. When I became a principal, I think the thing that bothered me the most was that I couldn't teach as many classes anymore. As for the combination with the managerial role, one has to be very mentally resilient to withstand the pressure from parents, pupils, colleagues, the principal... It's a lot. Moreover, in the first year of my work here as a director, we went through an inspection by the Czech School Inspectorate, which went well, so we experienced a lot right from the start.

What was the first major change you made in your role as headmaster at Stříbro Primary School?

Probably the fact that my colleagues and I opened the school more to students and parents. Previously, there were classes here and there was nothing extra, no leisure activities and nothing for the pupils to look forward to. So we offer various theatre, sports, science or technical clubs, where we have also approached local companies, as Tachov is an industrial region. So the children learn to solder, make electrical parts and so on. We also play board games here, we have a lot of things at the school. We also have a new focus on teaching subjects in a foreign language, so we teach art in English, for example. I think that languages are the main thing that pupils will need today, no matter where the wind takes them one day.

What are your long-term professional goals? Do you plan to stay in education, or are you attracted to other fields, such as politics, where you already have some experience?

I don't think you can be a school principal for 20-30 years in one school. In order to be able to move the institution forward and to be able to give it some of your know-how, I would say there is a limit to how long one should serve in such a position. Personally, I have said that two terms is the time I would like to spend here, which means twice six years. I make no secret of the fact that I want to move up in my career at some point. My stated goal is the Ministry of Education because I think that is where I can make a real difference in education.

How would you motivate current education students who are considering a career in education? What would you recommend to them?

I would advise anyone who is studying at the Faculty of Education to finish their studies and actually go into education, because I know that some graduates of these faculties leave us and go to work outside the teaching sphere. Teaching is a very beautiful and stimulating job; you work with children and feel young no matter what your age. I definitely recommend studying pedagogy, teachers will always be needed. I can see that also from the position of a school principal, that to find a qualified teacher for some jobs is really a superhuman task. A graduate teacher has a secure job and many places will fight over him/her.

In one word, list the greatest contribution of the Faculty of Education to your current career.

Key. Education is the key to anything, if you want to get somewhere, achieve something, you can't quite do it without education. Of course there are exceptions, but education is really the key to a successful future life and career, opening the door to many opportunities and many places.

What are your favourite memories of your years at UWB?

This is probably the most complicated question for me (laughs). Probably the constant flow of information. At the university, I was constantly enriched with information and I was always learning something new, which unfortunately dropped off when I finished my studies. My fondest memories are the contact with the teachers and their professional input. Now I have started my PhD, but it is no longer a classical form of study as it was in the BA and MA. Occasionally I would go to a lecture.