UK TEACHER NAMED THE BEST IN THE WORLD
dubai — A teacher from the United Kingdom, Andria Zafirakou, has been announced as the winner of the 2018 Global Teacher Prize Award in a star-studded ceremony. She will receive $1million as part of the award.
South African comedian and the Daily Show Host Trevor Noah was the surprise host of the evening and F1 Formula world champion Lewis Hamilton delivered the trophy. The UK Prime Minister Theresa May also delivered a congratulatory video message.
The announcement was made discreetly by a student in a video that showed pupils setting a world record for the largest human-mosaic of a hashtag. Noah, then, officially announced Zafirakou, an arts teacher at Alperton Community School in Brent, UK, as the winner in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Zafirakou gave her victory speech right after the announcement, where she said: “Tonight, it’s not about one person, it’s about celebrating all teachers and recognising the important role they play in shaping our children.
“The community where I teach in Brent is beautifully diverse and indeed is one of the most multicultural communities in the world. Nearly half of our residents were born outside of the UK and over 100 different languages are spoken by our kids in our schools. For many of our students, English is not the main language spoken at home.
“It’s also the community where many of our students, unfortunately live in unfortunate circumstances. They have tough lives. Sometimes, it’s a challenge for them to find a quiet place to study. Others aren’t able to stay for after-school activities because they care for their younger siblings whilst their parents go to work. What is amazing is that whatever issue they’re having at home, if our school could open at six in the morning, our students would be queuing up at five in the morning. So, the most important thing to do as teachers is to ensure our schools are safe havens.”
Working as an art and textiles teacher and as a member of the senior leadership team tasked with earning the trust of her pupils and their families, Zafirakou redesigned the entire curriculum from scratch — carefully working alongside other teachers — to have it resonate with her pupils. She helped a music teacher launch a Somali school choir and created alternative timetables to allow girls–only sports that would not offend conservative communities. This led to the girls’ cricket team winning the McKenzie Cup.
UK PM Theresa May congratulated Zarifakou via a video message. “On behalf of everyone in the United Kingdom, my warmest congratulations to Andria Zafirakou on winning the global teacher prize 2018,” May said.