‘Build bond with students’
dubai — The most important thing for a teacher to do is build relationships with students to learn more about them, the world’s best teacher has told Khaleej Times. In an exclusive interview a day after she bagged the $1 million global teacher prize in Dubai, Andria Zafirakou from the UK said: “Find out what excites them, their hobbies and what they’re passionate about. Once you’ve done that, they share information with you.”
Andria has taken it upon herself to be a security guard for her students, too. “(I) make sure there’s nothing out there that makes our students vulnerable. We are unfortunately in an area where we have a lot of gang cultures. My presence there is a presence of security for the students.”
I think the most important thing that any teacher can do, must do, is build relationship with their students to learn more about them. Find out what excites them, their hobbies and what they’re passionate about.
I’ve seen how art can really help transform people’s lives. It gives them confidence. It puts them in challenging situations, which they then would have to solve.
dubai — A British woman was recently announced as the best teacher in the world and was awarded $1 million for her efforts, thanks to the Varkey Foundation.
Andria Zafirakou received the prestigious prize during a starstudded ceremony on Sunday. Top celebs such as Trevor Noah, Priyanka Chopra, Lewis Hamilton, Charlize Theron and Jennifer Hudson came to support the cause.
On Monday, Zafirakou spoke exclusively to Khaleej Times on her victory, how she will use the award money and her thoughts on the importance of teachers.
Zafirakou is an arts and textiles teacher at Alperton Community School, a secondary school academy in the inner city borough of Brent. Her students come from challenging backgrounds and live in an area that has a gang culture. Some of her students live in crowded homes along with five other families. She has created several after-school activities that act as safety guard before and after school hours to ensure all of the students’ safety.
Thanks to her efforts, Alperton is now in the top 1 to 5 per cent of the country in terms of qualifications and accreditations.
What was your reaction when they called out your name? How do you feel about winning?
I didn’t actually hear it. I was trying to figure out what they said. Eddie Woo (one of the top 10 finalists), that brilliant human being, came up to me and said ‘it’s you, it’s you’. It still hasn’t sunken in. It was just a very wonderful moment. I’m very grateful to people like Sunny Varkey and the leaders of this country to put education in the spotlight. I was really excited and completely overwhelmed by this whole experience.
How do events like the Global Teacher Prize help highlight the importance of teachers?
It’s raising the profiles of teachers and making their voices heard. We need to be listening to the teachers because these are the people who are working with the generation of students and the ones who are working on the ground with the students.
Former Global Teacher Prize winners are known to use the award money to give back to their school community. How do you plan on using the $1million award?
I still haven’t thought much about it. As you know, I’m very passionate about arts and how the arts education is vital for any child to experience. So, it’d definitely be working with my school community and maybe outside. I’ve met some incredible teachers through the Varkey Foundation and I’m thinking about linking up with some of them to do some collaborative projects together.
You teach students who come from very challenging backgrounds. How do you ensure students, who may already be psychologically distressed, learn effectively?
The key to this is that to make sure they don’t feel any isolation or they shouldn’t have any label because of their circumstance. We just encourage them to take part in many different activities that we have. We have a breakfast club which is free, we have clubs for homework, so they have resources and time for their homework. Also, we offer them lots of sports and healthy mindsets which will enable them and feel like they are looked after.
It’s interesting you mention sports, because you have actually opened a boxing club at your school
It’s something the students wanted. It’s really useful for them to build their confidence and also to let out any excess energy. And our girl students love it. It’s social and it’s building their confidence. These are the kinds of life skills we want our students to have.
How does art play a role in the students’ lives?
I’ve seen how art can really help transform people’s lives. It gives them confidence. It puts them in challenging situations, which they then would have to solve. And this is really good to build their character. Also, some students would find the academic subjects more challenging. They automatically find the haven in the arts. And I’ve noticed that a lot of students who do this really enjoy it and benefit from it.
Can you share a case study of a student whom you’ve seen benefit from arts?
I’ve got lots. A recent one is a student whom I teach. He’s in Year 8 and about 12 or 13 years old. He’s dyslexic and has other special educational needs. He finds it very difficult to write and even hold a pen. He challenges teachers and students a lot. He lacks social skills and very rarely engages in class for more than five minutes. I’ve been working with him for about a year and half and recently he’s had a breakthrough. He’s produced a piece of work that he’s really proud of. It’s actually up there with all the other students in the class. The way he’s created it shows that he can control a paintbrush beautifully. So, if he can control a paintbrush, it’s going to help him build and coordinate using other tools, for example, pens.
You’re not just an art teacher — you act as a school safety guard and ensure all students are going and coming into campus safely. Why?
It’s something I like to do, which helps me see what’s going on outside the gates. And make sure there’s nothing out there that makes our students vulnerable. We are unfortunately in an area where we have a lot of gang cultures. My presence there is a presence of security for the students. Also, just to welcome them into school and make sure when they’re coming in everything is OK with them.
Your students pretty much consider you as another mum. How important is it to maintain trust with your students?
I think the most important thing that any teacher can do, must do, is build relationship with their students to learn more about them. Find out what excites them, their hobbies and what they’re passionate about. Because by finding these things out, what you’re doing is showing them your interest in their lives. Once you’ve done that, they share information with you.
sarwat@khaleejtimes.com