Million-dollar teacher
Earlier this year, Andria Zafirakou defeated 33,000 teachers from 173 countries to win the Global Teacher Prize 2018. The first UK winner, Zafirakou teaches art and textiles at Alperton Community School in north London, where 35 different languages are spoken and many pupils come from poor families.
That’s why Zafirakou (who has learned to say “hello” and “goodbye” in all 35 languages) will not be spending the $1 million prize on herself. “The thought of so much money is so stressful,” she told the Financial Times. “I want to bring artists, designers, musicians, actors into schools — and I’ll be using the funds to do that. You see, the children in my school, they don’t go out during the weekends.”
The 39-year-old, who is married with two daughters, has been a teacher for 12 years. She is involved in after-school programmes and works with police and social services to prevent gang activity at her school. “Ultimately, teaching is not just what happens in the classroom,” Zafirakou says. “We are mums, we are mentors, we are psychologists, we are role models.”