THE WORLD’S BEST TEACHER?
Saskatoon trailblazer makes short list of nominees from 28 nations vying for $1M (U.S.) ‘Nobel prize of teaching’
HEAD OF THE CLASS Her efforts to champion indigenous studies and promote the Cree language helped make Belinda Daniels one of the 50 nominees — cut from an initial 8,000 — for The Varkey Foundation’s Global Teacher Prize.
Teacher Belinda Daniels is changing up how indigenous culture is taught in Saskatchewan.
And now, she’s in the running to be named the world’s best teacher.
Daniels, 42, a First Nations member of Nehiyaw origin, is one of 50 world-class educators nominated for a $1 million (U.S.) award dubbed ‘the Nobel prize of teaching.’ The Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize recognizes exceptional teachers making an outstanding contribution to the profession who have “transformed young peoples’ lives.”
Reading the email in her kitchen, she was soon “jumping up and down” in a mixture of amazement, shock and joy. “I couldn’t believe what I was reading,” she said.
Scott Farmer, the principal of Mount Royal Collegiate, where Daniels has taught for three years, praised her “innovative” and “excitable” approach that “breaks down barriers” in mixed classes of indigenous and non-indigenous students by encouraging pupils to go beyond the textbook in search of knowledge.
“I was a troubled kid when I met Belinda,” said former student Patricia Hall, who attended Joe Duquette High School in Saskatoon. “Her dedication and commitment were key factors in helping me to succeed in life. I really gravitated towards her compassion and patience.”
“I looked to her as a mentor to help change my life for the better.”
Throughout her career, Daniels has held positions at seven schools, taught at the universities of Alberta and Saskatchewan, and ran a summer camp teaching adults the native Cree language.
Of the wide variety of people of different ages, backgrounds, and cultures Daniels has taught, one class stands out above any other as her most memorable — the kindergarteners.
“Little people have a love for learning that is so innate, I loved feeding their curiosity and seeing the little light bulbs go off in their heads,” she said.
“They’re not afraid to make mistakes. They’re willing to say, ‘I’m sorry’. To cry. To laugh. To embarrass themselves, and know that life still goes on. They helped me connect to the present.”
Daniels is currently on a leave of absence to obtain her PhD in inter- disciplinary studies at the University of Saskatchewan.
For the past 11 years, she has organized a summer camp that attracts visitors from as far as Switzerland, who learn about First Nations language alongside indigenous people and more recent Canadians alike.
With or without the $1million prize on offer, creating a new approach to indigenous education is Daniels’ goal. “The state of indigenous education in Canada definitely needs an overhaul,” she said.
“I think for the most part people think more teaching of culture is the way. That’s just a band-aid approach.
“People think students need more indigenous drumming or dancing. That’s the easy way out. We need to teach language, to commit to hard work and train our teachers effectively. Language is what will give students identity.”
The other 49 nominees, chosen from an initial 8,000 candidates, hail from 28 countries across the world.
In Pakistan, Humaira Buchal is an advocate for young women’s education. She has been teaching disadvantaged young children since age 12 and helped form a school for close to 1,200 students. She was initially inspired to become educated when her infant cousin died because her illiterate aunt failed to read her child’s medication properly.
Argentina’s Inés Bulacio doesn’t educate in a traditional classroom. She teaches kids at a Buenos Aires hospital who cannot physically make it to school to create animated shorts and radio programs, often revolving around their own diseases. The approach has spread across Argentina.
A heart condition prevented Australian Christian Williams of going to the London Olympics in 2012. In- stead, he teaches mathematics from a coffee shop where students learn through trick shot videos and other innovative methods.
After the fall of communism in Poland, Jolanta Okuniewska hastily learned English and began exploring teaching styles from across Europe. Today, she distributes tablets to younger kids to allow them to pick up technological skills while learning through online language-teaching games.
The winner of the Global Teacher Prize will be announced on March16, 2016, at an education industry event in Dubai, U.A.E.