Personal Development
LIFE LESSONS LEARNED FROM ANDRIA ZAFIRAKOU - GLOBAL TEACHER PRIZE WINNER 2018
BY LEISA GRACE WILSON
Having covered the Global Teacher pPrize since it started in 2015 , it has become a staple on the Teach Middle East Magazine calendar . Each year we publicise the call for entrants , then we look forward to the top 50 being named and then we anxiously await the announcement of the top 10 . Once the top 10 have been named , we start taking a more in-depth look at their individual stories , in readiness for meeting them personally , once they arrive in Dubai , for the annual Global Education and Skills Forum ( GESF ), as well as The Global Teacher Prize ceremony . We are normally afforded the privilege of interviewing all ten finalists on the eve of the start of GESF . This is our opportunity to really get to know the finalists before they get swept up in the frenzy of what has been rightly dubbed the DAVOS for education .
Every year we argue in the office about who our favourite finalist is and why , but we never admit it publicly , so I know I am breaking protocol by admitting that Andria was my favourite ever since the finalists were announced and I learned more about her story . Like Andria , I spent several years teaching in an inner city school in North London and I understand all too well the challenges the students and teachers in these schools face on a daily basis . Unlike Andria , I left that life behind when I moved to the United Arab Emirates with my family . I also identify with her story because I owe all my success to educators like Andria , who go above and beyond , every day , to ensure that the students in their care receive the best education possible . This is no easy feat as the challenges are great .
When I met Andria , we started chatting like old friends . I felt as if I had known her for quite a while . We had a lengthy conversation about London , teaching in the inner city and what it takes to make a difference in the lives of children . We swapped stories about situations we had encountered teaching in London and we also talked about North London , a place we are both very familiar with . Her enthusiasm was palpable . It was clear , she loves her students and she absolutely believes that she is making a difference in their lives every day . If you have not yet seen the short film done about her by the Global Teacher Prize then I encourage you do so . It can be found at this link : https :// youtu . be / BrMaive-xiU .
Andria teaches at Alperton Community School , a secondary school academy in the inner city borough of Brent in London , England . It ’ s no easy task . Brent is one of the most ethnically diverse places in the country and 130 languages are spoken in its schools . Its pupils come from some of the poorest families in Britain , many sharing one house with as much as five other families and many more exposed to gang violence . Children arrive at the school with limited skills and already feel isolated from staff and one another , making engaging with them all the more vital , but also , all the more difficult . After chatting with Andria , I could not help feeling like I have just