Azerbaijani teacher shortlisted for Global Teacher Prize

/AzerNews/

By Amina Nazarli

Azerbaijani teacher Mahammad Garakishiyev has been shortlisted along with 49 candidates for a one-million dollar prize called Global Teacher Prize.

Garakishiyev, a teacher of English language, working at the school #3 named after Zarifa Aliyeva in Balaken region of Azerbaijan will compete with other outstanding teachers from around the world.

Garakishiyev was included in the top 50 who have been shortlisted from over 5,000 nominations and 1,300 final applications from 127 countries including the US, UK, Italy, Kenya, Uganda, India, Afghanistan, Australia, Argentina Mexico and Jordan, amongst others.

The winner’s name will be announced at a ceremony during the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai on March 16, 2015.

Having got familiar with modern teaching methods after participating in the US government’s Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program, Mahammad follows a student-centered approach to teaching. He teaches English for communication rather than reading and doing grammar exercises. He also uses interactive methods and multimedia instead of old-style textbooks. He holds a free English conversation club outside of school hours and helps local English teachers improve their language skills.

In 2013, he won the national Teacher of Excellence Award. He is also involved in national conferences for training Azerbaijani English teachers on how to conduct interactive lessons and make use of computers and online resources in the classes.

Mahammad is also a finalist for “The Best Teacher of 2013 and 2014 Award” in Azerbaijan.

The Global Teacher Prize is an annual one-million dollar award from the Varkey GEMS Foundation. It is established by the U.S. ex-president Bill Clinton to be given to a super-special teacher. Each year, an innovative and caring teacher who has made an inspirational impact on his or her students and community will receive the reward of a lifetime. Teachers currently teaching children in a compulsory setting or between the ages 5-18 are eligible.

Widely referred to as the Nobel Prize for teaching, it is the largest prize of its kind and is open to teachers in every school across the world. Applicants will be judged on how they open up their pupil’s minds, how much they contribute to their community, and how much they encourage others to become teachers.

The Global Teacher Prize follows a long-standing commitment to improve the status of teachers by the Varkey GEMS Foundation (VGF). Last November, the VGF published the Global Teacher Status Index, the first attempt to compare different attitudes towards teachers in 21 countries.

The index found that there were significant differences between the statuses of teachers worldwide. The survey also found that in many countries, between a third and half of parents probably or definitely don’t encourage their children to enter the teaching profession.