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Al Hroub, Sheikh Mohammed and Varkey
at the awards ceremony.

Palestinian wins $1m Global Teacher Prize 2016

DUBAI, March 14, 2016

Hanan Al Hroub, from Samiha Khalil High School, Al-Bireh, Palestine, has been awarded the $1 million Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize 2016, which recognizes outstanding contribution to the profession.

The prize was awarded under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, UAE.

Announced via a special video message broadcast into the Global Teacher Prize ceremony taking place at the Global Education and Skills Forum (GESF) 2016 in Dubai, Pope Francis said: “I would like to congratulate the teacher Hanan Al Hroub for winning this prestigious prize due to the importance that she gave to the ‘playing’ part in the education of the children.”

“A child has the right to play. Part of education is to teach children how to play because you learn how to be social through games as well as learn the joy of life.

“A population that is not well educated because of the wars, or by other reasons that exist in order not to get any education, is a population that decays. That is why I would like to highlight the noble profession of a teacher,” he added.

Now in its second year, the $1 million award is the largest prize of its kind. The Global Teacher Prize was set up to recognize one exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession as well as to shine a spotlight on the important role teachers’ play in society. By unearthing thousands of stories of heroes that have transformed young people’s lives, the prize hopes to bring to life the exceptional work of millions of teachers all over the world.

Hanan Al Hroub grew up in the Palestinian refugee camp, Bethlehem, where she was regularly exposed to acts of violence. She went into primary education after her children were left deeply traumatised by a shooting incident they witnessed on their way home from school.

Her experiences in meetings and consultations to discuss her children’s behaviour, development and academic performance in the years that followed led Hanan to try to help others who, having grown up in similar circumstances, require special handling at school.

With so many troubled children in the region, Palestinian classrooms can be tense environments. Hanan embraces the slogan ‘No to Violence’ and uses a specialist approach she developed herself, detailed in her book, ‘We Play and Learn’. She focuses on developing trusting, respectful, honest and affectionate relationships with her students and emphasises the importance of literacy. She encourages her students to work together, pays close attention to individual needs and rewards positive behaviour.

Her approach has led to a decline in violent behaviour in schools where this is usually a frequent occurrence; she has inspired her colleagues to review the way they teach, their classroom management strategies and the sanctions they use.

Hanan has shared her perspective at conferences, meetings and teacher training seminars. She hopes that, with education, there can be an elimination of violence altogether.

The prize was presented by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, and Sunny Varkey, founder of the Varkey Foundation.

“I am proud to be a Palestinian female teacher standing on this stage. I accept this as a win for all teachers in general and Palestinian teachers in particular. Each day, the role of the teacher is reinforced and its importance is confirmed as the world questions what future we want for our children,” said Al Hroub.

“Yes, we can help our children investigate this world and understand it, which helps them to be integrated within it. We can teach children to be effective and inventive through various contexts which include entertainment, drawing and movement. We need to help children with questioning, dialogue, thinking and feeling to help them express themselves.

“We, as teachers can build the values and morals of young minds to ensure a fair world, a more beautiful world and a more free world. The future seems far and ambiguous; however, when you are involved in making it, the world represents a light.”

The winner was chosen from ten finalists by a Global Teacher Prize Academy. All ten finalists were invited to Dubai for the Award ceremony at the Global Education and Skills Forum 2016 (GESF).

The other nine finalists for the Global Teacher prize 2016 were:

Aqeela Asifi, who teaches children at the Kot Chandana refugee camp, Punjab, Pakistan
Ayub Mohamud, a business studies teacher at Eastleigh High School in Nairobi, Kenya
Colin Hegarty, from Preston Manor School, a comprehensive in Wembley, North West London, UK
Joe Fatheree from Effingham High School, Effingham, Illinois, USA
Kazuya Takahashi, a teacher at the Kogakuin University Junior and Senior High School, Tokyo, Japan
Maarit Rossi, a maths teacher at Kartanonranta School, Finland
Michael Soskil from Wallenpaupack South Elementary School, Newfoundland, Pennsylvania, USA
Richard Johnson, a science teacher at Rostrata Primary School, Perth, Western Australia
Robin Chaurasiya, from Kranti School, Mumbai, India

The Global Teacher Prize winner will be paid the prize money in equal instalments over ten years, and the Varkey Foundation will provide the winner with financial counselling.

Without compromising their work in the classroom, the winner will be asked to serve as a global ambassador for the Varkey Foundation, attending public events and speaking in public forums about improving the prestige of the teaching profession. A condition of winning the prize is that the winner remains as a classroom teacher for at least five years.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers will be responsible for ensuring that the balloting process is fair and accurate.

The Global Teacher Prize is part of the Varkey Foundation’s long-standing commitment to improve the status of teachers.  In November 2013, the foundation published the Global Teacher Status Index, the first attempt to compare attitudes towards teachers in 21 countries. – TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Palestine | Global Teacher Award | Varkey Foundation | hAnan Al Hroub |

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