Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem, salaam alaykum dear readers,
Every year, thousands of teachers are nominated from hundreds of countries for the Global Teacher Prize. Now in it’s seventh year, this prize highlights the exceptional work of teachers across the globe working towards transforming young lives for the betterment of society. Below are three of the 50 top finalist for 2021:
Nesreen Qutainah – Dora Primary School for Girls, Hebron, Palestine
“Before reaching the minds of your students, you have to win their hearts”
Nasreen Qutainah
Surely it is not easy teaching young students who are at an age where they are going through personal and social development. Compound this with living under a volatile environment and the children can have a lot of anxiety and behavior problems. Despite all of this, Nasreen is committed to transforming her students into compassionate global citizens.
Highlights of Nasreen’s teaching:
- Establish a sense of cooperation in the classroom
- Inspire students to help each other
- Learning through play
- Students form friendships with children all across Palestine
To read more on Nasreen click here.
Almaz Khamidullin – Usmanova 11, Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia Kazan
“I have made the experiment and verified the efficacy of the two secrets. The first secret is that 20 thousand times over six months, I said “Almaz, I am the winner of the contest “Teacher of the Year”. As you can see, words and thoughts are materialized and I was convinced of it again. The second secret is that in the modern world, I believe that the key to success is a team. Now, you see only one-tenth on the stage, while the remaining nine-tenths of the merits are a success and work of the team, which is in this room.”
Almaz Khamidullin – Kazan Teacher of the Year ceremony
Photo by Marat Muginov 
Overwhelmingly, mathematics is the least liked subject amongst a majority of students. For Almaz, he must come up with ways to battle the obstacle of students paying little attention to math. Not only has he come up with imaginative ways of bringing to life math for his students, he’s also developed his students direction of becoming global citizens by involving them in international competitions and university studies.
Highlights of Almaz’s teaching:
- Works as a tutor in the evening
- Spends 25 weekend evenings a year on student home visits
- Integrated learning technology with practical examples
- Personalized learning tracks for each student
To read more on Almaz click here.
Soraya Motaharnian – 14th Khordad Foundation Elementary school, Taz Abad Village, Bijar, Iran
“Trying to restore Sarah’s health made me take the relationship between myself and the word ‘commitment’ more seriously. This commitment started from a sweet child and has reached a commitment to a more general word called human.”
Soraya Motaharnian – Source
For Soraya, after she was assigned to teach in a remote village of a dispossessed province, she was moved by the condition of two young children. From there, her selfless journey of paying for students medical and school needs began. She has since with the encouragement of her parents, started a charity to help thousands of individuals. Preparing her students for the outside world involves trips to museums & historic sites. Beyond teaching, Soraya has turned her broken-down school into a modern one and has completed other community building efforts.
Highlights of Soraya’s teaching:
- Combining subjects to improve student participation
- Teaching through fun facts
- Game centered teaching
- Lesson plans based on individual needs
To read more on Soraya click here.
Teachers are vital in helping to mold children into respectful, responsible and empathetic adults. Below is a quote from Imam as-Sajjad (as) as to the rights of a teacher:
“The right of the one who trains you through knowledge is magnifying him, respecting his sessions, listening well to him, attending to him with devotion, avoiding raising your voice against him, avoiding answering any question before he answers, avoiding talking to anyone during his instructions, avoiding backbiting anyone before him, doing your best to defend him when he is backbitten and cover his flaws and publicize his good traits. Do not sit with his enemy and do not antagonize his friend. If you do so, the angels will testify for you that you have attended to him and received his knowledge for the sake of Allah, not people.”
Quoted from The Treatise of Rights; Imam as-Sajjad (as)
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