No-one gets into teaching to get a million dollars.
Of the tens of millions of educators in the world who dedicate their lives to helping people learn, only a handful will ever be formally recognised as 'the best teacher in the world'. Andria Zafirakou is one of them. The Arts and Textiles teacher from Alperton Community School in London won the coveted Global Teacher Prize in 2018 and was awarded $1m.
But it was never about winning a prize. Or even about being recognised as 'the best'. At least not in the eyes of anyone but her own students. It was about making a difference. About being the positive force in the lives of her students, for whom just making it to school was often an achievement in itself. It was about being someone who really cared and wanted to help them become the very best they could be.
In an education system increasingly obsessed with academic grades and 'attainment', Zafirakou's success reminds us what is actually important in the lives of young people. She focused on what really mattered to them. To be someone that listened. Who understood. Who they could trust. No-one told her to learn how to greet her students in the 35 languages they spoke. No teacher assessment form encouraged her to visit her pupil's homes to understand their circumstances and to meet their families. But she knew that was what would really make a difference to their lives. Their grades mattered, but their happiness and self-confidence mattered far more.
For the thousands of students taught by Zafirakou, the truth is, few will remember the trophy she won, the accolades she received or even the $1m prize money she donated to 'Artists in Residence', the arts education charity she established. What they will remember is the only thing that ever really mattered to Zafirakou in the first place. That she made an indelible impression on them that will be with them for the rest of their lives.
Andria Zafirakou – video transcript
I feel so uncomfortable when it comes to being associated with a one million dollars. I mean, why would you give a teacher one million dollars? But, I'm going to put my money where my mouth is and I'm going to change the world.
I've never doubted being a teacher. Growing up, I would play teachers or librarians all the time in my house. My younger brother was my student. I think that stuck with me, that resonates with me. I certainly went into teaching thinking that, I can't wait to have my art room and inspire my students, you know, be that amazing person in that child's life, the role model.
I remember turning up for my interview at my school. The windows were broken all along the, all on the side over there, the displays in the room were old and tattered. Students were coming in rowdy, there wasn't a community, and to be honest with you, I actually wanted to leave as quickly as possible. I actually thought, "oh my god, I'm scared." "I don't think I can do this." Until two little girls in the front said to me in very broken English, "Miss, can you stay?" "Can you be our teacher?" And I just think my heart just went... And 13 years later, I'm still in that school, it's exactly where I need to be.
My school is not the most pleasant area, actually to be honest with you, it's an area of very high deprivation. And our children in our community are growing up way too fast. They have got tough lives, extraordinarily tough lives. They are vulnerable. You're hoping that they'll come in the next day in school, and then when you see them you're like, "oh, thank God they are there," because they have got pressures that we can't even imagine. And we have just got to make sure that we protect them as much as we can and support them as much as we can.
Teachers have the power to transform lives. And for me, the arts and creative subjects have got the most powerful skills in transforming and helping students. I mean, just imagine this, alright, so you are a child who has just migrated from another country or you may be a refugee. You're going into a school, you are intimidated, you are scared. The only areas that you can show actually who I am, are creative subjects and also physical education. That's where you can actually feel, “right, this is what I can do. This is me.” These subjects will help our children achieve and feel that sense of purpose that, "yeah, I am just as good as everyone else or even better." That, that's life transforming, that moment there.
I'm so honoured to be where I am today. I was nominated for the Global Teacher Prize, and in December, I found out that I was in the top 50 and that was enough. My mum was so proud, the family was so proud. And then in February, reached the top 10. That's when I thought, "oh my gosh, oh my gosh, this is too too big." 30,000 applications from 175 countries, and here I am. I was invited to Dubai, we had the ceremony and I won that. It's the most extraordinary thing that's ever happened to me, completely changed my life. The beauty of this is, now I have a platform and I have some powers to do something which I think is really important.
At the moment, all the arts are being squeezed out of schools, curriculums, not just in the UK, everywhere in the world. That for me is so wrong because what we're doing, we're almost punishing our children. We're saying, “you know that feeling that you get when you create a piece of artwork? You know that happy, that joy feeling? That's not important”. And, oh my god, they are. We need our children to feel that they can think critically, that we're not just saying to them, memorise this and then you'll be fine. That is not what humans are put on this earth to be like. Right? I mean, come on.
So what I'm doing is, I've started a charity, and my charity is to bring artists into schools. I want children to know and to feel that they can aspire to become an artist, that it is okay to follow the arts cause that will lead to something. If we do not protect these subjects, we are not helping our children succeed in the future.
I believe so much that teaching does not end when you close the door after a lesson. Your job as a teacher is to make sure that every child in front of you has got every opportunity they can to succeed. Break their ceilings, it doesn't matter if they've got labels, like special educational needs or this or the other, doesn't matter, because there is a way that, that child can achieve and feel a sense of purpose.
When you're doing something that gives you happiness and joy, then it's not a job. You love it. You thrive on it. I think, that's for me is what I, what keeps me going. That's what it takes to be a good teacher.
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Andria Zafirakou became the 2018 winner of the Global Teacher Prize.
She was recognised for her dedication to making her students feel valued. To welcome them each morning, she learned how to greet them in 35 different languages so each could hear their first language.
She has donated all of her $1m prize money to her arts charity.
She continues to teach today.
