A teacher from Iloilo who was recognized as one of the top 10 finalists of the Global Teacher Prize 2018, an award giving body under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai, is set to fly to Dubai where the awarding ceremony will take place.
The winner, who will receive $1 million or more than P51 million, will be announced during the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai on March 18, 2018.
Dr. Jesus Insilada, principal of Caninguan National High School in Lambunao, Iloilo, was chosen for pioneering the culture-based approach in teaching different subjects.
Insilada explained that culture-based approach is all about incorporating indigenous forms of art such as dances, songs, epics, local games, and crafts to engage the students and help them learn more.
“Sir Jesus’ secret on how to motivate students to go to school even though they live far away is to respect and value their culture,” Sally Ortigoza, Insilada’s co-teacher, said.
Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates announced the ten educators who were chosen as finalists in this year’s Global Teacher Prize.
According to Insilada, he and his school use this approach to encourage students to stay in school and decrease the dropout rate of Caninguan National High School.
“It is amazing how culture-based teaching is really keeping the children to stay in school. We have decreased our dropout rate from 5% to 1%. We even would like to make it 0% this school year,” he said.
Insilada, a member of the indigenous people’s Panay Bukidnon community, said that another objective of his teaching strategy is to patronize their indigenous culture.
“We need to connect with the spiritual world. It is very important to bring what we have here in school to the wider community… It is only with the awareness of our identity that empowers us, and when we are empowered, we can become productive citizens of the community, of the country, and of the world,” he said.
With his culture-based approach, test scores have revealed that at least 87% of his pupils achieved their age-expected grades.
Insilada, the first in his family to become a professional, also said that he would like to instill the importance of education to the younger generation.
“As a poor child and as an indigenous student, I have experienced to be underestimated and have felt inferior; that is why indigenous people, the poor, and the underprivileged are very special to me,” he said.
He has received many national and international awards for teaching, writing and his promotion and support for indigenous culture.
Sunny Varkey, founder of Varkey Foundation and Global Teacher Prize, congratulated Insilada for being selected in the Top 10, and hopes that Insilada’s story will serve as an inspiration to those looking to enter the teaching profession.
The other nine global finalists are: Nurten Akkuş from Turkey, Marjorie Brown from South Africa, Luis Miguel Bermudez Gutierrez from Colombia, Glenn Lee from the United States, Diego Mahfouz Faria Lima from Brazil, Koen Timmers from Belgium, Eddie Woo from Australia, Andria Zafirakou from the United Kingdom, and Barbara Anna Zielonka from Norway.
According to their website, The Global Teacher Prize is awarded by the Varkey Foundation under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai. It seeks to acknowledge the impacts of the very best teachers – not only on their students but on the communities around them.
The 10 finalists were selected from over a Top-50 shortlist, coming from 30,000 nominations and applications from 173 countries across the globe.
Watch Insilada’s video here:
