Ronald Ddungu teaching at Gayaza High School in Kampalahas been included in the top 50 shortlist for a new one million dollar Global Teacher Prize, it was announced today.
- Ronald Ddungu amongst the top 50 shortlisted "classroom teachers" from 5,000 nominations from 127 countries
- The Global Teacher Prize is committed to improving the status of teachers, recognise and celebrate the important role that teachers play in society
Ronald will compete for the $1 million Varkey GEMS Foundation Global Teacher Prize, given to one exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession. 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 in every country of the world. Applicants are judged on how they open up their pupil's minds, how much they contribute to the community, and how much they encourage others to become teachers.
The top 50 have been shortlisted from over 5,000 nominations and 1,300 final applications from 127 countries from around the world including the US, UK, Italy, Kenya, Uganda, India, Afghanistan, Australia, Argentina Mexico and Jordan, amongst others. The top 50 shortlist has representatives from 26 countries and by highlighting their stories the Varkey GEMS Foundation hopes that the public will be able to join in passionate debates about which are the most important qualities in a good teacher. The winner will be announced at the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai on Monday 16 March 2015.
Ronald joined Gayaza High School in 1996, a school mainly attended by affluent families, it is Ronald's hope that he can influence his pupils to prepare Uganda for the future. He founded a program in which 100 senior students visit primary schools in the area and teach mathematics for an hour every week. This exposes the students to challenges within the community and broadens their horizons. The students have also become involved in an agricultural project to provide meals to primary school children and a scheme for students to study local enterprises and market them using online tools.
Ronald said, "It is awesome to hear every other day in each home the phrase 'My teacher said…'. In fact, if children are not saying this phrase then the teachers are not doing their job, right. Teaching makes the best impact on any community. Everyone should support the development of their communities and teachers are in contact with several families every other day."
On what inspires him, Ronald said, "I am inspired by my students' designs that are creative and innovative. Whenever I allow the students to work with some freedom they construct very exciting products, better than I could have imagined. This has taught me to always prepare my classes for the kind of learning where they need to construct their own mind. "
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 attitudes towards teachers in 21 countries. The index found that there were significant differences between the status of teachers worldwide.The survey also found that in many countries, between a third and half of parents would probably or definitely not encourage their children from entering the teaching profession.
As a direct response to this, the Global Teacher Prize was set up to shine a spotlight on the profession to recognise and celebrate 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 that millions of teachers do all over the world. Ultimately, by hoping to raise teacher respect across the world, it aims to play a part in helping to recruit and retain the best candidates into the profession.
Sunny Varkey, founder of the Varkey GEMS Foundation, said:
"The thousands of applications we received from all around the world is testimony to the achievements of teachers and the enormous impact they have on all of our lives. We introduced the prize this year in order toreturn teachers to their rightful position as the one of the most respected professions in society.
"The prize is not only about money; it's also about unearthing thousands of stories of inspiration as the many applications prove."
"Of course, more will be needed than the Global Teacher Prize to raise the status of profession worldwide. But my hope is that it's the start of a million conversations about the role of teachers - from families around the dinner table and teenagers on social media to education ministries around the world."
President Bill Clinton, Honorary Chairman of the Varkey GEMS Foundation, said:
"Attracting the best people to teaching, developing and supporting their skills, and holding our teachers in high regard — all are critically important to achieve excellence, both in teaching and learning."
Academy Award winning actor Kevin Spacey, who sits on the Global Teacher Prize Academy that chooses the final winner, said:
"When I was starting out, I was inspired by an older, more experienced actor, who told me that he thought I ought to go into acting professionally. That's the kind of mentoring and personal support that every young person needs to realise their potential.
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"It's the kind of encouragement and guidance that good teachers give to their pupils every day. And that is why I support the Varkey GEMS Foundation's Global Teacher Prize. However much we achieve in life, we all began learning the basics from a teacher in a classroom. Those that teach - devoting their talents and time to nurturing the talents of others - deserve to be respected and celebrated"
The top 50shortlisted teachers have now been judged by a Prize Committee with the final ten candidates to be announced in February 2015. The winner will then be chosen from these ten finalists by a Global Teacher Prize Academy. All ten finalists will beinvited to Dubai for the Award ceremony at the Global Education and Skills Forum (GESF) in March next year where the winner will be announced live.
For further information about top 50 shortlist please visit http://www.globalteacherprize.org.To join the conversation online follow #TeacherPrize on: https://twitter.com/TeacherPrize and https://www.facebook.com/teacherprize
Please email ishara.callan@apollostrategiccomms.com or call +447826542245 if you would like to call to interview the CEO of VGF or the shortlisted teachers.
