Two Ukrainian teachers named among finalists for international award

Two teachers from Ukraine have been named finalists the Global Teacher Prize, an annual prize which celebrates the achievements of teachers worldwide.

Liudmyla Tabolina and Artur Proidakov, teachers of the Ukrainian language and literature were both nominated, along with 50 other teachers. The finalists were selected from more than 7,000 nominees from 130 countries.

Full list of Top 50 finalists includes teachers from different countries:
1. Aigul Ishangaliyeva, Kazakhstan
2. Alberto Rodrigues Dos Santos, Brazil
3. Ana-Maria Rusu, Romania
4. Annie Ohana, Canada
5. Artur Proidakov, Ukraine
6. Babak Mashhadi Ebrahim, United Kingdom
7. Brendan Kenna, Australia
8. Bruno Guillen, Argentina
9. Bryan Rivera, Puerto Rico
10. Danny Bernales Sotomayor, Peru
11. Deep Narayan Nayak, India
12. Eric Asomani Asante, Ghana
13. Estefany Mella Cuevas, Dominican
14. Eyad Alsouqi, Palestine
15. Geisha Bonilla Cortes, Chile
16. Hari Krishna Patacharu, India
17. Ian Preston, Australia
18. Isa Abbas, Bahrain
19. James Kidiga David, United Republic of Tanzania
20. Katja Battaglia, Italy
21. Kimberly Bearden, United States of America
22. Lacey Hoosier, United States of America
23. Laila El Baghazaoui, Morocco
24. Lia Laela Sarah, Indonesia
25. Liudmyla Tabolina, Ukraine
26. Lucila Suárez Santillán, Ecuador
27. Manuel Chaves Quirós, Costa Rica
28. Mariette Wheeler, South Africa
29. Marina Zachariah, Greece
30. Melissa Tracy, United States of America
31. Peace Sule, Nigeria
32. Nora Al Suroor, Saudi Arabia
33. Nicolas Gaube, France
34. Monir El Moudden, United Kingdom
35. Mokolwane Masweneng, South Africa
36. Millicent Cassianes, Kenya
37. Sadat Minandang, Philippines
38. Shafina Vohra, United Kingdom
39. Shawn Adler, United States of America
40. Sister Zeph, Pakistan
41. Stephanie Akinwoya, Nigeria
42. Therese Mabaka Angelani, Democratic Republic of Congo
43. Toni García Arias, Spain
44. Tuba Dumlu Güler, Turkey
45. Uroš Ocepek, Slovenia
46. Wan Muadzam Wan Abidin, Malaysia
47. Wang Rui, China
48. William Caldera Pantoja, Colombia
49. Yarinett Rojas, Venezuela
50. Yuji Matsuda, Japan

Tabolina has worked in Kharkiv schools for years,  eventually becaming a principal. Now she  teaches at Educator, lyceum in Kyiv. Her dream is to rebuild educational institutions destroyed by Russia, as well as to support teachers who are currently at the frontline. Liudmyla would like to donate part of her cash prize to the Teacher Goes to the Armed Forces Foundation.

“I find it very symbolic that two teachers from Ukraine, from the russified regions, were included in the finalists. Inspiring is that national identification subjects — Ukrainian language and literature — are the subjects we’re teaching. I’m proud for my country, which is fighting every day and every minute, proud of the unbreakable Ukrainian teachers, of my students,” she commented Chytomo.

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Proidakov won the Global Teacher Prize Ukraine in 2021. He was born in Kadiyivka, now in the occupied part of Luhansk oblast. In November 2014, because of the Russia-Ukraine war, he had to leave his home. Proidakov worked in Sumy oblast at a public school, and then at Kyiv MIDGARD school. Proidakov is the author of lessons in the All-Ukrainian Online School. Now he works at the Mriy Diy school and is an executive director at the MriyDiy Educational Foundation.

“It is very important that Ukrainian teachers are on this list of the world’s best teachers. Being on this list allows us to speak on the information platform, to talk about the realities in Ukraine, to contribute to informing the world community about Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. It is very symbolic that teachers of Ukrainian language and literature represent Ukrainian school system. The enemies are trying to impose strange values, create myths about the secondary nature of the Ukrainian language and the provincial connotations of Ukrainian literature. But we, teachers, have an arsenal of techniques and means to destroy these stereotypes in our daily lessons, in conversations with students. That’s why language teachers, just like history teachers, are not just doing their job, but are the carriers of the fundamental principles of consciousness and identity formation,” he says.

This annual prize was established by the Varkey GEMS Foundation and has included Ukrainian teachers since 2017.

Main image: Osvitoria