Ukrainian teachers Artur Proidakov and Liudmyla Tabolina were included in the 2023 Global Teacher Prize‘s shortlist of the world’s 50 best teachers.
The Global Teacher Prize is an annual $1 million award by the Varkey Foundation to a teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession. Nominations of teachers who meet specific criteria are open to the worldwide public, and teachers can also nominate themselves
Artur Proidakov, who won the Global Teacher Prize Ukraine in 2021, teaches Ukrainian language and literature. Artur was born in Kadiyivka, the Luhansk Oblast (eastern Ukraine). However, he had to leave his hometown because of the Russian occupation.
Credit: Global Teacher Price.
While working at a school in Kyiv, Artur created a course in Ukrainian literature as part of the All-Ukrainian School Online project. Even during the ongoing full-scale Russian invasion, Artur worked hard to develop an innovative Talk online course to teach everyone who wants to learn Ukrainian.
“Try to turn every lesson into an exciting process. The future of our country depends on your cooperation with children. Do not be afraid of responsibility. Do not be afraid to interact with students. We can do our job here as long as we are protected on the front line by our defenders,” Artur wrote on Facebook.
Liudmyla Tabolina was a finalist for the Global Teacher Prize Ukraine in 2019. She is also a teacher of Ukrainian language and literature.
Credit: Global Teacher Price.
At the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Liudmyla worked at a high school in Kharkiv (eastern Ukraine). Kharkiv suffered from the Russian indiscriminate artillery shelling for many months. Because of the Russian shelling and missile strikes, public transport stopped working in Kharkiv until the Ukrainian Armed Forces pushed Russian troops out of the vicinities of Ukraine’s second-largest city in the fall of 2022.
When the security situation in Kharkiv improved a little, public transport started functioning again. Until the city’s transportation was restored, Liudmyla walked 11 kilometers to get to school for four months.
The educational institution became a humanitarian hub during the intensive Russian shelling of the city. Residents of destroyed houses sought refuge at Liudmyla’s school.
“I can describe my emotions now in one word: devotion. Dedication to myself, education, teachers, and Ukraine. I will continue to be proud of our educators and promote our educational approaches wherever I am,” Liudmyla said.
Liudmyla is currently teaching kids in Kyiv.
Last year, the Global Teacher Prize Ukraine honored Ukrainian teachers for their bravery during the war.
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