Dedicated teacher e-book

Inspiring stories from around the world

What are the Dedicated Teacher Awards?

Teachers play a vital role in the lives of their students and often make a difference without even knowing it. The Dedicated Teacher Awards are a global competition in which students past and present can nominate their teachers and say a well-deserved thank you.

This is our opportunity to join with people around the world to show our appreciation for the hard work that teachers put in every day. If you use a Cambridge University Press textbook published in 2019, you will find our dedicated winner and finalists on the very first page – as recognition and thanks to them and all dedicated teachers around the world.

This eBook contains the heart-warming stories shortlisted for the Dedicated Teacher Awards 2019; we hope you enjoy reading them as much as we did.

To the teachers featured in these pages – congratulations! We hope your nomination is something you are very proud of.

And to teachers everywhere: you are doing an amazing job, thank you.

WINNER

Ahmed Saya Cordoba School for A-Level, Pakistan He’ll always be ready to spare his weekends whenever a student needs his help, be it academically or anything personal. I have seen him when CAIEs approach, he spends sleepless nights, conducting extra classes, catering each and every student’s problem so that each one excels. I have never seen someone who checks your homework every day in a class of 100 students just to ensure that each and every one is on track. He actually deserves this for working so hard to ensure that his students are good humans.

FINALIST

Abhinandan Bhattacharya JBCN International School: Oshiwara, India ‘Abhinandan sir’ was a guiding figure, a friend and an agonyaunt, along with a fabulous teacher. His knowledge of English literature left us in great awe. He went out of his way to explain things that would benefit us not only for exams, but for the long run. I have asked him for help outside of the classroom umpteen times and he has always followed through. Not only did he see us grow from toddlers to adults, but we have also seen his transformation from a young and dynamic new teacher to a wise and senior faculty member at our school.

FINALIST

Candice Green St Augustine’s College, Australia My mother suffers from Huntington’s disease and without the support she offered me throughout the year, checking up for me and offering to bring food for dinner into class for my family, without her support, the Higher School Certificate (HSC) would have been near impossible to complete. Her dedication meant every class was meaningful and each student’s needs would be focused on and no one would be neglected. My class’ constant need for help outside of the classroom with extra essays was returned by Ms Green within minutes as she sacrificed her own personal time to help her students improve no matter what.

FINALIST

Anthony Chelliah Gateway College, Sri Lanka He made sure his subject of history was one in which inspiration and genuine interest developed. In order to do this, he made a history room that was like a museum with painted walls of historic people, monuments and sculptures.

He has made a difference by fostering multiple generations of students in the arts of debating and model United Nations, where he has elevated the skills of his students to heights they didn’t believe were possible. He has encouraged my dream of being a writer and debater by giving me the opportunity to take part in several competitions.

FINALIST

Sharon Kong Foong Sunway College, Malaysia My mother was very ill and when I ďŹ nally had the courage to tell Miss Sharon, she was so caring, asking about all aspects of my life, including something as little as eating healthy or if I had eaten last night. She once asked all her students to help her redecorate and clean up a small autistic school. She bought all the supplies using her own money and did her best. It looked so much better and brighter. I believe she is an angel, and that she touched not only my life, but countless others.

FINALIST

Jimrey Buntas Dapin University of San Jose-Recoletos, Philippines I had a very interesting teacher who taught me about acceptance of different culture without leaving the classroom through Skype in the classroom. His innovative lesson ideas and practices through technology enabled us, the learners, to have a deeper grasp on the diverse cultures of other countries. Through this endeavour, we were able to interact with students from different nationalities and backgrounds, and in turn share each other’s cultures and experiences.

Brian Steene

SHORTLIST

St. Christopher’s School, Bahrain Mr. Steene is one of the most dedicated teachers I have ever met. He taught me computer science (CS) at GCSE. I originally chose CS after much deliberation, because I intended to do economics at university.

However, his passion for the subject was infectious and eventually led to me becoming completely engrossed. He recommended CS50x to the class; I ended up starting the course in my free time, and it led me to take CS at university. Even after GCSEs, he nurtured my interest in CS, even bringing in alumni who did CS at Cambridge to give us talks.

Rebecca Rios Colégio Experimental Integrado, Brazil She has always sought to do good to all, has always been dedicated to helping each student and has always been very creative about activities that help with pronunciation and practice in English. She has run two film festivals where students do the scripts, filming and act in English. This helped me and my friends to pronounce words correctly and to be more motivated learning English!

SHORTLIST

Thomas Pickett St. John Paul II Catholic Secondary School Scarborough, Canada Mr. Pickett was my high school biology teacher for both grade 11 and 12. The way he taught made me fall in love with the subject and I am now majoring in human biology and neuroscience at the University of Toronto. He had conďŹ dence in me, and is pretty much the only reason I stayed through IB and enjoyed high school. Thank you Mr. Pickett for being such an amazing teacher, I hope to make you proud one day!

Qian Sun China I’ve learned a lot from Anna (Qian). What helped me is not necessarily her teaching skills and methods, but her mentoring during my rough time. Under the pressure of my heavy workload from school, I thought about giving up learning English. She realised the problem and offered me consultancy to help me reset my goal and lead me onto a better road of studying. Instead of just focusing on English learning, she gave me a clearer destination of my future, so that I could carry on my learning journey.

SHORTLIST

Donna Leventakis Donna’s English School, Greece A teacher that has touched my heart is my English teacher. The reason why I chose her as the most dedicated teacher is because she always believes in her students. With her love and patience, I overcame the anxiety I suffered from. The theatrical performances we put on every Christmas and Easter have helped me not only gain self-confidence but overcome my inhibitions as well. I am less nervous when I must speak to people now. Her faith in me has made this possible.

Subramanya Swamy Kennedy High the Global School, India Mr. Swamy has been a colleague of mine for two years. I nominate him for one reason: his dedication to the cause of providing quality education to the children under his care. I have seen him working on Saturdays and Sundays because he thought a particular batch of students preparing for board examinations required additional preparatory time.

Another reason I think Mr. Swamy should be considered, is his willingness to go out of his way to help his colleagues deliver their best. When resources were not available, he would find them on his own and provide to different subject teachers.

SHORTLIST

Dhvani Pandya Silver Oak College of Engineering and Technology, India It was my first communication skills lecture and she chose me for debate, encouraging me that I could do it. I won the debate against four people on the other side and from that day in every debate, students in class say things like “oh they have him, they’re definitely going to win!” This has increased my confidence a lot and made a big difference in my life – I’m not afraid to show people who I am. Thank you so much.

Richa Dhawan Genesis Global School, India Her unwavering faith and support has allowed me to excel in my academic and co-curriculars. Richa ma’am’s midnight call of encouragement before the FLE exam boosted my confidence and calmed my nerves.

She single-handedly coordinates the IGCSE examinations and I have never seen her pass on her responsibilities. Her ability to multitask is astonishing as she teaches IB and IGCSE English, prepares students for Trinity examinations, and is the go-to person for script writing. Richa ma’am is an inspiration, an epitome of a dedicated educator.

SHORTLIST

Love Trivedi Sri Sri College of Ayurvedic Sciences & Research, India Mr Love is not just a teacher, he is a great motivator and has solutions for almost every problem. It was my first teaching job and I was a bit nervous. When I met him, he encouraged me by saying: “think about the days when you were in school, what did you want your teacher to do and how did you want them to support you? Now do that with your students.” This simply changed my outlook! All the students of Mr Love leave his class with a smile and they are never bored. He makes learning beautiful.

Sweeta Victor Queen’s School Parbhani, India There was a student who had a speaking disability from birth and other teachers struggled to make progress. Sweeta Madam taught him every day – and he too worked hard. Eventually, he was able to speak in front of the class as well as in front of any audience. He did so well in his public exams too.

Sweeta Madam is a role model for 100s of teachers like me and 100s of students like him. Hats off to you Sweeta Madam. You are such a dedicated and inspiring teacher and administrator.

SHORTLIST

Eduardo Domingo Bina Bangsa School, Kebon Jeruk, Indonesia Mr Edu gave me a voice. Writing compositions was not my cup of tea and I stuck with “mainstream” plotlines. He taught me to embrace unconventional ideas and convey my thoughts fluidly through writing, not just earn marks.

Mr Edu also exposed me to the theatre arts, recommending that I join the school drama club. I struggled to overcome the paralysis of stage fright, yet it was through his direction and guidance that I blossomed as a thespian, going on to portray interesting characters, from an eccentric artist to a friendly hunter in various performances.

Mariella Lorusso Istituto comprensivo “Nunzio Ingannamorte”, Italy It’s not easy to explain in few words why my teacher is so special. She is one of the most dedicated people that I’ve ever met. She taught me that learning a new language is not just a matter of studying, but also an opportunity to get to know another culture and a means to communicate with people all around the world. Whenever I felt like I wouldn’t have been capable of doing something, she was there, encouraging me and helping me understand that nothing is impossible if you put a little effort in doing it.

SHORTLIST

Mie Olson-Kikuchi Nagoya International School, Japan During a school trip at another prefecture, I unfortunately had an asthma attack. Ms. Mie volunteered herself to go to the hospital with me even though it was near midnight while she was in charge of another grade and even stayed the night with me. She made sure that I felt safe and made jokes to help me settle down. Although she had to go home by public train instead of the school’s charter bus, during the whole ordeal, she had a smile on her face and handled everything at ease.

Patrick Mbogoh St Christopher’s School, Kenya Mr Mbogoh has been a phenomenal influencer in my child’s life. He accepted her when she joined the school a year ago. She has become knowledgeable, confident and he pushes her limits because he sees the potential in her. She can now tell you about the world and the different countries and events because of Mr. Mbogoh’s passion for teaching. He is not only a teacher, but he also stands up for children and they can go to him whenever they have non-academic issues to deal with.

SHORTLIST

Yawar Abbas Cordoba School for A Level, Pakistan He gave me a sense of purpose in life. He made me believe that I am capable of doing marvels in science and it is because of his amazing teaching style that I’ll be pursuing a career as a scientist. He goes out of his way for his students as he gathers tons of practice questions from several resources and every student of his has fallen in love with physics. The most special thing about him is that he never limits the knowledge he gives because he wants to educate us in science, not just the scope of the syllabus.

Samreen Athar The City School Gulshan Campus C, Pakistan Biology was never my cup of tea, until I met this biology teacher in grade 11 who enthusiastically made the subject interesting. She’s the one teacher who expected something good from me and saw a lot in me to make me feel like I wasn’t the child that other teachers portrayed me as. She gave me hope and now I dream of becoming a cardiologist.

SHORTLIST

Shanzay Jawad Beaconhouse School System, Pakistan From Constant pressure, to comfort, from disappointments to appreciation, from failure to success, was a journey of agony, pain, and patience. No one understood me, then Ma’am Shanzay Jawad, my high school English teacher, realised that I had good comprehension skills and great understanding about the subjects, but unable to write down my thoughts. I was unable to form letters and Ma’am Shanzay recognised and reported the problem. Later I was diagnosed with dysgraphia. Ma’am Shanzay has been a constant support, appreciating my efforts, and boosting up my courage.

Sobia Mir The City School Mirpur Azad Kashmir, Pakistan In a room full of people, I felt like I was alone. I had to put a mask on because I didn’t want to feel weak. I’d be in class and out of the blue tears would pour out my eyes. The endless arguments in my house shattered my soul, I tried to be strong but nothing I did disguised my emotions from my teacher.

Although being extremely busy, she spared hours for me. Because of her care and affection, I can proudly say that I am depression free. I am strong, independent and most importantly, I am truly ME.

SHORTLIST

Rashmi Kumar Indian School Al-Seeb, Oman My Rashmi Ma’am really means a lot to me. She recognised some of my talents and encouraged them immensely. Through her, I was selected for many competitions and was able to have many great experiences.

As an English teacher, she handles her subject in an awesome way. Regular debates and daily idioms are a part of her interactive curriculum. She takes up a responsibility entrusted to her with utmost care and sincerity. She is truly worthy to be addressed as a dedicated and ideal teacher.

John Bren Dolor St. Agnes Academy, Philippines Mr. John Bren M. Dolor is an environmental educator who aims to reinforce positive learning through his advocacy “Plastik Ni Langga Project.” The project aims to #BeatPlasticPollution by collecting, recycling and even selling the bottles. The proceeds will be used to buy books for the bereaved students in the entire city. His advocacy as a science teacher would be his stepping-stone to promote quality education.

He always wants to impose the importance of sustainable development goals by encouraging his students to live life with a purpose.

SHORTLIST

Volkan Iner Ulkem Private Secondary School, Turkey Mr. Iner has an important effect on my English. Before him, I couldn’t even say “I go to school.” In our first lesson, I was surprised because he came to class in a pirate costume. I listened to him and had a desire to learn because his pirate costume was intriguing. He also came to a lesson once dressed as a knight and we all clapped him because of his great teaching around this. If he wasn’t in my life, I probably wouldn’t speak and write in English easily. I owe thanks to Mr. Iner for all he taught me.

Selçuk Yusuf Arslan Ataturk Vocational and Technical High School, Turkey He has incredible successes regarding female students’ development with technology; he enabled female students to create technology, and his students have won national awards for their work. His work ‘Girls in ICT’ has been used as an ideal example by many organisations and has won multiple awards. He has won over 20 national and international project competitions.

Arslan has been awarded Working Wonder Teacher by Microsoft, the Global Teacher Award by AKS Education Award, the ‘Most Outstanding Teacher of the Year’ by The Best in Education and the teacher that made a difference by the Ministry of Education.

SHORTLIST

Matthew Okumu Vienna College Namugongo, Uganda He started daily continuous assessments in my school, helped students that did not have guardians with transport, communication and sometimes accommodation. He was a funny man that liked to keep the people around him happy but was also serious when it was time to get business done. He also liked to make new students and their parents feel welcome to the school.

He encouraged me to keep asking questions and never lost faith in me when I didn’t get satisfactory grades. He gave me his personal life examples in different situations whenever I needed help.

Attique Ashraf The City School International Dubai, UAE I am a fairly good student, who is also an aspiring professional tennis player. Lately during my ďŹ nal IGCSE year, I had a terrible time balancing studies and sports. Other teachers told me to stop going to practice until my exams were complete, but Sir Attique constantly motivated me and believed in me, and supported me whenever I needed extra help with anything. This has helped me achieve good grades without compromising on my practice sessions. He not only taught me how to balance my life, but also taught me to believe in myself when everything becomes hard.

SHORTLIST

Amy Nisbet Gower College Swansea, UK Amy has been the most welcoming person during my education so far. She was my tutor on my first day of college and I was so nervous. She made me feel welcome and has been supportive ever since. She came to my results day and celebrated my results. She also helped me to get financial support during a family hardship and recommended me to learning support as soon as I confided in her that I was struggling with reading. She has made my college experience so much more enjoyable and she is my absolute favourite teacher.

Vikki Creasey Skegness Academy, UK I’m nominating Miss Creasey because she’s always been there for me. When I went through depression, she showed me the light, when I was in trouble, she helped me make it right, she helped me with my dyslexia, and helped me and many others with understanding emotions. She’s an amazing person and goes and makes sure everyone else is okay, before herself. She’s done so much for me, so I want to do this for her.

SHORTLIST

Paul Douglas Crompton House Church of England School, UK Mr. Douglas is Mr Geography Teacher! He is very enthusiastic about his subject and always recommends great extra-curricular activities and events. This has included arranging for me to attend student geography conferences at universities and encouraging me to continue studying geography when I leave school. He suggested that I joined the Royal Geographical Society, which gave me the chance to climb mountains in the Lake District whilst learning about glaciation. When I leave school, I want to be a travel writer and visit as many countries as Mr. Douglas.

Greg Saunders Coulsdon Sixth Form College, UK Greg knows his students and ensures that if any activities are happening both within our college and out in wider society we get an opportunity to get involved. Greg has led a variety of activities that I have been involved in, from Duke of Edinburgh to Student Union. With the help of Greg, I have been involved in experiences I never would have imagined – such as playing a role in the London Mayoral Assembly with Sadiq Khan and taking part in a youth council about development in our borough, Croydon. He has made my college experience truly amazing!

SHORTLIST

Christine Hietanen USA Christine was diagnosed with breast cancer in the spring of this year. Upon diagnosis, she attended school every day, never letting her personal health crisis interfere with student learning and development.

She never complains about her obligations or illness. She is truly a leader in education. She is an outstanding educator who never gives herself enough credit. In all my years, I have never met anyone who is as dedicated and motivated as she is. I truly believe she is deserving of this award.

Sandra Crihfield Sarasota High School, USA Dr. Sandy Crihfield has changed my daughter’s life. My daughter struggled with her studies in early years.

Since then, she never felt good enough. Dr. Crihfield has given her the confidence to know that if she works hard she can succeed. Her classroom is a safe place for students to state their opinions and “argue” in a polite and mature manner. They learn to respect others’ opinions and become global human beings.

She is an amazing teacher who changes lives on a daily basis.

SHORTLIST

Dominique Norbeck Palm Beach Central High School, USA Mrs. Norbeck’s class was always something to look forward to. Her way of teaching was really funny but effective, and she would sprinkle activities throughout her lessons to keep things interesting and interactive. She was encouraging and understanding to students and helped me to get better at dealing with my social anxiety. Whenever I was having trouble, I knew I could talk to her and throughout presentations, her quiet encouragement kept me from panicking. She helped me become more confident in myself, and my high school experience would have been very different if not for her.

Chris Lembalemba Chengelo School, Zambia My teacher would not have been very successful as a comedian, but when it comes to cracking up a group of A Level students to get them excited about physics, he succeeds beyond the measuring scale.

Whether it’s his extra-terrestrial ideas to turn our school campus into our solar system (with planets placed scaled distances apart) or his miniature version of our national grid, or potentially it’s his smile when he sees us walk along with him out of the syllabus and into the irrationality of each other’s questions; he inspires us to love physics.

SHORTLIST

Lisa Kroll Reddam House Durbanville, South Africa Not many people can get teenagers excited about rocks, but Ms. Kroll is one of them. This year I joined a Model United Nations club run by her, but when I suddenly had to have major heart surgery, I was ready to give up. Luckily, Ms. Kroll’s irrepressible enthusiasm and dedication weren’t limited to her engaging geography class, and I was inspired to stay. It was her encouragement that made me sign up for a lifechanging school trip, where she was our mother for a weekend. Her influence will forever have an impact on my outlook in life.

Lara Croxford Reddam House Durbanville, South Africa Ms. Croxford marked our entire class’ tests in under an hour because she knew how stressed we got and once drove an hour and a bit to our school just so she could tell us debating was cancelled. We discovered that every day she had to drive for an hour and a bit just to get to the school from her home and still had time to provide after-school clinics for those that struggled and those that strive for the top.

After all this, she still teaches us with a smile on her face. Seems like true dedication to me.

Video entries Please click on the boxes/arrows to watch the nominations

Nida Akram Beaconhouse Canal Side Boys Campus Pakistan

Elvira Sarsenova

Zunaira Abubakar

Miras International School Astana Kazakhstan

Lahore Grammar School DHA EME Lahore Pakistan

Emelita Baylon

Ilona Rynda

De La Salle Santiago Zobel Philippines

Khmelnitskyi Lyceum II-III levels, Ukraine

Sandra Wocka

Farah Riaz

Kraina Marzen Opole Poland

Chand Bagh School Muridke Pakistan

Arthur Kok

Mahak Usman

Bukit View Secondary School Singapore

Resource Academia Shaheen Campus Faisalabad Pakistan

If you want to ďŹ nd out when the next Dedicated Teacher Awards open, go to dedicatedteacher.cambridge.org