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UAE Freezones Biz News Updates
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US teacher wins $1m for developing reading and writing skills
Dubai-based Varkey Foundation awards prize to Nancie Atwell, from Maine, who
developed method to encourage literacy among students
Nancie Atwell
with Bill Clinton, former US president, left, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid
Al Maktoum, prime minister of the UAE, after being awarded her prize.
A US teacher who got her students reading an average of 40 books a year
with her unique approach to literacy, which included putting a library in
every classroom, has won a $1m award for teaching.
Nancie Atwell, an English and writing teacher from Maine, fought off
competition from 10 global finalists – including British science teacher
Richard Spencer – to become the first recipient of the prize. She said she
would donate the prize to the school she founded, the Centre for Teaching
and Learning in Edgecomb, Maine.
The award by the Varkey Foundation recognises outstanding contributions to
the profession and the winner was announced at a ceremony in Dubai on
Sunday. Former US president Bill Clinton, Paul Kagame, the president of
Rwanda, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the leader of Dubai,
attended the event.
The other nine finalists were a global mix, drawn from countries including
Afghanistan, India, and Cambodia. The 10 finalists were themselves whittled
down from a list of thousands of nominations.
Speaking at the ceremony, Clinton said: “I think the most important thing
this prize has done has re-awaken the world’s appreciation of the importance
of teachers.”
Atwell said she was honoured to accept the award. “I hope to convey to young
people considering teaching that it’s a privilege,” she said.
Atwell established the Centre for Teaching and Learning, a not-for profit
K-8 demonstration school, in 1990. It serves students but also acts as a
place for teachers to come and learn. She is also the author of nine
acclaimed books.
With the royalties of her first book, Atwell set up her school, which adopts
an innovative approach whereby students choose what they want to write and
read. Students get through dozens of books and write across all genres
because of the structure of her curriculum; many of Atwell’s former students
have gone on to become authors.
Spencer, a British science teacher from Middlesbrough College, Teesside, who
was among the final 10, said he enjoyed every minute of the experience. “The
one thing we all have in common is enthusiasm for what we do,” he said.
Spencer, who received a tweet of good luck from David Cameron, said teaching
was not viewed with prestige in the UK. “[But] There’s nothing greater than
moulding the next generation and helping young people succeed,” he said.
Vikas Pota, the chief executive of the Varkey Foundation, said he hoped the
prize would elevate the status of teachers around the world.
Atwell hopes the award will send a positive message about the profession. “I
hope this will invite creative, smart young people to consider teaching as a
career, because now it’s become more difficult in the US to attract smart
young people to teaching. They see it more as an act of being a technician
who administers a programme, not a reflective practitioner.”
Mar 15, 2015
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Courtesy Guardian News and Media Limited
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