For the second year in a row, the JABLOTRON Foundation is supporting the Global Teacher Prize competition, which recognizes inspiring primary and secondary school teachers in the Czech Republic. This year was different from the previous one. Last year, the expert jury decided according to how the finalists teach in a classroom. This year, the winner had to show that they can handle teaching online.
Among the 11 finalists, the jury was most interested in Václav Fiala, a biology and chemistry teacher from Brigádníků Primary School in Prague. The jury praised him for his expertise, humility, confidence in the students' abilities, motivational work and for his enthusiasm for the research style of teaching, which he managed to transfer to distance education. Second place went to a mathematics, computer science and robotics teacher from Sušice Primary School Štěpánka Baierlová. Alexis Katakalidis took third place from Jan Neruda Grammar School in Prague.
"We try to support active teachers who have a positive effect on their students. The Global Teacher Prize gives the opportunity to show the general public that we have a number of such teachers and that they deserve recognition for their inspiring work. Participation in the competition also requires courage and a healthy self-confidence, and we want to contribute to using these qualities of the award when passing on their experience wherever there is interest in them, "says Vladimír Stanislav, Member of the Board of the JABLOTRON Foundation.
In addition to the award, the absolute winner Václav Fiala received a cheque for 100,000 Czech crowns, a voucher for a stay in Bohemian Switzerland and a ”teaching” apple tree, which will symbolically remind him of the fruits of his work. The winner of second place, Štěpánka Baierlová, took home a cheque for 50,000 crowns and a voucher for a stay in the historical centre of Prague. The third place winner Alexis Katakalidis received a cheque for 30,000 crowns.
It is a professional prize for teachers working in primary and secondary schools in the Czech Republic. It monitors the expertise of teachers, individual approaches to students, the creation and use of innovative teaching methods and the involvement of teachers in extracurricular activities and the professional community. The winner is selected in several rounds by an independent jury of professionals involved in education.