Jesus Insilada, a teacher from Caninguan National High School in Lambunao, Iloilo, has been named by philanthropist and billionaire Bill Gates as one of the 10 best teachers in the world.
Insilada is one of the 10 finalists in the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize 2018, which recognizes exceptional teachers who have made outstanding contributions to the profession. The winner will win US$ 1 million.
In the announcement video, Gates said, “Finalists were selected based on a rigorous set of criteria, including their proven effectiveness in inspiring students and helping them learn.”
Insilada is an English and Creative Writing teacher who uses culture-based approach in his instructions to make students become more engaged in their education and more appreciative of their Panay Bukidnon culture.
Insilada was recognized in 2013 Teachers together with Ramon Magsaysay awardee Randy Halasan, Dr. Teodora Balangcod of Baguio City, and Julieta Serrano of Iloilo. Dubbed by the program as the “instructional archivist,” Insilada shone for his passion in teaching and writing in Hiligaynon and Kinaray-a and for making the preservation of these local languages his bigger responsibility.
The Ilonggo instructor is also a multi-awarded Hiligaynon poet, a short story writer, and a novelist, with four Palanca awards to boot.
Insilada and the other finalists have been selected from over 30,000 nominations and applications from 173 countries around the world. The 10 finalists were chosen from the 50 teachers in the shortlist, that included another Filipino educator, Ryan Homan of San Jose Elementary School, Donsol West District.
Both Insilada and Homan are honorees of Bato Balani Foundation’s The Many Faces of the Teacher.
The other nine finalists for the Global Teacher Prize 2018 are Nurten AkkuÅŸ a pre-school teacher and principal at Ayvacık Pre-School, Samsun, Turkey; Marjorie Brown, who teaches history at Roedean School, Johannesburg, South Africa; Luis Miguel Bermudez Gutierrez, a social science teacher at the Colegio Gerardo Paredes IED, Bogotá, Colombia; Glenn Lee, an engineering and technology teacher from Waialua High & Intermediate School, Waialua, Hawaii, United States; Diego Mahfouz Faria Lima, director of Darcy Ribeiro Municipal School, in São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil; Koen Timmers, a lecturer at PXL University College in Hasselt and a computer science teacher at CVO De Verdieping school in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium; Eddie Woo, a mathematics teacher from Cherrybrook Technology High School, Sydney, Australia; Andria Zafirakou, an art and textiles teacher from Alperton Community School, Brent, London, United Kingdom; and Barbara Anna Zielonka, an English teacher at Nannestad High School, Norway.
The winner will be announced at the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai on March 18.