Italian high school teacher among Global Teacher Prize finalists

ROME, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- An Italian high school teacher is among the 50 finalists for the Global Teacher Prize 2018, local media reported Wednesday.

Lorella Carimali teaches mathematics and physics at the Scientific State High School (Liceo Scientifico Statale Vittorio Veneto) in Milan.

She was among 40,000 teachers from 173 countries nominated for the annual one-million-U.S.-dollar award. The winner will be announced in Dubai in March 2018.

"I have had a passion for mathematics since I was a little girl, and I have always wanted to be a teacher," Carimali told Italian news agency ANSA.

The teacher, who grew up in a low-income neighborhood and was the first in her family to obtain a university degree, has refused high-paying private-sector jobs in order to keep teaching in the Italian public school system.

"Her learning model uses drama activities and problem-solving exercises," according to the Global Teacher Prize website. "She calls her method 'cognitive internship' and focuses on being able to think mathematically, developing and applying skills such as intuition and imagination, as well as theorising and evaluation."

The other finalists include teachers from countries in Africa, Asia, South America, Europe, and the Middle East.

China is represented by Dongmei Yang, who teaches Mongolian and Chinese at two rural primary schools in the Inner Mongolia region of China. Yang has created her own way of teaching Chinese to Inner Mongolian children, naming her method "the philosophical approach," according to the Global Teacher Prize website.

"It is child-led and draws on children's natural curiosity and desire to acquire new knowledge," the website says.

The 2017 winner was Canadian Maggie McDonnell, who teaches in Salluit, a small Inuit village in the Canadian Arctic that is reachable only by air.

Now in its fourth edition, the Global Teacher Prize is sponsored by the Varkey Foundation, a non-profit organization under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, United Arab Emirates Vice President, Prime Minister, and Emir of Dubai.

The Varkey Foundation's stated aim is to improve the standards of education for underprivileged children throughout the world. Enditem