Lessons in Life

What can the best teachers in the world tell us about our children? What advice can they give to help us raise happy, confident and caring kids? Teachers spend a lot of time with their pupils - talking and listening to them, observing and guiding them.

What can we learn from teachers about helping kids become compassionate, contented and successful grown-ups, as well as conscientious global citizens? In Lessons I've Learned, Andria Zafirakou - the 2018 Global Teacher Prize winner - talks to 30 of the best teachers in the world willing to share their insight and wisdom, gained from years of working with children of all ages. They include: Ranjitsinh Disale (Global Teacher Prize winner 2020), a primary teacher who turned a cattle shed in the drought-prone village of Paritewadi in India into a school.

His many skills include showing his pupils how to broaden their horizon, and to become advocates for change; Peter Tabichi (Global Teacher Prize winner 2019), a maths and physics teacher in the Rift Valley Province in Kenya, regularly impacted by famine, who has found a way to make his students care about their studies and believe in a future they can be part of, despite the hardship all around them. Esther Wojcicki (California Teacher of the Year 2002), a leading American teacher who challenged traditional school rules in her lessons to allow her students to take control, learn to believe in themselves and feel empowered. Andrew Moffat (MBE for services to equality in education 2017), a primary teacher in Birmingham who created a teaching resource called 'Challenging Homophobia in Primary Schools' to help his pupils understand the importance of tolerance and open-mindedness.

The result is an inspiring, moving and fascinating read that will help parents identify a child's potential and give them the tools to shine. To know what these incredible teachers know and see what they see is a privilege and a gift.