Jesus Insilada, an English and Creative Writing teacher at Caninguan National High School in Lambunao, Iloilo, is one of the finalists of the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize 2018.
The nine others in the running for the $1-million prize include Nurten Akkuş of Turkey, Marjorie Brown of South Africa, Luis Miguel Bermudez Gutierrez of Colombia, Glenn Lee of Hawaii, Diego Mahfouz Faria Lima of Brazil, Koen Timmers of Belgium, Eddie Woo of Australia, Andria Zafirakou of United Kingdom, and Barbara Anna Zielonka of Norway.
“Finalists were selected based on a rigorous set of criteria, including their proven effectiveness in inspiring students and helping them learn,” Gates said in the announcement video for the finalists.
Aside from being a teacher, Insilada is also a multi-awarded Hiligaynon poet, a short story writer, and a novelist. He has won four Palanca awards.
He and the nine other finalists were chosen from over 30,000 nominations from 173 countries.