199. Ryan Hayashi: Persevering through hardships to reveal the humanity of students and teachers

Ryan Hayashi is a math teacher in Arizona with over 13 years of teaching experience. He began his teaching career through Teach for America and was placed in Ciudad Juarez along the US-Mexico border. At the time, New Mexico was ranked 50 out of 50 in terms of its national ranking and the city where his school was located was considered the most dangerous city in the world according to homicide rates. Ryan shares about his initial struggles and doubts as a teacher who was not set up for success. Regardless, he transformed his classroom environment and grew as a teacher together with his students. He draws from his undergraduate experiences at Soka University of America as his inspiration for being a truly humanistic teacher. Check out what Ryan has to say about being a global citizen!