Takeru Nagayoshi on Walking Away from "Teacher of the Year"

Off-Trail Learning

Takeru “TK” Nagayoshi was an AP English and Research teacher for seven years. In 2020 he was named Massachusetts Teacher of the Year—yet after winning the award, he decided to leave the classroom in 2021. We discuss Takeru’s early school experiences in Japan and New Jersey, how he become an educator through Teach For America, the daily realities of teaching in a “turnaround school,” the amazing AP classes he offered, the Teacher of the Year nomination, pandemic burnout, and the decision to leave his teaching position. We also speak more broadly about the purpose of education, schooling’s connection to societal inequities, why most reform movements don’t speak to TK, how he aligns (and doesn’t) with John Taylor Gatto’s critiques, how Generation Z is disillusioned by adult’s failure to solve collective action problems, and what kind of changes it would take to bring him back to the classroom. Takeru now works at Panorama Education (panoramaed.com) where he leads professional learning events that reach an audience of over 10,000. An education commentator and facilitator, he also leads workshops on education policy, social-emotional learning, DEI, and curriculum at the high school level. Find TK on Twitter (@tk_nagayoshi) and learn more with the following links: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/764/schools-out-forever https://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2021/10/25/massachusetts-teacher-burn-out https://commonwealthmagazine.org/opinion/as-a-teacher-i-think-its-time-to-rethink-education-accountability/