“Who Am I?”: The Journey and the Gift of a Language Teacher

Yasushi Hayashi began life on the outskirts of Tokyo and now lives on the outskirts of Geelong, near Melbourne as the Japanese teacher at Freshwater Creek Steiner school. His life journey in between has taken him around the world. After his first fascination with the English language at school as a teenager, and then hearing about Steiner education on Japanese radio, he has followed both these themes for the rest of his life. The journey has taken him to training at Emerson College in the UK, and teaching in Scotland and then three schools in Australia. Moving between cultures and countries has brought to him the very contemporary question of “Who am I?”: am I Japanese, am I Australian, am I a world citizen? The question goes to the heart of why languages are so important in Steinerschools. We can be all of these: the gift of another language and culture helps us experience a larger version of ourselves. For more information about Steiner education: ⁠⁠https://steinereducation.edu.au/⁠⁠ For more information about locations and contact details of Steiner schools: ⁠⁠https://steinereducation.edu.au/schools/⁠⁠ Teacher education and professional learning: ⁠⁠https://steinereducation.edu.au/events/⁠⁠ Working in a Steiner school: ⁠⁠https://steinereducation.edu.au/jobs/#vacancies⁠⁠ Our facebook page is ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/steinereducationaustralia⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/steinereducationaustralia/⁠⁠ The beautifully performed theme music ‘Libertango’ is played by Esther Abrami and Alexandra Whittingham. Esther’s website: ⁠⁠https://www.estherabrami.com/⁠⁠ Alexandra’s website: ⁠⁠https://www.alexandrawhittingham.com/⁠⁠ Podcast produced by: ⁠⁠https://piccolopodcasts.com.au/