I'm Hana Smith, Educator & Advocate
About Me
I'm an educator with a background in Childhood Education, Special Education, and Teaching English to Students of Other Languages.
My goal is to foster in my students a genuine life-long love for learning. I am passionate about proving quality education that is fun, engaging, and challenging for all students regardless of economic differences, linguistic differences, racial differences, or differences in abilities.
All children can learn and all children want to learn
Wanting me to have a multicultural upbringing, my parents decided to send my sister and I to an International School in Tokyo.
There, I was surrounded by students with diverse backgrounds and teachers who were equipped for and skilled at teaching multilingual students and nurturing a global mindset.
I almost instantly fell in love with going to school
I was one of eight students to go to Nepal to visit two schools in the village of Kafleni that we sponsor: Shree Manakamana School and Bandevi Primary School. The purpose of this trip was to deliver luci solar powered lights to the school and households so that students can continue their academics after sunset. We also led a few elementary school classes where we taught students how to fold Japanese origami cranes.
This experience was first of many to solidify my interest in becoming a teacher.
I graduated with a 3.9 GPA, as captain of the netball team, varsity member of the soccer team and president of the Animal Rights Club. I was also awarded the Service Award which is given to one student "chosen by her classmates and teachers for consistent willingness to help others, her care, understanding, and friendship."
Having come from this incredibly diverse and international community and also being a city girl at heart, I knew New York would be my next step. I was certain of my desire to be a teacher at this point and I applied for the Childhood and Special Education program at NYU.
After studying abroad in Paris for a semester, through my desire to further my French education and connect with other French language learners, I helped found the NYU French Club as well as independently created nyufrenchclub.com where students can publish work, share useful language tools, and learn about upcoming francophone events. For this I was awarded the Prix Germain Bree which is awarded to one student "who made the most significant contribution to French cultural life at NYU."
I graduated NYU with honors and a 3.9 GPA
After four years studying Childhood and Special Education and teaching in mainstream classrooms and special education classrooms, I felt competent in these fields and ready to become a teacher. However, I wanted to be able to better provide and differentiate for my English language learners; especially with my own experience as an ESL student as well as my more recent experience as a French language learner, I felt particularly passionate about this.
I decided to continue my education at NYU graduate school under Teaching English to Students of Other Languages.
'06
'14
'17
'18
'21
'98
I was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, to a Japanese mother and an American father. Growing up in a mostly mono-ethnic neighborhood, I experienced first hand the challenges that can come with being biracial and bilingual when proper supports aren't in place.
My school highly encouraged student leadership, and my tremendous love for my class and school made me want to be part of the student government. I had the honor of being one of four students to represent my class through grade 5-8, and then as class president from grade 9-12. Through this experience I discovered my leadership skills as well my passion for advocating for my fellow students and taking part in change within my school.
'10
Realizing my passion and skill for teaching and working with kids, my principal helped me connect with families within the school whose children needed tutoring. As a former ESL student as well as someone who use to struggle with maths, I was able to empathize with the students' struggles and think of unique ways to address them. I quickly gained a positive reputation amongst families in the elementary school and by the time I graduated I had worked with many families with children ranging from 4 to 13 years old, tutoring in both English and Japanese.
At NYU I was able to connect with many professionals in the field, learn about education through a progressive light, and gain experience through student teaching in a variety of settings. I also re-discovered my own love of learning as I continued my French language education. Being a French language learner helped me remember the struggles that come with learning a new language as well as the excitement and thrill of it. I decided to double major in French language for my own joy as well as to learn from my French professors pedagogical tips related to language teaching.
'20
When the pandemic first hit, not only did my classes go online but my student teaching and private tutoring also moved online. Luckily, growing up with technology, my technological fluency allowed me to very quickly adapt, and I was able to help not only my very young students but also my older mentor teachers who were not use to technology to adjust to the new norm.
'22
After being a student for 17 years, I graduated NYU grad school with a 3.9 GPA (and finally an in-person ceremony!) feeling fully equipt to be the best educator I can be.