A San Diego middle school teacher is on a mission to improve schools across the country.

Keith Ballard recently spent a month in China and India, learning how their schools work.

He went to see for himself why students overseas continue to outrank American students.

Now he's back in the states and traveling from city to city, sharing his findings.

His hope is to influence lawmakers to implement similar practices into our country's education system.

“I’ve clearly seen the differences, they are huge, and I hope our country listens,” Ballard said. “We’ve got to wake up here in America and hopefully really improve and make an investment into our educational system.”

Ballard says more time in the classroom, better discipline, and vocational training is needed to get the United States back on track.

Among his career honors, Ballard was the 2003 recipient of the Milken U.S. National Educator of the Year award.