It has been a while since I fully explored my school’s website; therefore, I didn’t realize my esteemed colleague, Barbara Rosenblit, had her speech in response to her presentation of the prestigious Covenant Award in November 2004 posted.

She’s a remarkable woman and a master teacher. In the short time I’ve worked with her, I have already learned a great deal. The best thing about Barbara is that she sees herself as inexpert — constantly learning. She once told me she likes to be, in her words, “the dumbest person” in the room, because she feels that is when she learns the most. In truth, she is the kind of person who learns from everyone, and she does not place her learning above that of others. She candidly told me, for example, that she took an idea from a new teacher and totally altered the way she teaches double-period classes. Many teachers in her position might take the stance that there is nothing they can learn from new teachers.

If you are an educator and like to “imagine” how great our educational system could be if people like Barbara were in charge of making policy, you can read her speech.