The Outside Expert Always Knows Best (A Link)

Education in Texas describes a situation in his school in which the advice of new teachers from other districts is respected more by the administration than advice given by veteran educators from within the district. He writes:

My district has...the "invented here syndrome". Our administrators refuse to believe that any of us mere teachers can possibly have a good idea. Why, if we did we'd be highly paid consultants wouldn't we? This has lead to instances of the school district paying an outside consultant $1500 to spend an entire day leading us through an evaluation of a paper on how to eat a tootsie roll. I have yet to see how it improved my abilities as a Science or Technology teacher.

This post just reminds me of the importance of remembering to recognize good ideas in your own context. The person who works next door might be brilliant, or at least have some brilliant ideas. Recognize their brilliance and appreciate