Who was the most influential person in education for 2010?

Jenny Buccos is most deserving of this award. She has done the research
and spread the word through project.explorer.org, making it possible
for children, of all ages, to travel the world with her. Jenny's global
knowledge is just a click away on projectexplorer.org. Treat yourself,
through Jenny's vast knowledge and photo shots, and you will be
made aware of the global world in which we all live.

Thank you for the quick follow-up Betty! I really do appreciate it.

Yes - Thank you, Betty!

I was wondering the same thing. Thank you for adding Project Explorer to this list.

Thanks again for checking in on this!

Hi Vijaya - Thank you for bringing this to our attention. This was an oversight! We will be adding Jenny's name asap.

Please provide some clarification as to how you narrowed down the results. Surely, if the rules of the nomination process were followed, Jenny Buccos would have been included in this group.

She is an innovator, a leader, and a champion for world education whose nomination should not be ignored.

I understand that the goal of the discussion was to bring light to the wonderful contributions being made to education. However, it’s mind boggling how educators who weren’t even nominated somehow made it as finalists in this poll. Am I missing something?

It’s upsetting to see that the rules have been recently changed to suit the convenience of those running this poll. Please do the right thing, and follow the rules that were provided at the beginning of this process.

I teach in one of the states that won Race to the Top (Tennessee), and my job is almost unrecognizable after the legislative chances that initiative engendered. I certainly felt empowered by Ravitch's book, but Duncan had $4.35 billion to work with, and I think that he made it count.

Though all of the listed individuals have no doubt influenced education tremendously in 2010, my vote still goes to Jenny Buccos of ProjectExplorer.org. And, if I am not mistaken, Jenny actually should have been included in your list of finalists!

Your rules state that you will "take the top five nominations (posts plus thumbs up) and run them as a poll as part of [your] end-of-year coverage." If I counted posts and thumbs-up correctly, Jenny tied with Teachers for the second most votes, behind Diane Ravitch (Diane with 50, Jenny & Teachers 14, Guggenheim 5, Rhee 4, Rosenstock 3, and Duncan with a count I seem to have missed).

Therefore - my vote wholeheartedly remains with Jenny Buccos, who has bettered the educational experience of countless students around the world.

Principals who listen, REALLY listen to teachers. And, that means when a complaint comes in they go to the teacher and tell the teacher the complaint and sit down first with the teacher and hear the teacher's side of the complaint, before they ever schedule the parent teacher child conference. There is no assumption, no judgments. Fairness and communication is very important to the principal. The principal knows the staff is a family.

The principal who knows every child's developmental stage, who knows about special education, who understands all the core subjects, who understands the needs for music, art and extra-curricular activities and strict but fair rules for children who need boundaries.

A principal who knows how to be a leader and knows that the job is not a popularity contest but a job which has long term effects.

A principal who is able to admit he/she may not know everything and can be informed and learn from his/her own staff and collaborate together because of experience and lack of experiences.

The principal who walks in and out of every classroom and casually gets to know every teacher on a good day and bad day and knows that strengths and weaknesses create insight and strength.

Principals who understand that teaching is a people profession and enjoy being around people, and are open to all people and constantly learning about people intellectually and emotionally.

Principals who are well read, well cultured in the arts, attend museums, are curious, are up to date in current events, and understand the fast moving changes in society and especially young people and their music, fashion and language.

Principals who engage with their staff and students socially and emotionally.

Principals who can run effective meetings and allow staff to dis-agree and discuss controversial issues which often can keep a staff divided. A perceptive and open-minded principal is able to allow for the open discussion, creative thinking and new ideas shared among the staff.

Principals who stand up for their staff even when it is not the popular thing to do but the right thing to do.

Principals who teach others.

Principals who weave social issues into curriculum.

I had the rare opportunity to be taught/lead by the Woman who was Principal of The Ursuline School of New Rochelle, NY. She taught me leadership and how to not be afraid to be my creative self and to be an effective teacher. Sr. JB Nicholson is the most influential person in my career. Not a day goes by when I do not ask myself how she would tackle any issue in a person's life: child, parent, educator. She is very human and just in her approach and knows how to listen and to lead, and to keep up with the time she is living in. She embraces life to the fullest.

She is a role model for educators everywhere. She has changed many people's lives and built an empire of learners, whom have followed in her footsteps. She has guided many. I am blessed to have her guide my daughter and I.