Living the Curriculum: Barbara Brehon and the Measure of a True Teacher

Living the Curriculum: Barbara Brehon and the Measure of a True Teacher

Dear Friends,

In recent weeks, as this “Created in the Image of God” journey has unfolded, I have found myself returning—again and again—to a foundational question: What does it mean to be a true teacher? Whether in the classroom, the boardroom, the home, or the community, we are all, in some sense, students and teachers to one another. And yet, something about the modern age has twisted our sense of what this truly means.

I have noticed (in myself as much as in others) a powerful and nearly universal desire: to be respected, to be successful, to be esteemed. We crave recognition. And this craving, however subtle, so often curves us inward. It breeds—sometimes beneath our awareness—arrogance, judgment, and the endless spiral of what we now call “virtue signaling.” Even acts of service, intended for the good of others, are tainted by an undercurrent of condescension, pity, or a faint air of superiority. We may “help,” yet all the while remain trapped in the pursuit of our own esteem.

Is there another path? This week, through the story and practice of our colleague and friend Barbara Brehon, I want to propose that there is.

The Master’s Model: Humility, Not Status

In the Bahá’í Writings, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá—known as “the Master”—offered a singular example of what it means to be a servant-leader. He shunned every title but “the servant of Baha,” explaining:

“My name is ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. My qualification is ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. My reality is ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. My praise is ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Thraldom to the Blessed Perfection is my glorious and refulgent diadem, and servitude to all the human race my perpetual religion.”
(Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, no. 127, p. 207)

Barbara’s approach reflects this spirit of humility and service. Early in our interview, she described her role as teacher in these words:

“Teaching means being available, being a support, being willing to listen first, instead of assuming you always have to talk.”

She continued:

“It’s not about having all the answers. Sometimes it’s just being the steady person in the room, so others can take risks and learn.”

The Mind of Christ: Real Humility, Real Power

Centuries before, the Apostle Paul wrote to a divided and ambitious community, urging a transformative solidarity rooted in humility:

“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.”
(Philippians 2:5–7, NIV)

Asked how she cultivates humility, Barbara said—very plainly:

“You remind yourself you are still a learner, too. You don’t see yourself as above anybody else.”

And later:

“If you come in thinking you already know who somebody is, you’ll close off what you could learn from them. I have learned more from my students—especially the ones that challenge me—than I ever thought I would.”

The Good Teacher Is the Good Soil

A moment of confession: When we serve, we are all vulnerable to the “secret superiority” that creeps in—the assumption (however hidden) that we are the givers and others the receivers. Barbara’s approach subverts this by focusing on climate over content.

She offered a story—directly from her classroom:

“Sometimes a student will look at me and just say ‘I can’t do this. This isn’t for me.’ And if I respond with, ‘Well let me show you again,’ I’m missing it. I have to stop, listen, and sometimes just sit in silence with them. That’s where something can start to grow.”

And:

“You just do your best to create an environment where, as I always say, ‘no question is a stupid question.’”

This echoes a powerful Bahá’í teaching:

“They who are the beloved of God... must evince, in their attitude towards God, and... in their celebration of His praise... such humility and submissiveness that every atom of the dust beneath their feet may attest the depth of their devotion.”
(Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, V, p. 7)

The Servant-Teacher: Why Example Matters

A teacher, then, is not a repository of knowledge, but the living curriculum—the quiet, persistent servant whose life is the lesson. Barbara described the practical side of this calling:

“You have to be willing to apologize if you make a mistake. If I teach something the wrong way, or say something that lands wrong, I try to let them know I’m still working on me, too.”

She emphasized:

“I’m always looking for ways to make every student feel seen. If I can remember a detail about their life, or check back on something they care about, they’ll remember that long after they remember my lessons.”

This, I believe, is the height of the teaching art: to hold the broad principle, and apply it one-on-one; to aim for the whole, and yet never lose sight of the individual.

The Highest Bar—And Its Living Proof

Barbara is keenly aware of the challenge:

“You’re never done. If you start thinking you have this teaching thing down, you need to get out! Every group of students will humble you.”

But in her tireless service, Barbara Brehon gives us living proof: that real teaching—servant teaching—remains possible, and deeply transformative, in our anxious and impersonal world.

If the truest mark of a teacher is not how many students can recite the lesson, but how many become lifelong learners, then Barbara stands as a quiet master—a servant in the best sense, and a testimony to the divine curriculum that we are all called to live.

Let us honor such examples, and strive to embody them in whatever field we inhabit. May we, too, “let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”

With gratitude for all the servants, seen and unseen,

—Wade Fransson

Quotations/Citations:

• ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, no. 127, p. 207
• Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, V, p. 7
• Philippians 2:5–7, New International Version (NIV)
• Interview with Barbara Brehon, Created in the Image of God (July/Aug 2025), direct transcript.

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