In a system that increasingly stakes all on measuring success for students, teachers, and institutions against a common testable standard, we risk losing sight of the person at the foundation of our work. Patricia Carini offered a meaningful counternarrative through systematic, evidence-based documentation from observations, interviews, conversations, and, most importantly, description of children's work. Her dedication and respect for each person, her insights and intellect, had a profound impact on many of us who continue to carry her perspective into the wider system. In this article, I write from personal experience working with Pat at the Prospect School and subsequently finding points of entry with every educator I work with in the public school system.