William M. Cruickshank (e.g., Cruickshank 1952, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1985) was a man of strong opinions and a prolific writer. Not only did he contribute to the very beginning of the field of learning disabilities (LD), he strongly advocated for students with LD. He firmly believed that students with learning disabilities needed very competent teachers, carefully crafted educational materials, and well-designed learning opportunities. He also believed that teacher education was very important to ensuring the progress of learners who face challenges; and, he believed in the power of collaboration--across disciplines in interdisciplinary teams and, in the case of the International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities (IARLD)--across the globe. In this article, Lorraine Graham maps her learning journey as a teacher, student, researcher program developer, and teacher educator guided by salient quotes from William M. Cruickshank's corpus of work. Comments on the importance of teacher education and teachers' professional learning, and the associated work that she and her colleagues are involved in at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education conclude the article. [William M. Cruickshank Memorial Lecture delivered at the 2017 Conference of the International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities.]