pearls

SW 11th Avenue, Portland, Oregon, 2013

During my class on Saturdays, I try to come up with a few words of wisdom for the students. 

I can recall two gems that were laid at my own feet by teachers I've had in the past. Their words have stayed with me - motivated me, challenged me, frustrated me, angered me, exhausted me, uplifted me.

Mary Ellen Mark said to me: "Break the square!"

Keith Carter said to me: "Don't show me what it is; make me wonder what it is."

Good teachers, with their pearls of wisdom, can push us to the next level. We just have to be willing to go there.