"Twenty men crossing a bridge, Into a village, Are twenty men crossing twenty bridges, Into twenty villages"? Metaphors of a Magnifico By Wallace Stevens. My favorite quote has become a world view to me over the past twenty-five years. I have considered teaching a way of discovering the men, bridges, and villages that populate the world around me. Through my teaching of writing, as well as my own writing and reading, I delve into the hearts of many different souls, each with a perspective that I do not have. My purpose in teaching writing, speaking, acting, literature, and humanities is to draw that individual perspective out of each student who comes to me to learn. Writing, as well as acting and public speaking, allows the quiet -- the sky -- a voice. That voice needs to be heard, for it is through hearing all of the voices around us that we can truly begin to understand the variety and beauty that surrounds us every day. This philosophy of education has been honed over many years of writing, acting, and teaching. Through my own writing and performances, I have gained insights into my own soul: my own likes and dislikes, my own dreams and perspectives. Through teaching, I have learned many things I never would have thought to know: how to field-dress a deer, how to make sushi, what worries a sixteen-year-old girl who feels alone in a school with hundreds of other sixteen-year-old girls, what a young boy believes science will one day discover, and why one man's family may be different than the "norm," but is still a loving, nurturing group. In my teaching, I do a lot of modeling, understanding that sometimes students need guides to follow on the way to self-expression. So I show them my soul a bit to encourage a little revelation from their lives. To sum up: I believe education is the exploration for, finding of, and expression of old and new ideas. We learn from each other and those who came before us. Education teaches us to become active, thinking members of society -- acting and reacting, observing and contemplating, learning and teaching. We, as teachers, also learn from our charges, as we try to teach and lead them. And, for me, that is the greatest thing about teaching. Terry D. Barkley