Last August I received an e-mail from two young photographers who were initiating a photojournalism project that paired high-school students with elderly nursing-home residents. One of my most gifted and capable seniors was able to participate, and the project culminated in an exhibit that opened last night and included screenings of audio slide-shows produced by the students. The exhibit was great, the slide-shows perhaps even better, and it was so gratifying to see these six girls with their friends and families, their subjects, and their pictures, all outside of the artificial boundaries of school. It’s just the kind of project I’ve always wanted to get my students involved with, but the day-to-day busy-ness of schoolkeeping makes it virtually impossible to manage the logistics. How wonderful, then, for these young professional photographers to put their time and energy into getting “Generations” going–and how great they were to offer up their own experiences and viewpoints, purely on a volunteer basis and in a friendly, noncompetitive atmosphere. In a non-school setting, the adults treated the students in a collegial manner and shared their skills the way they would with peers. I admire the Bridge group for making this kind of community experience a central part of their mission–as many of my Workshop friends in Maine like to say, “they walk the walk.” It’s what both photography and teaching should be all about.