Teaching is a two-way symbiotic loop.

principle — attributed to Wynton Marsalis

Marsalis's students send him articles, artists, recordings. He sends others back. The loop continues. He calls it a great symbiotic relationship. The framing matters because most mentorship language treats the senior figure as the source and the junior figure as the recipient. Marsalis treats both as nodes in an exchange. The reframe also explains why his teaching is sustainable across a long career. Mentorship that is purely one-directional exhausts the senior figure and produces dependence in the junior one. Mentorship that is mutual becomes a source of energy for both.

For senior practitioners, professors, and mentors at any career stage. The principle is also a useful prompt for mentees, who are sometimes uncertain whether they are allowed to teach back.

teaching, mentorship, reciprocity, learning