smudged up

This beautiful quote is not just true for academic affairs professionals.  It's true for us folks down in the trenches, too.  It's okay to call a classroom audible every now and then, to deviate from the script (or the slides).  Take a chance and explore something you or your students find interesting or even troublesome.  The payoff is usually worth it.

"Never suppose that your plans should be implemented exactly as you envision. You are not a portrait artist. People who lead academic affairs are impressionists. Mary Cassatt and Claude Monet painted people. The lines are all fuzzy, but the picture is worth a lot of money. Your work looks a lot better if it is smudged up."

From Faculty Focus.