Alaska trip and literacy

I've just gotten back from the land of Northern Lights, stormy seas and long train rides. I didn't see a bear, nor a caribou, nor a Dall sheep and the only eagles were either in a cage or on a trainer's arm for lecture purposes. Yet, despite what I didn't experience, I did get a sense of marvelous country, views of awesome scenery like Mt. McKinley, and the opportunity to participate in an era where history doesn't seem to have gone much past the days of the Klondike and would-be adventurers.
Skagway boasts its wooden sidewalks; Juneau has no roads except those by sea and air, and Ketchikan boasts more salmon ready to jump its fish ladders than people living there.
Juneau, however, had book stores—lots of them.
I picked up The Blue Bear by Lynn Schooler. A superb memoir of an Alaskan fishing guide and his encounters with an international photographer, Michio Hoshino. Perseverance, patience and an eye for the ultimate picture were Michio's unique qualities. No picture until its time!
Sadly, Michio's fate had been determined by the very nature he sought to capture through a lens.
Now what has this to do with literacy?
First of all, in this vast land, besides many saloons still packing customers in since the time of the gold rush, I saw many reading with a book in hand, not a Kindle. Second, the idea of aspiring to reach the ultimate goal kept on nudging me. Every teacher who is teaching or guiding a student in literacy wants the child or young adult to understand. Like nature itself, every child also has his or her own time to get to that point. Like a talented photographer, we need to be patient with the process. No literacy program has the patience of a teacher who "sees" the next step and the next step toward the realization of a young comprehending mind.