Life fully lived
Happy Friday everyone,
“Wealth, notoriety, place and power,” wrote H.G. Wells, “are no measure of success whatever.” Knowing how rich a person is, or how famous, or how he compares to his peers, any other external indicator, does not tell us whether he is successful in life. “The only true measure of success is the ratio between what we might have been and what we might have done, on the one hand, and the thing we have made of ourselves, on the other.”
The question about the nature of the success, and of what constitutes the good life, is at the heart of any educational project. What is the goal of education? What are our programs designed to achieve? How do we know we have succeeded in our role as educators (and parents)?
If H.G. Wells is right, then the work of education is the work of helping children actualize their human potential. On this view, the question we ask ourselves as educators is simple: are we helping children make the most of their lives? Answering this question, of course, is decidedly not simple. We, along with many others today and through the ages, are investing incredible time and energy to understand exactly what it means to help a developing child become his or her best self. What curriculum do we need? What assessment framework? What trainings? How do we know whether we are succeeding? If human potential is the goal, there is a ton of work to do to figure out how we measure success on that goal.
Down the road, we’ll explore these questions of assessment further. For today, my purpose is just to encourage you to pause on the idea itself. Here’s how we formulate it at Higher Ground: the individual human life, fully lived, is an end in itself. This is the big idea that is the foundational principle underlying our entire project.
To understand and explore what we mean by a “fully lived life”, I’d like to share two videos:
The Fully Lived Life (30 minutes): This is a talk I gave a few years ago explaining the idea of a fully lived life, and why it is so important to our work. I explain that human beings do not automatically live full lives, and that the goal of our work as educators is to help children do so. If and when you can spare 30 minutes, I think you’ll find watching it helps immensely to deepen your appreciation of our work and vision.
Ben Dunlap’s TED Talk (19 minutes): This is probably my favorite TED talk. This is not a philosophic treatise—rather than tell you, it just shows. It is a beautiful case study of a specific individual who leads a very specific life rich with meaning and value. Even though my own life includes a very different set of values, I find the example here an inspiring reminder of the zest and joy with which I can live. Every time I watch it, I remember again what it means to live with a positive attitude, a genuine and deeply personal goodwill towards others, and a commitment to making the most of every situation. I hope you find it just as inspirational.
If you watch either of these videos, let me know what you think! I’d also love to know if you have specific individuals that represent and symbolize for you the ideal of a fully lived life.
Have a great weekend,
Ray Girn
Chief Executive Officer, Higher Ground Education