Practical Idealism vs. Cynical Idealism

Happy Friday, everyone.

A few weeks ago, I posted on what I called “Fair Weather Idealism”, and in that post, I referenced my essay on Practical Idealism vs. Cynical Idealism.

Many of you asked for a copy of that essay, so I thought I’d share it here. Enjoy!

---

Cynical Idealism vs. Practical Idealism

There is a common occupational hazard that sometimes besets people who are truly passionate about their work, as all of us are here.

We pride ourselves for being an organization of idealists. We love that this is a place where people care about getting education right and offering children our very best. Whether we work with babies or with building plans or anything in between, we’re not here merely to get a paycheck—we’re here because we want our work to actually make an impact on the lives of human beings.

An idealist doesn’t settle for the way things are. An idealist has a vision for the way things ought to be and is willing to struggle and take risks to try to make it happen. It is this inspired attitude that moves our world forward.

But idealism can be frustrating. Because idealists want to make or do something better, they sometimes find themselves at war with a world that seemingly just won’t cooperate! We all feel that way sometimes: we know what is right, but our students (or parents or managers or colleagues or vendors or landlords) just don’t respond the way we want. It can seem as though we know the ideal environment, but we don’t have the materials or furniture to create it. We know exactly what to do to fix a certain situation, but there is not enough time or money or flexibility to get it done.

In short, an idealist can sometimes feel that “if only the world were different, or people were different, or something were different… then I could enact my vision of the true and the good”.

Let’s call this tendency “cynical idealism”. We are cynical idealists whenever we encounter a practical challenge and experience the inner lament: if only the world was not the way it is, I could do my work the way I want. If only I had students in my classroom that didn’t watch so much TV at home, they would be able to concentrate; if only I had parents who cared about order and routine, this child wouldn’t be so unfocused; if only I could purchase another set of materials or books, my students would be further along in their language development; if only I had a Macbook rather than a PC, I would be able to design polished handouts; if only I could have more time for prep or meetings, I would be able to collaborate positively with my assistant; if only I had a bigger classroom, I wouldn’t have a space-planning problem.

The fact is, any worthwhile human endeavor is hard to achieve, and involves a lot of practical obstacles. When we are at our best, we idealists know this, and we embrace the challenge of overcoming those obstacles. We work to come up with short, medium, and long-term solutions, we take the time to persuade others of their value, and we collaborate supportively to move in a positive direction. If someone else is not carrying their load, we accept the responsibility of helping them understand and address that fact. Even if the world changes—such as when an earthquake or fire hits our community, or when the global financial crisis occurred in 2008—we recognize the reality of the situation and act to make the best of it, in fidelity to our vision.

When we are in a more cynical mood, however, we sometimes find ourselves wishing for another world that didn’t have any deficiencies or challenges, so that we could just do whatever we wanted without having to worry about practical constraints. Underlying this feeling is the idea: “My work is good. It’s the world that is imperfect. That’s why I’m not getting the results I want.”

The alternative to cynical idealism is practical idealism. Practical idealism is the attitude that knows there’s no such thing as a world without any obstacles, and so there’s no point resenting the obstacles we encounter. As we encourage our children to struggle and overcome challenges, so we must relish those same challenges as adults—we must pursue our ideals within the world, and enjoy the feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment that comes when we successfully do so.

Here’s a great quote, from the movie Lincoln, that makes this point in the context of Lincoln’s own goal to rid the United States of slavery: "A compass, I learned when I was surveying, it’ll point you True North from where you’re standing, but it’s got no advice about the swamps and deserts and chasms that you’ll encounter along the way. If in pursuit of your destination, you plunge ahead, heedless of obstacles, and achieve nothing more than to sink in a swamp… What’s the use of knowing True North?"

That’s us to a T. As idealists, we know True North, or at least we continually strive to identify and clarify it. But that alone won’t turn our ideal into a reality. Turning a vision into reality takes effort and thought and persistence. It is a life’s work, and an enduring purpose—especially in our chosen field of education.

Maria Montessori puts the same point in a different way. She talks about the fact that the only means of changing the world is a reality focus: “When man loses himself in mere speculations, his environment will remain unchanged, but when imagination starts from contact with reality, thought begins to construct works by means of which the external world becomes transformed; almost as if the thought of man had assumed a marvelous power: the power to create.” (Spontaneous Activity in Education, Chapter IX)

There are times when I find a streak of cynical idealism in myself. When I do, I try to remember that I don’t want to just sit around imagining a beautiful educational vision, and complain in my infinite wisdom about a world of parents and educators and teammates and bureaucrats that don't see it. I want to achieve the ideal here, for real, in this world—no matter if it takes a year or ten, and no matter how hard the road is that takes us from here to there. I want to bring our ideal to real children in real classrooms across America.

If this is what we want, we can’t be cynical idealists. We have to shake off that bad mood whenever we feel it coming, take a fresh look at the problem, and focus our thoughts around practical idealism. We have to embrace the fact that the work in front of us is the work of crossing the swamps and deserts and chasms. We have to see every challenge as inherent in the task, as exactly and unqualifiedly the work we have chosen to undertake. If we do, with our eyes and hearts on True North, and our minds already figuring our way along that winding path, we'll together meet that great vision of education beckoning us from the horizon.

Have a great weekend,

Ray Girn
Chief Executive Officer
Higher Ground Education