“Pragmatism is to be considered a positive trait that can pave your way to happiness and success in many areas of life. Pragmatists are not dreamers, but people of action. A certain amount of realism is also part of it.”
“The main idea of pragmatism is that knowledge is essentially related to human practice.”
For years, I have glibly said that I am a pragmatist without, perhaps, fully understanding what that actually means. What I’ve always meant by being pragmatic is that I seem to have been gifted an unerring ability to know when the game is up, and to practically change course for success. I am not one to flog a dead horse. Nor do I tend to linger on matters outside of my control. Partnered with this is my unending drive to ‘do my best’ (whatever that means). I feel that this has given me the qualities to:
- Get things done
- Make the best of situations
- Find a way through challenging times.
I’ve also, generally, considered it a blessing.
Many moons ago when I was carving out a ‘writing’ career, I had a book of poetry published*. I am sure many of my old pals still have it on their shelves or are, alternatively, using it as a coaster… It was fine, in fact, if a little too soon.
Amazingly (or not) this book of poetry did not garner me international fame or a nomination for the Pulitzer Prize. And I knew, pretty much straight away, that a poetry career, which required at its very zenith attention to some theoretical underpinnings, was not for me. Besides, by that point, I was beginning to make a living through delivering theatre and writing workshops, devising and directing shows and writing community shows which was actually:
- Feeding my need to do stuff (with actual people)
- Trying to make a difference.
I remember saying to my publisher words to the effect that I was a writer in my head but an educator in my heart. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say he scoffed, visibly and audibly, and then said, “That’s very convenient!” (I took this to mean that I was by his standards, taking the easy way out. That I was not sufficiently committed to poetry and hardship. I mean, I don’t think those two things go hand in hand, necessarily, but evidently, he did.)
And I remember, briefly, being shocked that he would think that I had chosen the path of practical delivery, the working with people, because it was convenient. I had chosen it, sincerely, because it suited me. My personality and what mattered more to me. And what I was clearly good at, the place my skillset lay.
Not always, but often, I see endings as beginnings. As possibility. As a time to pivot. Here’s a confession: I’ve always thought of myself as a Weeble toy, which my younger brother had a whole army of (https://www.amazon.co.uk/weebles/s?k=weebles) Because as the adverts for the toys said, ‘Weebles Wobble, but they don’t fall down.’
Only in the researching of this post here have I started to realise that pragmatism is also a movement. Odd that I’ve navigated as much education as I have without realising this but, “the philosophical movement (of pragmatism) that values solving lived problems over highly technical or intellectual problems. It values doing and usefulness over…abstraction.” (John Dewey)
Which explains, I suppose why I preferred to teach Drama over English, why I’ve championed ‘rich task’ education all of my career, which allows for real life accountability against learning for learnings’ sake. And why project management, strategic planning and finding practical learning and solutions to real life problems through fundraising and evaluation continue to feature so heavily in my working life. And why art has always been about the practical application, as well as its effect on and the centering people.
So here we are. I still write, I still love to write, but I genuinely and categorically love to work practically with people on real things. That’s just the cut of my jib.
*As well as this poetry publication, I actually also published a chap book too and two further chap books with my old mucker Carmen Walton, aka SaySo. She and I performed all over the place way back, and once got paid in beer. And I also, once, had a play on Radio Four which starred Rita Tushingham of Taste of Honey fame. Mind, it was a long time ago!