Unstuckness.

That’s what I want to talk about today.

First off, being stuck isn’t the end of the world. If you think about it, the moment that we become aware that we are stuck is the moment when we can consider the broadest possible range of ways of becoming unstuck. Everything is in play. Nothing has been ruled out.

Stuckness “is a moment not to be feared but cultivated,” writes Pirsig. ”If your mind is truly, profoundly stuck, then you may be much better off than when it was loaded up with ideas. But no matter how hard you try to hang onto it, this stuckness is bound to disappear. Your mind will naturally and freely move to a solution.”

Pirsig is not being mystical. He sees being stuck as an essential step to understanding the true nature of what you are trying to do. Going back to the example of the stuck screw on his motorcycle, the condition of its being stuck allows him to understand the screw not just as an inexpensive piece of hardware but also in terms of its form and function. And it is only when he has this deeper understanding of the nature of the screw that the possibilities become apparent: he can use 
penetrating solvent to loosen the screw, or get a screw extractor, or drill it out, or use a torch to burn it out. Or he could think of something new that beats all the rest.

For schools, being stuck means we have an opportunity to look at a problem, understand it from a variety of perspectives, collaborate with colleagues and students and parents, brainstorm possible solutions, and so on. The important thing, when we are stuck, is to analyze the situation and then try something. After a while, we can review what we’ve done, adjust our plan, and try again. Our sense of what is truly good will be what carries us forward.

The penetrating solvent may not work on the screw, and we may need to try to drill it out.

Educators tend to be perfectionists. We don’t like to try something unless we’re sure it’s going to be successful, but that’s how we become stuck in the first place. We need to give ourselves permission to try and to fail, to learn from our mistakes and try again and again. The penetrating solvent may not work on the screw, and we may need to try to drill it out. We shouldn’t be discouraged by the failure of the solvent but use the experience to enhance our understanding of our stuckness and to try another possibility.

To go back to yesterday’s example of the internet and our feelings of powerlessness in preventing it from imposing risks on our students, our obligation is to truly understand the situation. If we do, if we can see the web as a means of connecting people all around the world in ways that we could not imagine fifteen years ago, if we can imagine how we could use the web in constructive ways, then we will not see the threat but rather the educational opportunity. The internet means that schools must find new ways of helping our students and their parents learn about a variety of topics–privacy and safety, yes, but also global connectedness and cultural understanding. If we can adopt a flexible 
approach, one that allows us to see the underlying issues involved, our minds will naturally lead us to solutions.

Let’s give Pirsig the last word. “Stuckness shouldn’t be avoided. It’s the psychic predecessor of all real understanding. An egoless acceptance of stuckness is a key to the understanding of all possibilities.”