What does the fox say... about helping young people find their passion?

The story of the hedgehog and the fox can be traced back to classical times. In it we learn that the fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing. Foxes are agile, cunning and can approach problems in many different ways; in contrast, the hedgehog can defeat a fox with one big idea - the spiky defensive ball.

Popularised by Isaiah Berlin in a set of essays published in the 1950s, the great British intellectual uses the categorising principle of hedgehogs and foxes to elucidate the work of philosophers and writers. Notably, Tolstoy's conception of history is explored, and ultimately defined, as a 'single central vision'. For Berlin, Tolstoy is a hedgehog. 

Over the past few weeks, the hedgehog-fox analogy has cropped up in my reading on three separate occasions, elucidating three completely different arguments. For some, the hedgehog is the hero; for others it is the fox. In this post, I will argue that the hedgehog-fox dichotomy is useful when thinking about our approach to a 'holistic' or 'whole' education - or what is perhaps best captured by the phrase, 'educating the whole child'. 

I remember my grandmother sitting down with me as a teenager and explaining exactly the same concept with another old adage: 'you are becoming a jack of all trades and a master of none'. Of course, my teenage brain dismissed this at the time, but it clearly stuck with me. I was learning the piano and violin quite seriously, but had recently taken up many other instruments in a bid to be the next big thing in Britpop (!)... guitar, bass guitar, drums, even an ill-judged period with the harmonica after hearing Bob Dylan for the first time. I was a musical fox, but my wise grandmother saw that the balance had tipped - if I dedicated more time to being a pianist-hedgehog, I could really make something of it, she explained. Of course, I chose the route of the fox and only now appreciate her wisdom as that Britpop sensation never made it beyond the back room of the local pub. But we did enjoy trying! Speak to any serious musician and they will pause when asked what is their main instrument - they will probably settle on one answer but they will almost always explain the other instruments in which they gained proficiency, and will go through periods of preferring one instrument over an other. In the context of music, it seems that the hedgehog needs a bit of the fox about them to grow as a rounded musician. Perhaps the secret is in the balance - but how best to strike this balance?

The first reference to hedgehogs and foxes came through my reading of business guru Jim Collins, on which I've written previously. Collins highlights 'The Hedgehog Concept' as one of the key features of successful companies. By focusing on one big idea, and pursuing it relentlessly, these companies had the vision to survive external turbulence and to thrive across decades. In the book Winners, Alastair Campbell also talks of a similar concept in politics and credits the success of the New Labour electoral campaign of 1997 to its relentless clarity on one big objective: 'win' and one big strategy: 'New Labour, New Britain'. Expanding on the importance of an over-arching grand objective, Campbell describes a consultancy session with German business executives, in which he distributes blank postcards and asks them to write their Objective on one side and their Strategy on the other, in as few words as possible. The executives struggle, and he shows that a clarity of vision is lacking in their brand. So, in business, as in politics, the Hedgehog seems to emerge as the hero: the Big Hairy Audacious Goal trumps a more diffuse set of smaller aims.

How do we help our young people find their passion?

Bertrand Russell sheds some light on this issue in The Conquest of Happiness. Displaying classic fox-like qualities, the mathematician turns his attention to lessons for life in this superb book, which still stands the test of time. In the chapter on 'Zest', Russell argues famously that the person who likes strawberries has greater capacity for joy than one who does not. Perhaps more topically, during this World Cup season,

"The man who enjoys watching football is to that extent superior to the man who does not"

In general,

"The more things a man is interested in, the more opportunities of happiness he has, and the less he is at the mercy of fate, since if he loses one thing he can fall back upon another. Life is too short to be interested in everything, but it is good to be interested in as many things as are necessary to fill our days."

I didn't have this quote in my armoury for that conversation with my grandmother, and I'm sure it would have been given short shrift! But here we see a balance suggested - we can't be interested in everything, but we need a broad range of interests for a good life. 

As a parent and teacher, the Hedgehog-Fox allegory is a useful tool to reflect on the balance of the school and home experience of children as they grow and explore their interests. Too much time spent on one pursuit and we grow obsessive hedgehogs, with the danger that if that interest wanes or fails, they are left with little else to fall back on - think of the star gymnast who picks up an injury or comes to the end of their short career. In this fascinating podcast interview with champion gymnast Max Whitlock, we are encouraged to reflect on the balance even a world class athlete struggles with: the need for a long term goal or objective to work towards and provide focus, against the danger of the void this leaves when that all-consuming journey comes to an end. 

It seems that schools play a vital role in opening up experiences and opportunities to expose young people to as many interests as possible, and then providing pathways to proficiency once particular passions emerge over time. As Russell reminds us, life is short; and schools have packed schedules. The pyramid model within Theory of Change seems well suited here: imagine the lower levels with lots of variety at primary level, with more specialisation and pathways for proficiency as you move up the age groups of secondary. If a student goes on to higher study with grades but no interests beyond school, we have surely failed. Furthermore, the pursuit of hobbies beyond the classroom is a great way of intentionally building character, as shown by Dr Phil Cummins and his team at Circle Education: a thoughtfully crafted programme can often provide so much more than a surface introduction. 

Jim Collins reflects on The Hedgehog Concept he made famous in this podcast with Tim Ferris, where he adapts the concept for young people finding their passion / purpose in life. While his concept for business focuses on passion - aptitude - economic engine [what are you passionate about as a company? / what can you be the best at? / how will it make money?]; he reflects on a different model for a life well lived, which can be interpreted as enjoyment - encoding - flourishing [what do you enjoy? / do you have the ability to be good at it? / does it add to your wellness and purpose?]. These are great questions to encourage our young people to ask themselves.

And now to watch Messi play against Australia with a bowl of strawberries.

Reading

The Hedgehog and the Fox, Isaiah Berlin

Winners, Alastair Campbell

The Conquest of Happiness, Bertrand Russell

Obliquity - John Kay's Blog: https://www.johnkay.com/2004/01/17/obliquity/

Watching

I enjoyed watching this TED talk by John Kay, subject of a future blog post.

Listening

Max Whitlock on the High Performance Podcast

https://www.thehighperformancepodcast.com/podcast/maxwhitlock

Jim Collins on the Tim Ferriss podcast, 'a rare interview with a reclusive polymath':

https://tim.blog/2019/02/18/jim-collins/