| | Jon:
I think you have certainly identified a real issue here. It has to do with a difference in how people approach their lives. And what I am going to say should in no way be taken as a criticism, it is simply an observation of a difference.
There are some people, and I identify myself as being strongly in this camp, who have a very idealized view of life. That is not to say that I am disconnected from reality. I think I am strongly aware of my present circumstances and have no trouble dealing with the day-to-day requirements of my life. But if you wanted to know what motivates me, that resides in an idealized, very long-range view of, to borrow a quote, not things as they are, but things as they could be. I am, without a doubt, a romantic through and through. While I can find joy in listening to a piece of music, appreciating a work of art or associating with others, my true passion lies in the realm of contemplating a better, more beautiful world, and once that is envisioned, working out how to move towards that ideal. This is what drew me to the profession of architecture. I am the king of delayed gratification, because if I ever get too close to achieving a goal, I have to move the post! If the goal is satisfied, then I've lost my motivation. I believe that this approach to life can be inscrutable for those that do not understand it at a visceral level.
There is another group that I would describe as practical. Their focus is mainly directed to the present. They look about and see conditions and then formulate plans for how to respond. This group also has ideals and can be very interested in making the world a better and more beautiful place, but they find their motivation in the ability to solve immediate practical problems which yield immediate results. These people get utterly frustrated if the goal is too far out and they give up because they judge the end to be unobtainable. I know this type of person intimately, because I've been married to one for well over 30 years.
In the case of this discussion about pay-for-grades, and in many other discussions as well I'm sure, I now see where the disconnect occurs. I honestly do not think at all about the inner-city school kids and their life growing up in a poor, crack-infested neighborhood. I'm not interested in rescuing one or two of these kids and setting them on the course for a better life. In an abstract sense, I respect these kids' individuality and wish them the best possible life, just as I do for humanity in general, but truth be told, their pain and suffering are really not on my radar. When we have a discussion like this one, my focus is on the big, and I mean BIG picture. I'm seeing the nature of education as a whole and how it could be redesigned to not only convey facts, but to teach people to see the world in new ways and to learn how to think critically. I'm thinking about the social/political changes that would be required to achieve these results and how changing all of those things seem to me to be within the realm of the possible, and just how exciting it would be to tackle this problem. I'm already thinking about the types of schools I would design to foster these new types of interactions between parent, child and teacher and how you could redesign housing and neighborhoods and transport systems to better meet the need of a more enlightened populace coming out of this sort of educational system. You may think I am exaggerating for effect here, but I promise you that this is the sort of stuff that actually goes on in my head.
So now I'm guessing that a practical person is saying WTF! This guy is a naive asshole and will never get anything accomplished with that approach. Well, you might be right, or you might be surprised at my ability to ultimately ground all this back in reality and devise a strategy for moving forward towards that vision. But getting back to the matter at hand, I can now see that the person who is focused on that specific kid who is dropping out of school might see this as all bullshit. It's not. We are just trying to solve different problems. And there is nothing wrong with that. Some of us are good at the more immediate aspects of life and others of us are good at the big picture. I don't think either group is right or wrong; better or worse; just different. And differences are a good thing because they allow more to get accomplished than could be done individually.
Assuming that I have explained this difference in clear enough terms, my question to all of you is, do you think that what I am saying is still bullshit, or can you see that this is another valid approach to the subject and to life and that being an idealist is not the same thing as being naive?
Regards,
--
Jeff
P.S.: Ryan, I think that this might address a number of your points, however one thing stood out for me. When you say "I honestly believed you were a really smart teenager until I read about your career and college years.", are you referring to my little literary exercise in describing my teenage job and building the giant Eveready battery? If so, I wonder just how mush misunderstanding that actually created! Me, a hippie! "'I'd like to buy the world a home, and furnish it with love' type vibe.". These are some of the funniest comments that have ever been used to describe me. I'm the kid that studied 2-3 hours a night from fourth grade onward, carried a briefcase all throughout high school, and had a pocket full of Autopoint mechanical pencils with different colored lead so that I could illustrate my graphs in algebra class. I got an after-school job at the age of 12 and loved it. I graduated high school a year early. To say I had few friends needs no further explanation I think. I read the Fountainhead at the age of 12 and learned how to think at the age of 21. I've never used drugs of any sort, never smoked, and only been drunk one time in my life as a result of submitting to peer-pressure, from which I learned a valuable lesson. Oh yeah, and I committed an act of complete whimsy by building the battery, enjoying every minute of it. Move over Abbie Hoffman! :-)
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I think it is a great shame, that many people never develop a conscious enough sense of the pleasures of beauty, or self-actualization, or the admirable qualities of character in another person, or a host of other aspects of life. And failing to do so, they are ill-equipped to find the proper balance in their life. 
