When I travel around Ohio to meet with teachers, I am often asked to provide assistance in solving problems that are usually posed in the form of yes or no questions. Some examples are:

“Should we teach students to read using phonics or whole language?”

Should I develop engaging, exciting, and interesting lessons, or should I cover the Grade Level Indicators?”

Should I try to find out what students really know or should I assess them in the way they are likely to be assessed on the test?”

Without trying to be a wise-guy, I usually answer “yes” to all of these questions. I have noticed a tendency towards oppositional thinking in our profession. This is usually rooted in the sincere attempt to do what is best for students (I guess that could be an oppositional question in and of itself–’should I do what is best for my students or prepare them for the state tests?’) Perhaps my time away from working within a school has caused me to regain some of my naive beliefs, but I believe that all of the questions posed above can be answered by the word yes.

I do not really believe that the development of state tests was an attempt to drive creativity and excitement out of classrooms, nor do I believe that teachers have to choose between assessing for deep knowledge or preparing students for tests. We can do both.

Parker Palmer (000) addresses these questions under the general category of “paradox.” There are some things that just present themselves as unresolvable choices between two things. Parker cautions us not to try to resolve these paradoxes.

What other “paradoxes” present themselves when you try to make instructional decisions? How can we be certain that the situation in question really comes down to an “either-or” decision?