Sometimes, it looks like we have two choices: up or down, agree or disagree, fight or flight. There is a third way, though, Parker Palmer reminds us. Instead of trying to resolve every tension quickly, consider “allowing opposing ideas to enrich and enlarge each other until a new vision emerges” (176). It’s hard to do. In classrooms, for example, it’s easier to make a point and move on than it is to ask, “But what if…?” Many students, I’ve found, don’t like ambiguity or uncertainty or doubt. And yet, isn’t exploring new possibilities essential for learning? And growing?
Palmer, Parker J. A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life. Jossey-Bass, 2004, p. 175.