Teaching in today’s classrooms can be complex due to the political and cultural landscape that surrounds students and influences their learning. It is up to us as teachers to address and embrace these complexities rather than give in to binary thinking or avoid these topics altogether. As schools are where young people learn how to interpret the world, it’s we teachers who shape this thinking to best prepare students for the real world- a world that is full of complexity.

Combining research with real-world scenarios, Oakland University writing professor Nick Sanders, with co-author Bethany Meadows illustrate how to reflect on ourselves as educators and respond to this complexity. By recognizing positionalities, interrogating worldviews, and embracing complexity, Sanders and Meadows highlight the ways we can reflect on our teaching practice and identities while creating more inclusive and engaging classrooms. 

To see the complete reflection questions, scenarios, analysis, and extra resources for personal use, visit the full “Embracing Complexity: A Three-Realm Approach to Engage Contemporary Political Landscapes” article published in MLA Profession. 

Recognizing Positionalities and Ecosystems

Everyone fits into a different kind of “norm” and has multiple identities that cannot be separated or reduced to simple thinking, which is often the norm in schools. These overlapping identities shape how students experience the classroom: how they interact with others, how they are treated, and how they respond to what this “normal” expectation is. 

Sanders and Meadows examine how classroom discussions can center on cultural, political, and social identities, rather than simplifying them down to “either-or” perspectives that have long been dominated. They encourage self-reflection that interrogates and examines how our identity shapes our teaching practices. 

Questions to consider:

• What are my identities and positionalities?
• How do my identities and positionalities shape my teaching values and practices?
• How does my educational institution reinforce certain values based on the institution’s history and positionalities?

Interrogating the Reproduction of Worldviews

Our identities and worldviews influence what we know, how we act, and how we interact with social systems. The term “literacy” is commonly associated with reading and writing. However, Sanders and Meadows examine how it is also seen as a “learned political market”. It harbors ideologies and reproduces worldviews, depending on what is taught, how it’s taught, and whether you are challenging a binary curriculum that only covers specific perspectives. This, in turn, positions teaching and learning as inherently social and political actions.

By facing the deeper commitments of teaching and learning, we can face complexity at the small scale. This can start within our classrooms. We can challenge the larger social and political structures at play by recognizing language hierarchies or questioning standardized testing structures. We can also reject heteronormativity and racism embedded in the curriculum, amongst many other binary-based decisions within the system. These actions can force us to examine our own values, how we act, and how we judge. Doing so, we can promote a more equitable environment for our students.

Questions to consider: 

• How did I come to adopt the worldviews I believe?
• Which of my beliefs do I prioritize?
• Do my priorities create exclusions?

Teaching to Embrace Complexity

Traditional education often prioritizes and centers binary, narrow-minded ways of thinking. The K-12 curriculum still focuses on simplistic opposition stories (example: good vs. bad, right vs wrong, etc.). Even when marginalized groups are included, they are still not seen as equally important to forward binary stories, and are not always fully integrated. They are only added to show representation but do not challenge the dominant narrative or change the overall perspective, nor are they studied thoroughly. 

However, students can and will understand this complexity against the binary curriculum if they are allowed to. Sanders and Meadows argue that if we intentionally ground our students’ work in intersectionality, social norms, and reflection, they will be able to unpack complex topics such as inequalities that mirror real-world problems. Combined with recognizing our students’ diverse backgrounds and self-reflecting on how we approach sensitive topics, educators can have meaningful class discussions and teach students to think critically and navigate complexity inside and outside of the classroom. 

Questions to consider:

• If I don’t say anything about the current complexities in this world, why don’t I?
• How can I acknowledge tragic events for students without bringing the events into debate?
• Have I set community norms and guidelines for my course collaboratively with students?

Looking Forward

As Sanders and Meadows state, this is not a “how-to” guide on how to easily incorporate these ideas into your everyday life. These concepts are dependent on the positionalities, places, and context. Change starts with self-reflecting and listening to understand, not to respond. Teaching environments must move beyond binary thinking to understand and include students of different cultures and politics. Making small improvements in our mindset can lead to the change needed to embrace complexity.

References and Resources

Sanders, N., & Meadows, B. (2025, Winter). Embracing Complexity: A Three-Realm Approach to Engage Contemporary Political Landscapes. MLA Profession. https://profession.mla.org/embracing-complexity-a-three-realm-approach-to-engage-contemporary-political-landscapes/

About the Authors

Reilly Bisoski is a writing intern at the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. She is a senior with a major in creative writing and a minor in English. When she’s not writing, Reilly can be found at a local rock show or reading a good book.

Nick Sanders (he/him) is an Assistant Professor of Writing & Rhetoric. He is a queer scholar-practitioner committed to justice-centered institutional change through antiracist and queer approaches to writing pedagogy, campus leadership, and public and professional writing. Outside of work, he likes to make (and eat) sourdough bread.

Bethany Meadows (she/they) is the Inclusive Pedagogy Specialist for the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation at Michigan State University. They have an interest in inclusive pedagogy as well as sexual violence policy and response.

Others may share and adapt under Creative Commons License CC BY-NC.

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