The Binaries of Education

• Aug 17, 2026
• Blog
• 2 minutes reading time

In such a contested space as education, there are bound to be arguments that arise. I’ve occasionally engaged in these arguments, feeling strongly enough to pick a side and contribute - throwing a few strong words out into the ether. Most of those debates have fizzled out over time despite their original fervour and passion. I've also seen some notable grudges form when combatants adopt a never-forgive, never-forget attitude.

What I see as the common element in these arguments is that critical issues boil down to a binary point of contention. I’ve opted out of engaging in much of the "scholarship in education" (specifically the academic publishing and ego-driven influence world) because the binary always comes down to a belief in a right and a wrong way of doing something.

I’m more of a Por qué no los dos? kind of guy and that’s because my experience in education to span beyond a single context. What tends to undermine every right/wrong and good/bad binary I’ve encountered is that there’s a specific context where something either works or breaks. And that experience in that context then informs a worldview and perspective moving forward.

Working in a professional context in higher education I have always worked outside the context of faculties, faculty and academia. My relationships and partnerships in the work I do have always spanned those contexts - I work across disciplines, levels, reputations, experience. I’ve never been pigeonholed into a discipline, a mode of teaching, a technology, a pedgogy, or a practice. I’ve worked across them all, seen many of them work and seen them break when applied to different contexts. A technology that improves learning in one context will negate learning in another. A didactic approach works in one context but not another. Neither is fundamentally wrong or right – instead, it is the context that dictates the appropriateness. There are pros and cons, levels of rightness and wrongness - but in the end, context matters. Technology is just a tool until it is weaponised and used to inflict harm.

What I’ve found in educational circles is that, too often, binaries move towards ideology, which is acted on with religious fervour. There is only one true way of doing and seeing things. That two concepts cannot be of equal measure and contain their own pros AND cons. Everything else is wrong because this is the right way to do it.

The cost of this approach is that we lose sight of the bigger picture. We lose common ground, connection becomes harder and harder, and we become disconnected islands with a gulf between us. I would rather we become more pluralistic and accepting of difference – that we act within our contexts rather than judge others for theirs. There is a growing need for pluralism, for accepting that difference is not a problem to solve but rather a distinct advantage. We are better when we operate beyond the binaries and seek to connect with others rather than push them apart.

• Tim Klapdor
• Adelaide, Australia
• posts

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• Tim Klapdor

  NEW POST: The Binaries of Education https://heartsoulmachine.com/blog/2026/08-17-the-binaries-of-education/ #Blaugust