Grey Matters with Leah and Angela

In this episode of Grey Matters, Leah reflects on a powerful idea from our first guest, high school ELA teacher Rod Naquin: coincident opposites , the idea that seemingly contradictory ideas can coexist, side by side, in teaching and learning.Drawing on a story Rod shared about Rumi, Leah explores what shifts when we stop flattening complexity into binaries and instead name the tensions that live at the heart of literacy work.From social media debates, to school partnerships, to tutoring sessions and keynote preparation, this episode traces how honoring the grey leads to stronger relationships, clearer planning, and more confident teaching.Rather than choosing sides — phonics or meaning, fast or slow, structure or choice — this conversation invites educators to ask a different question: What problem is each approach trying to solve?If you’ve ever felt exhausted by certainty, uneasy with extremes, or relieved by the words “it depends,” this episode is for you.🎧 Note: This episode builds directly on our conversation with Rod Naquin in Episode 1. We recommend listening to that one first.Stay with us in the grey.To learn more about Leah’s work: ⁠https://www.leahmermelstein.com/⁠To learn more about Angela’s work: ⁠https://www.angelastockman.com/⁠To comment on this episode:⁠greymatters26@gmail.com⁠The Religion of Love Revisited:⁠https://mail.google.com/mail/u/2/?ogbl#search/naquin.rod%40gmail.com/KtbxLzGLkRrkzqxpXHqrmkqgFVTtFfxVZg?projector=1&messagePartId=0.1⁠

For our inaugural episode, we're diving deep into Rod J. Naquin's November 2025 Substack post, The Science of Dialogue: Why teaching requires managing paradox. If you've ever felt like you're constantly juggling contradictory demands in your classroom—structure versus flexibility, covering content versus going deep, challenging students versus supporting them—this conversation is for you.Rod makes a compelling case that these tensions aren't problems to solve, but paradoxes to manage. We'll explore why the search for "best practices" might be missing the point entirely, what it really means to develop teacher judgment, and how leaders can support educators in holding complexity instead of demanding simple solutions.What if the reason teaching feels impossible is that we've been trying to solve problems that can't—and shouldn't—be solved?Show Notes:Keep up with Rod on SubstackRead Parsing the Practice of Teaching by Mary KennedyRod also recommends The Religion of Love Revisited by Chittick and Toward a Theory of Paradox: A Dynamic Equilibrium Model of Organizing by Wendy K. Smith and Marianne W. Lewis