Naive dichotomous representations of complex realities persist in part because there is unfilled political and conceptual space in which they can flourish. Dichotomous representations of pedagogy have been popular and linger even though more discerning educators have abandoned this kind of rhetoric. Comparative perspective might contribute to the development of a nondichotomizing pedagogy. In support of this position, three propositions are drawn from the author's own comparative research. Across cultures, one can find a recurrence of many more than two contrasting bedrock views of what teaching is about. As these viewpoints surface in different combinations, they extend the range of pedagogical orientations and possibilities. Beyond these are primordial values about the relationships of individuals to each other and two society that have a direct bearing on how teachers think and how they act. The identification of such values, value concordances, and dissonances in everyday classroom practice is greatly aided if there is a coherent model or framework for conceptualizing teaching itself. One way of breaking free of bipolar models of teaching is to devise frameworks for making sense of educational values and practices that make such bipolarity as difficult as possible. (Contains 36 endnotes.) (SLD)