This paper addresses the dilemmas encountered by two secondary science education instructors designing a course for preservice elementary teachers. Taking into consideration past experiences of teaching education and science courses in general and with preservice elementary teachers in particular and recommendations from state and national documents and state requirements regarding teacher accreditation, the two instructors engage in an introspective reflection that uncovers the complexity involved in making decisions regarding course goals, course assignments, assessment strategies, and course materials. This was all done in an effort to better prepare preservice elementary teachers to meet the new demands of contextualized urban science classrooms, focusing on inquiry science and students' use of higher-order cognitive skills. (Contains 2 figures.)