This article centers on the role that civic knowledge plays in the education of students who choose to major in social studies education at Purdue University. However, the authors also use this as an opportunity to join a debate regarding the content organization of history and social science that predates the origins of the social studies in 1913. The contradictions inherent in the various theoretical frameworks that guide teachers' instructional decisions are an important factor to professors responsible for teacher education. The purpose of this article is to address these contradictions and attempt to answer the practical questions: (1) How should we educate secondary social studies teachers? (2) How do we prepare young teachers to select content and teaching methods to use in their classrooms months from now? (3) Will teachers who face the prospect of teaching multiple classes of middle and high school students draw upon their "apprenticeship of experience" as learners to create activities and lesson plans? and (4) Should the methods professor present students with a menu of instructional strategies and let the student decide which framework to employ? (Contains 1 Table and 16 Endnotes.)