This study uses a comparative case study of two high school teachers' units about the U.S. civil rights movement to explore the construct of subject-specific pedagogy. The research examines each teacher's views of subject matter and learners as a means of understanding and explaining instructional practices. Through that investigation, a number of problems of tensions surfaces, which are considered, along with the implications that subject-specific pedagogy has for educational policy and professional development. This paper is part of the "Fallingwater" policy and practice study, a multi-year examination of the relationships among national, state, and local education reform efforts and school/classroom practices. (EH)