A common path to becoming a teacher educator in the U.S. entails moving from a classroom teacher, to a graduate student, and then to a university-based teacher educator. Many believe that a good teacher educator would also make a good teacher upon his or her return to the classroom. These assumptions are increasingly being called into question via a growing body of literature that examines how the work of classroom teachers and teacher educators actually occurs in discrete institutional contexts guided by varying sets of professional and instructional expectations. The emphasis on continuing to learn about subject matter and how to teach it, as well as to stay informed of changing school climates by maintaining direct experience with current students, has led some to advocate that teacher educators should, at least periodically, return to classroom teaching to maintain their effectiveness as educators through encountering new challenges and reflecting on these challenges. This article describes a novice social studies teacher educator's experience of returning to the classroom on a full-time basis. The participant's experience offers a perspective on possible approaches to incorporate into teacher education, such as: (1) Assisting teacher candidates in developing more nuanced understandings of content; (2) Sharing how to teach content to diverse groups of students; and (3) Developing strategies to deal with the adversity that teachers will encounter in the classroom.