When, if ever, should social studies teacher educators and K-12 teachers seek to inculcate specific values, attitudes, and beliefs in their students? To address this question, the author offers a case from his own practice as a social studies teacher educator, illustrating how he promoted critical and divergent thinking during the first half of one class session, and then pushed students toward a convergent set of beliefs during the second half. The author frames this case in terms of contradictory purposes that have been proposed for the social studies: socializing for shared values versus developing critical thinkers. Although there are compelling reasons to maximize critical thinking in social studies classrooms and in social studies teacher education, this article also identifies conditions that merit the use of socialization.