Science teaching and learning is facing a new dilemma. It has to move from its old perception of science as a purely positivistic and value-free enterprise into regarding it as what it really is: a value-laden human endeavour characterised by historical, cultural, social and political parameters. Science teachers now have to deal with ethical, and social issues encountered in their teaching of science. In essence school science has moved from its conventional form of being a pure science to more of a social subject that has to talk about day to day social and ethical issues. This conceptual paper explores the problems that science teachers face in their teaching. The paper goes further to suggest radical approaches that teachers may use to teach these issues successfully. The incorporation of radical approaches is relevant in order to address this issue which has the potential to adversely affect the teaching and learning of science. Relevant examples from the South African context are cited throughout the paper.