Close analysis of both the explicit and implicit curriculum is necessary to truly understand the kind of work relationships educators develop with their students and what values, epistemologies, and belief systems they are going to appreciate as a result of the collective educational experience. The analysis began with student voices and experiences as the researchers tried to peel away the multiple layers of their teaching and learning--several high school students were contacted and asked if they would be willing to talk about their experiences with the writing curricula in their respective schools. Focus group sessions were conducted with two different groups (n=7), and the conversations were organized around their writing experiences in and out of high school, specifically on the writing curricula. The conversations with the students are described and analyzed. First, the paper contextualizes the students' school experience and provides a review of their reactions to this highly structured, highly regulated writing environment along with their suggestions for how to improve their writing experiences. The paper then chronicles the cognitive dissonance these students are subjected to as a result of conflicting personal and institutional conceptions of writing and suggests that their experiences argue convincingly for a more postmodern, aesthetic writing curriculum. The possible consequences of not reconceptualizing the high school writing curriculum are explored. Contains 17 references. (NKA)