The completion of this book was supported by a host of scholars and friends
who gave freely of their time and insights. Any remaining errors are, of course,
my own. I wish to acknowledge the contributions of the following people.

First, my heartfelt gratitude goes to Jay and his family. I was profoundly
moved by Jay's resilience, persistence, and confidence in the face of an edu-
cational system that constructs him as less able than his peers. I am con-
vinced that the deep and supportive love of his family is what makes this
possible, and am indebted to them for their collaboration with me and for
their support of this work.

It is an act of no small courage to allow one's teaching practice to be vid-
eotaped, analyzed, and made public as part of a research project, and I wish
to thank Laura for allowing me to conduct this research in her classroom.

Harry, the university-based entomologist who volunteered his time and
insect-collecting equipment to work with Jay and me, the citizens of
Axleton who participated in the various interviews I conducted, and the
members of Jay's church who welcomed me into their midst each deserve a
special word of gratitude as well. I could not have completed this work
without the contributions of these participants, and I am very grateful for
their assistance and support.

During the course of this inquiry, I had the great gift of working with a
team of talented and supportive scholars who guided my efforts.
Annemarie Palincsar, my advisor, mentor, and role model, was and remains
a constant source of personal and professional inspiration. Jean McPhail's
artistic sensibilities gave me the courage to venture away from traditional
forms of academic writing, and her research regarding interest-based ap-

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