Chapter 3: The many Faces of Dane: Viewing Boys as a Resource in Their Own Literacy Development

Consider the sharp contrasts in the following two scenarios of “Dane” (All names in this chapter are pseudonyms.), a 16-year-old biracial youth attending an urban high school in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Dane is being raised by his mother, after his father left the family when he was in middle school. His father died recently from complications related to alcoholism. Dane’s school is situated in an all-Black neighborhood where youth of color comprise 100% of the student body. Seventy-two percent receive free and reduced fare lunches. Dane has been characterized by teachers and administrators as “unmotivated,” “struggling,” and occasionally “uncooperative,” though generally “good natured.”