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National Resource Guide to American Studies in the Secondary Schools

Acknowledgements

Lois Rudnick
Chair, ASA Secondary School Committee

This guide could not have been put together without the help of scores of teachers who took the time to provide information about their teaching of American Studies. I would especially like to thank the seven teachers who contributed essays about their American Studies programs/courses. They give a rich and expansive view of how exciting an endeavor American Studies has become in high schools with very different populations, and in very different parts of the country: Janet Crowder, Marsha Ehlers, Jeff Donnelly, Deb Schmalholz, Stan Spencer, Art Pease, and Brooke Workman. You, and the other teachers represented here, are a testimony to how alive and well the teaching profession is, and how much we as a nation owe to the tremendous energy, dedication, and intelligence that mark the teaching of so many who continue to take seriously (and playfully!) John Dewey's notion of the classroom as a laboratory of democracy.

I also want to thank the American Studies Association for its support of the Secondary School Committee, and particularly John Stephens, Executive Director of the Association, and his office staff, who have been most helpful in bringing this guide to fruition.