Shirley Brice Heath, linguistic anthropologist, is an eclectic scholar whose writings and documentary films tell the stories of children and adolescents learning on their own time (and in their own way). From fieldwork in South African townships, small towns in England, and families and communities in the US, she reveals the creative explorations of science and art the young undertake as they adapt to changing social and economic circumstances. She has received international awards for her work in Latin American studies, eighteenth-century children's literature, social entrepreneurship, language and literacy development, arts learning,and human development. She is Margery Bailey Professor of English and Dramatic Literature and Professor of English, Emerita, at Stanford University.