This critical ethnographic study examines the discourse systems experienced by three migrant fifth-grade boys during an apple harvest season in south-central Pennsylvania. Numerous examples reveal the discourse collisions facing these boys, whose home language and culture did not reflect the mainstream, and how dominant mainstream discourses overpowered the discourses of marginalized children. Following an introductory chapter, chapter 2 describes the area and the relationships between local and migrant families. Chapter 3 looks at how the boys identified themselves as members of their families, and includes relevant family stories and events. The fourth chapter describes the dominant discourse of the school and the boys' interactions as students. Vignettes examine each boy's individual circumstances in school. Chapter 5 looks at the boys' social relationships with their peers, distinguishing between how they perceived their friends and how they perceived their classmates. The sixth chapter identifies six specific areas of discord between interactive discourses, as identified by frustrations experienced by the boys and their parents related to school culture and practices. The seventh chapter reviews features of the four interactive discourses (the migrant child as student, as classmate, as family member, and as friend) and discusses ramifications of discourse intersection for educational settings. The appendix presents information on methodology--research questions, access to the site, data analysis, and interpretation. (Contains an index and 87 references.) (TD)