Although Bill and Elliot
are fairly similar in ability, they are as different as night and day in their
approaches to school. Elliot seems to care only about how he looks to others.
For the school science fair, for example, he selected an extremely easy project
on ants that looked fancy and impressive but, actually, had very little
substance. He continually makes excuses before taking tests, such as "I'm
taking this without any studying." Or he might say, "I'll be happy
with a C." After the test, however, he is quick to promote his own good
performances when they occur. Bill is quite the opposite. He loves challenges
and becomes totally immersed in books and projects. He says that when he gets
interested in something, he wants to learn all that he can. He usually earns
good grades in his courses, but he seems basically unconcerned about his test
scores.