Rereading the history of basic writing can serve as a context for and a springboard to a reading of selected contemporary basic writing textbooks. For critical scrutiny, articles by Joseph Harris and David Bartholomae offer retellings of the history of basic writing, retellings that challenge the more "heroic" tellings that have become…

The Southern Paiute Indians embraced English and realized that letter writing was a good way to communicate with distant people. They welcomed and attended schools. Excerpts from letters demonstrate that Paiute Indians wrote often to White officials advancing their issues or protesting mistreatment, as well as to each other to maintain their…