We, as community college English teachers, have the opportunity to empower students who have been subjected to years of top-down, teacher-directed education. We have the obligation to make them critical thinkers, improving their chances of being thoughtful and successful adults. It all begins with the way we teach writing and the respect we have…

The community college stands as a beacon of democratic, inclusive ideals. Unlike the four year college--where research and advanced degrees are sought--the community college celebrates learning on a personal, heuristic level. And while such unconventional and even seditious practices have been questioned by those who seek to maintain "standards,"…

As concerns mount over the costs and benefits of higher education, it may be worthwhile to glance at the benefits of high school education at present as well. Of course, high school costs, while high, are borne by the taxpayers in general, but it is reasonable to hope that there are sufficient benefits for such an outlay. One of the most…

Assessing the potential impact and utility of course assignments are often a matter of informed, yet personal judgment. Here, in this article, doing our own assignments before assigning them to students is explored as a quality assurance measure and as a means to ensure an empathetic and critical approach to developing course work.

Although not everyone needs textbooks, they still actively serve four audiences within the discipline. The four audiences that benefit from textbooks are students, instructors, the textbook sales force, and the textbook authors themselves. With a growing number of online classes where students have less and less, or even no, face time with their…

The author has been tutoring and teaching writing for fifteen years, but has discovered that few people outside of academia know what it is that she does. Despite the rise in composition graduate programs and the improving market for composition specialists, even within the university, faculty from other disciplines frequently have vague notions…

Teachers as readers would have a more pleasant and stimulating job if they were reading essays that interested them. The step to reading a good paper is designing a good assignment. Some areas that need to be defined for students before they begin to write are outlined. (MLW)

A writing across the curriculum coordinator considers it part of her job to help faculty assist students to write better. She reminds faculty that she is available to do workshops for teaching assistants, to help design sequenced assignments, and to meet with students to set up effective peer response groups. A sociology professor sought her out…

Prompted by a student comment that college lacked intellectual challenge, the author and colleagues sat in on an English class described as "a brain dump." The teacher had assigned students to write parodies of "The Road Not Taken," knowing that to do the assignment well, they would have to read and understand Frost's poem. The instructor was…

Arguing that the primary means of integrating the library with classroom instruction is the library assignment or research paper, this paper takes a practical look at what constitutes an effective library assignment. It begins by debunking various misconceptions about the library and students' library skills which tend to undermine library…

Argues that college teachers will have an easier and more productive experience with student writing if they make and communicate the distinction between high-stakes and low-stakes assignments and between high- and low-stakes ways of responding to student writing. Specific suggestions are made for communicating assignments and commenting on them.…

Teaching communication to MBAs often involves focusing on corporate strategic discourse when student projects are intended to help companies move to a more advanced stage of development. This focus on corporate strategy--the language and concepts that concern the mission and direction that an organization should adopt--requires, in turn, that…

Offers an interview with Robert Wylie, a distinguished two-year college English teacher for almost 50 years. Discusses how important it is for an English teacher to write, important issues in the profession, his views on the best ways to help students improve as writers, his observations about writing assignments, liking students, teaching…