The authors are faculty in history and English, respectively, at Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn, New York. What their students want and need, and what the institution's role in the community should be, remain open questions, with policy implications at the departmental, college, city, and even national level. Indeed, President Obama…

When teaching writing, a teacher never knows when a student will truly grasp the importance of the lesson being presented. Teachers know that some students will see the relevance, while others may not immediately grasp the value of what they present in the classroom. In order to convince students they should actively participate in his technical…