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…

Self-directed writing is an opportunity for teachers to write with their students, and it is writing that ultimately ends up in the student's portfolio at mid-term and end of term. It is one component of a structured writing class in which students also do other writing assignments. It is important for teachers to communicate their expectations of…