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,"…

In my work on the college's Committee on Multiculturalism and Ethnic Studies, I found that much of the written work done in our community college was based on lower level cognition, requiring none of the assessment or exploration that is emblematic of critical thought in a democracy. Most of the assignments asked students simply to recite…

This essay is about the process of discovering and trying to help an exceptional student who was grappling with issues of real-life violence and incarceration and the desire to articulate their meaning to his life through writing. It describes how this student empowered himself to reflect on and deconstruct the meaning of his incarceration and how…

In this article, the author talks about the college writing center, which is a place of political confrontation, where cultural issues involving dialect and values are probed, contested, and negotiated. He suggests a post-process approach to composition--one that ushers writers into a world of exploration and social engagement--one that transcends…

Describes the author's experiences teaching composition to inmates at a women's minimum security prison. Describes how these students wrote with alacrity and passion, using writing as a tool to solve problems and enlighten. Discusses how mandated curriculum and assignment requirements were met, revisions made and issues of dialect discussed, while…