Shaping Language Policy in the U.S.: The Role of Composition Studies by Scott Wible

During this present moment when various current national constituencies are “discovering” the importance of writing, let’s make sure they understand what it means to teach writing and what learning and teaching environments best facilitate it. We have position statements that articulate those conditions. As language arts educators, we ought to be at the center of all policy decisions that affect the teaching and learning of communication skills. Somebody needs to ask us the next time decisions are made about how facility with language will be assessed. Somebody needs to ask us before proclaiming a national crisis in the quality of college student writing. And we need to have ready answers when they do. (Shirley Wilson Logan, “Changing Missions, Shifting Positions, and Breaking Silences” 335)