ILLEGAL LITERACY

<p>In this follow-up to previous essays, Shor proposes that BW be mainstreamed into regular composition, with provisions made for the tutorial needs of students (following the fine work of Soliday, Gleason, Grego and Thompson). He argues that a BW empire has been created and driven by bogus testing and by prejudice. BW, often non-credit but still tuition-bound, is a remedial "sub-college" depressing the aspirations of working-class and minority students especially who are stigmatized as cultural deficits. Shor then proposes that first-year college writing courses should evolve into what he calls Critical Literacy Across the Community. This program would place writing into real contexts, connecting literate development to community-based, project-oriented activities.</p>