The Elephant in the Classroom: Race and Writing (Research and Teaching in Rhetoric and Composition)

While many works have been written about African American students and composition, they tend to examine the students themselves: their language, attitudes toward education, and successes and difficulties with writing. This collection examines the social construct of the classroom itself. In examining the classroom as a social construct, the authors consider the academy's traditions and expectations for writing and the teaching of writing; the role of Standard American English as a language that is typically privileged; the importance of understanding African American English (both its grammar and rhetoric); the effects of evaluation of student writers; and ultimately, strategies and approaches that are more likely to help both instructors and students create a classroom community.