The Reader, The Scribe, The Thinker: A Critical Look at the History of American Reading and Writing Instruction

Historical examples are used to explore the disparity in attention given to these two important subjects. Definitions of reading and writing, the relationship of theory and practice, the marketing of curricular materials, and the impact of social and political forces are all seen as factors in understanding change in these fields. These categories are then used to explain the inordinate attention given to reading to the late 1960s as well as the unprecedented current concern with the teaching of composition.