This power point presentation covers important themes in teaching college reading and writing. It discusses four main topics: 1) the purpose of schooling in terms of economic motivation, intellectual growth, social responsibility, and ethics; 2) the role of standards in education and how standardized testing has influenced curriculum; 3) the history and original purpose of basic writing courses to help students who were not traditionally ready for college; 4) common attitudes about basic writers seeing their deficiencies as problems to be fixed rather than recognizing their capabilities.