2009 Letter from the Editors

Delta Winds: A Magazine of Student Essays
A Publication of San Joaquin Delta College
2009

Letter from the Editors

Reasons for publishing works by Delta College students vary. The authors see their names in print and share this significant accomplishment with family and friends. Editors of textbooks for national publications select Delta Winds essays and then develop material based on the content, style, and structure of the essays. Students in composition classes from Florida to Alaska then read and learn from these model essays. On the Delta College campus, Delta Winds essays have been used for instructional purposes in reading and composition courses covering a range of skill levels and content areas from critical thinking and literature courses to developmental writing courses. Recently, The Delta Winds Reader has been produced on campus as a textbook for students in developmental writing. In the reader, nearly fifty Delta Winds essays have been republished with visual organizers, vocabulary lists, and discussion topics to encourage Delta College students to connect to the readings and to then look within themselves. Through this reflective act, individuals learn from reading and learn to view life from another's experiences. And this, we believe, is another valuable reason for publishing works by Delta College students.