At first, the process of learning and comprehending was difficult. I struggled with connecting letters to make words, connecting words to make sentences, connecting sentences to make paragraphs, and finally connecting paragraphs to make a coherent essay. This process of connecting words and sentences took time, but with determination and motivation I learned how. I could not have made it this far without the advice and assistance from my literacy sponsors. My reading and writing skills improved with influence from my mother, Ms. Kathryn Campbell, and Mr. Phillip de Sa e Silva. Literacy sponsors, as defined in Deborah Brandt’s essay “Sponsors of Literacy,” are “Agents, local or distant, concrete, or abstract, who enable, support, teach, model, …show more content…
I do not remember when I first started reading and writing, but I remember my mother sitting by my side helping me sound out words. We would start out with simple words like “bed,” and end up with a more difficult word such as “proofread.” Reading aloud became easier because I could spell out the words in my mind. My mother encouraged me to read challenging books and learn the definitions of complicated words. My relationship with my mother is similar to the relationship that Alexie had with his father. Alexie wrote, “My father loved books, and since I loved my father with an aching devotion, I decided to love books as well” (129). Alexie’s father indirectly inspired him to read, whereas my mother directly inspired me to read and learn. Now that I am older and reading more complex books, I always keep a dictionary near me, so that I can learn the meaning of words. This practice has greatly helped me because it inspires me to take the extra step and learn something …show more content…
My initial thoughts about poetry class were, “Poetry class is going to be so boring. There is nothing worth learning in this class.” My perspective on the class changed after the first day. My poetry teacher Mr. Phillip de Sa e Silva taught me how to appreciate the beauty of reading and reciting poetry. At first, I was not sure of what I would expect in the poetry class, but Mr. de Sa e Silva’s teaching style taught me to love reading and analyzing poetry. He gave me good advice and pointed out areas where I could improve and strengthen my voice in the recitation and in my analysis of the poems. He did not force a love of poetry onto his students, but he was very enthusiastic about reading and analyzing poetry. His love of poetry rubbed off on his students. Mr. de Sa e Silva’s purpose of teaching “Poetry: Craft and Criticism” was to share the beauty of poetry with his students. Mr. de Sa e Silva motivated me to go further in my analysis of
Deborah Brandt (1998) wrote “Sponsors of Literacy”, a journal where she explained her findings of the research she has done on how different people across the nation learned to read and write, born between 1900, and 1980 (p. 167). She interviewed many people that had varying forms of their literacy skills, whether it was from being poor, being rich, or just being in the wrong spot at the wrong time.
To begin with, the literacy sponsors that was in my powerful reading and writing experience were the teachers and the school. When we would do the forty minute essay she expected everyone to do excellent work without considering the circumstances of the student. For example, I am not great at writing essays and yet she wanted to get a good score on the essay wr...
Other People’s Words: The Cycle of Low Literacy by Victoria Purcell-Gates recounts the author’s two-year journey with an illiterate Appalachian family. Purcell-Gates works with Jenny, the mother, and her son, first grader Donny, to analyze the literacy within the household. Throughout the journey, we learn the definition and types of literacy, the influences of society and the environment, and the impacts of literacy on education from the teacher’s perspective. In order to evaluate literacy in the household, one must study multiple types, including functional, informational, and critical literacy. As the name implies, functional literacy incorporates reading and writing as tools for everyday survival. Informational literacy is used through text to communicate information to others. The highest level of literacy, critical literacy, requires critical interpretations and imaginative reflections of text. In her study, Purcell-Gates strives to teach Jenny and Donny functional literacy.
Living in the Southern United States during eighteenth century was a difficult time for African-Americans. Majority of them were slaves who received manipulation, sexual abuse and brutally whips to the spin. They were treated this way in order to stop them from gaining hope, knowledge and understanding of the world. Some African Americans managed to obtain these qualities from books and use them to escape from slavery. Frederick Douglass, an abolitionist who wrote an autobiography, from which the excerpt "Learning to Read and Write" explains how he developed literacy. In the excerpt, an African American slave banned from learning to read and write, breaks the law in an attempt to free his mind from the restricted beliefs of his master. One significant idea portrayed from Douglass's ordeal is that reading and writing is a vital skill that benefits humanity.
Support from parents has proven to be of extreme importance in the literacy success of a child. This often begins with the simple ritual of “bedtime stories” in the home. Studies show that children who are read to as infants perform better in literacy later in life. From a young age, children begin to understand the workings of the written word if they are exposed to it frequently. Babies who are nowhere near having the mental capacity to read and comprehend a book are still able to “follow along” when their parents or caregivers read to them. These children understand that each segment of writing represents a word and they are even able to recognize when a text is upside-down because they are accustomed to the appearance of writing. This puts the child significantly ahead when the time comes to learn to read.
Throughout my childhood I was never very good at reading. It was something I always struggled with and I grew to not like reading because of this. As a child my mom and dad would read books to me before I went to bed and I always enjoyed looking at the pictures and listening. Then, as I got older my mom would have me begin to read with her out loud. I did not like this because I was not a good reader and I would get so frustrated. During this time I would struggle greatly with reading the pages fluently, I also would mix up some of the letters at times. I also struggled with comprehension, as I got older. My mom would make me read the Junie B. Jones books by myself and then I would have to tell her what happened. Most
The well-known and used definition of literacy sponsor is Debra Brandt’s, that says they “are any agents, local or distant, concre...
For my community involvement project, I volunteered at Memminger Elementary School for a program called “Reading Partners.” The program focuses on helping children build strong literacy skills to carry with them into their academic careers. It requires the tutor to read to the student that has been assigned, and in turn, the student reads to the tutor. The program assists in teaching the students valuable reading skills. Being able to read is critical to a child’s educational success.
Literacy sponsors “are powerful figures who bankroll event or smooth the way for initiates” (Brandt 167). Literacy sponsors are people who help to shape who we are in the future. They provide their skills to help us learn or better understand ideas and abilities. Anyone can be sponsor, as long as they help influence a person’s understanding or knowledge of certain concepts or ideas. “In whatever form, sponsors deliver the ideological freight that mist be borne for access to what they have” (Brandt 168). Everyone has literacy sponsors, we may not realize it at first, but thinking back on my life I have thought of a few literacy sponsors who have helped shape me into who I am today.
In the article The Sponsors of Literacy Deborah Brandt talked about “Literacy Sponsors”, which she defined as being, “any agents,
Even though poetry is still taught in classes, students will only view it as a required subject. A majority of students do not find poetry interesting just from investigating on their own. However, when they are learning it in a classroom setting with their peers, they may have more enthusiasm about the topic. Yet, after these students learn about the influence that poetry has brought to our society, they are still inclined to explore their own writing style. There is nothing wrong with this, but this proves that poetry has strayed away from its actual literature and the value it
I personally do not enjoy writing like most people would feel about reading a dictionary. I am cautiously treading water with every word I type. I have always found writing to be a tedious process. I have never found ease in wording something the way I want to; therefore, it usually sounds so much better in my head. I’ve never considered myself to be comfortable with writing in general. For example, I always had a hard time telling if I needed a comma in a sentence or not. Sometimes it was obvious, but it seems more confusing most of the time.
Throughout my life, reading and writing were a positive thing because of the support from the people around. I was never really the confident or extroverted type of person back in the day. This then caused me to be anxious when I read or be doubtful of what I wrote. I can still remember breaking balls of sweats and tensing up whenever I had to read something aloud in elementary. It was a pretty big social problem for me but I can also recall many times where I was laughing and having fun while doing something with reading or writing with my mother. Although there have been many things that affected me so far in my literary journey, my mother has been the most supportive and impactful person to me by reading short stories, going to the library, and giving me writing prompts. One of the activities I liked to do before I fell asleep was to read.
Reading was never something I fussed about growing up. As a child, I loved genres of realistic fiction. I was hooked on The New Adventures of Mary Kate and Ashley, Goosebumps, The Amazing Days of Abby Hayes, Judy Moody, and especially, Zoobooks and Highlights magazines. My mother was always ready to help build my reading and writing skills. She took me to the library constantly to feed my passion for books and knowledge. I loved exploring the shelfs, organizing the books, and filling up my library cart. I tried keeping a diary in elementary school to keep track of my outings with my parents and grandparents to museums, zoos, movies, and libraries. This flash of writing enthusiasm was spun from books I read in the 4th and 5th grade that were
Being literate defines who I am, and forms an integral part of my life. From the practical to the creative, it aids, and enables, me to perform the tasks that modern society dictates. I shall explore the many aspects of my life that are affected by literacy. Through this, understanding in greater depth what it means for me, to be literate. I would not be writing this essay if were not for the pathways being literate.