Reading Journal
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| Title of Article + Proper MLA Citation for Works Cited page | “Sponsors of Literacy” by Deborah Brandt
Brandt, Deborah. “Sponsors of Literacy.” College Composition and Communication, Vol. 49, No. 2 , pp. 165-172, National Council of Teachers of English, May 1998 |
| Summarize the article — include your reaction, thoughts, anything to help you remember its claims. 100 to 150 words | Brandt’s main point is defining the way most people become literate: through what she calls “sponsors” of literacy. She begins with explaining her terminology. She equates it to television brought to you by sponsors you see in commercials. She next defines sponsors as anyone/anything that influences how people become literate, whether withholding or peddling literacy. Most often, sponsors are people who will gain something from encouraging someone else’s literacy (teachers, clergy, parents). She also explains that there are socioeconomic forces affecting how all of us interact with sponsors and become literate. She gives examples of how people become literate in different ways based on their background. She is spot-on in her observations that literacy is driven by individuals’ interactions with each other. She is also accurate that many people have needs which lead to literacy. But, she does not discuss enough the role of public education in the rise of literacy in this country. While there are special cases in which other sponsors have a larger role, the majority of literates have public education to thank for their literacy. |
| Define new terms and concepts by quoting or paraphrasing the original author. | “Sponsors [of literature], as I have come to think of them, are any agents, local or distant, concrete or abstract, who enable, support, teach, model, as well as recruit, regulate, suppress, or withhold literacy—and gain advantage by it in some way.” |
| How does this reading connect to other articles from class and/or your own research?
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One example comes to mind: Joshua from de la Pena’s article about how our backgrounds affect how and why we read and write. He did not have a physical sponsor encouraging his literacy. He had to develop his own literacy which reflects the stigma in his community associated with reading and writing for fun. De la Pena becomes a sponsor of literacy for Joshua by interacting with him and offering to read his work. He also references how the works of John Green have encouraged literacy too. |
| Based on the reading, craft one question to act as a springboard for class discussion. | Does anyone have anything interesting that affected how they became literate? My dad gave me little cards with all the information about the planes he flew for Delta. I read them voraciously so that I could understand his work thoroughly. This reading developed not only my literacy but also a lifelong passion for aviation. |