Reading Journal Brandt

Brandt, Deborah. “Sponsors of Literacy” College Composition and Communication Vol. 49, No. 2 (May, 1998), pp. 165-172. Published By: National Council of Teachers of English 

The concept that every generation has learned how to read, write, and learn differently is almost too big for me to wrap my head around. In the mid 1900’s, how did my grandmother discover and develop her love of writing? Sponsorship, which was also a new concept to me, is also incredible. The love and drive for reading and writing stems from something different for everyone. Did my grandmother love to read the song books in the piano bench before she learned to play, or maybe she fell in love at the same time she fell in love with my grandfather and his letters from overseas? Sponsorship can be anything- a letter, a song, a person, anything! It just shows how individualistic people are and how unique society really is. 

Rumination, which was a completely unfamiliar word for me, means “obsessive thinking about an idea, situation, or choice especially when it interferes with normal mental functioning” according to Merriam Webster. Sponsorship was also a new concept to me. It means figures or objects that pave ways for literary learning, written by Brandt.
 

This article as well as Elbow’s article revolve around the process of learning how to read, speak, and write. All three of these go hand in hand in the literary world. The concepts created in these works poke the brain to look at all learners individually and as on their own path. 

Is it the secondary education system’s fault for not allowing students to go down their own path to discover their sponsor for their literary journey? Or could it possibly be the student’s fault for not pursuing it on their own?