Everyone has a person, or persons, who influence their writing in some way. Deborah Brandt, professor in the Department of English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, wrote an article defining the sponsors of literacy. She states a literacy sponsor as, “people, institutions, and circumstances that both make it possible for a person to become literate and shape the way the person actually acquires literacy”(Brandt 331). The movie Finding Forrester greatly expresses the way in which literacy sponsors can shape someone’s life. The main character in the movie is a sixteen-year-old boy named Jamal who is from the Bronx in New York. He is a very intelligent young man and a gifted writer. The fact that he goes to a poor school with students who are mostly unsuccessful affects the showmanship of his intelligence. He feels that if he shows how smart he is than he will be made fun of. After taking a test his superb scores gave him the opportunity to get a full ride scholarship to a prestigious prep school called Mailor-Callow where he can continue to play basketball. Throughout his journey he has many literacy sponsors. Some of his main sponsors are his family, his friends, William Forrester, and his English teacher Mr. Crawford.…
In the essay “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society”, written by Jonathan Kozol. The essay was published in “Reading for Writers”, and in the city of New York in 2013. The main argument that the essay brings forth is that life for an illiterate has been really hard and they are not treated equal compared with the rest literate people. To further explain my last sentence Mr. Kozol has pointed out things that it shows us how back than illiterate people were not treated equal. Here are some examples of ways they were not treated equal including with voting, education, bills, healthcare, housing, travel, and so on.…
“The politeness that afflicts me is not civility, which is an urbane quality compatible even with cynicism”(ll.5-7). Klinkenborg's choice of vocabulary is what separates his essay from others. He chooses powerful words like cynicism and afflict instead of common words that are used daily so that the message portrayed is more dominating. “Not consoling enough? Then try this." (ll.131-132). The constant use of questions by Klinkenborg helps erect a base that he uses to urge on a desire to take his words to heart and make his tone that much more powerful."The men and women who speak so unrelentingly of 'our children's children.' Who are the children whose children are going to usher in the future? Are they the 30 percent of American children now living in poverty? What kind of future are they imagining?"(ll.76-83).The occasional use of questions makes the reader more engaged so that Klinkenborg’s distinctive tone stands out further and the image of politicians being ignorant about the current state of their generation is illustrated easily in the mind.…
Our very first lesson is to become literate in the language we speak from reading alphabets to novels, we try to achieve literacy. Many people have come to believe that there are many ways to achieve literacy. However, some of the greatest public speakers and writers did not achieve it through the way most people did. This is illustrated in the literary work of Malcolm X, Sherman Alexie and Anne Lamott. According to these people, literacy isn’t achieved by simply going to school. It’s achieved through great determination and through great persistence.…
In his writing about the ‘Other People’s Children’, Jonathan describes the views that people gives to those children who study in the abandoned schools that they view as educationally inferior. He discloses the argument from many who consider these children not to qualify for any post high school education. Therefore, the only solution for these inner-city school children is to acquire training for low-level jobs that they will eventually do. They are not privileged as the wealthy suburban that are capable of going to colleges and becoming better people in the future. Kozol states that those giving such opinions about these children are the same people against the idea of spending much money on educating the poor inner city children. He states that the underprivileged children and…
In conclusion these examples will help his audience see that the lack of literacy reading has affected our young adults tremendously, in their workplace and social life. The decline has affected many things and it is very important that we bring literature…
It’s Knoblauch’s goal in his essay to show that there isn’t only one definition of literacy. His theory is that there are 4 senses of literacy and he not only defines them, but explains in detail what language is implied by each sense and how the group defining them use these different ways of literacy in everyday life. Knoblauch’s point is that there is no wrong or right way to view literacy but that is more than one way. The groups defining the 4 types are based on their belief system and what they value. The first sense is functional literacy. I would say this is the way most Americans view literacy. It’s basically being able to read and write at a level that makes a person capable to live fine in a society where writing is a big deal. If you have functional literacy, it’s easy to fill out job applications and to participate in activities where you are given writing instructions. It’s basically the low man on the totem pole. People with this literacy have little power in both social and economic groups; you probably wont see someone with only this literacy as a CEO or business owner. The second definition of a literacy being used today is Cultural literacy. This group is more advanced than the functional literacy group because they can not only read and write at a level high enough to survive, they read high culture literature and other types of writing that will help preserve their cultural beliefs and values. They have a more proper language. The next form of literacy would be the personal growth literacy. It’s to my understanding that their type of writing helps them find themselves. It exercises their imaginations and expresses their feelings. Poems may be a popular type of writing; songwriting maybe. And the last is critical literacy, critical meaning its of the most importance to sound smart and know what your talking about because it’s almost as if it’s a means of power, which makes sense. It isn’t often that you see a CEO or owner of a company using…
1. In this essay, Brandt explained the relationship between literacy for individuals and economics of literacy, which was called “sponsors of literacy” in this article. At the same time, Brandt explained the sponsors as different forms in the text “any agents, local or distant, concrete or abstract, who enable, support, teach or model, as well as recruit, regulate, suppress, or withhold literacy, and gain advantage by it in some way” (Brandt 2). Those people who sponsored gained the benefits from literacy, and they also got benefits from the relationship.…
In the reading, The Sponsors of Literacy by Deborah Brandt she talks about how literacy was received and withheld from people because of socio-economic classes. Brandt claims that there is a connection between literacy and economic development or as she refers to them as sponsors of literacy which can either help, sensor, or withhold all together the ability to be literate. Literacy provides an upward mobility or at least the means to move upward in social classes and without literacy there is no means to gain an edge. In her interviews of Raymond Branch (European American) and Dora Lopez (Mexican American) Brandt found that even though both were born in the same year and had moved to the same town when they were younger Branch was introduced…
In this essay Kozol speculates just what he thinks the negative results are that stem from being illiterate. He tries to inform his audience of the normal daily tasks that are not able to be accomplished due to illiteracy and how subsequently, one may feel as though they are…
The long range remedy for restoring and improving American literacy must be to "institute a policy of imparting common information in our schools." In short, according to Hirsch - the answer to our problem lies within the list. Hirsch's book explains the importance of the need of a higher level of national literacy. His main argument is that cultural literacy is required for effective communication and the "cooperation of many people..." Communication is what Hirsch sees is essential for success in today's society.…
The topic aligns with the MA-ED: CIR program essential question and is related to literacy;…
In our society today, literacy is no longer defined as being able to read and write very little just to get by, but it is being able to read, write, and comprehend the information presented to you which you can use in order to be a functional and efficient member of society. Even in one of the wealthiest, most technologically advanced countries in the world, literacy is still a matter of concern in modern day America. It is alarming to know that 1 in 4 children in America grow up without learning how to read and approximately 35 million adults read below the level needed to function in society, many of whom cannot read at all (Kozol 248, "11 Facts About Literacy in America."). How is this even possible? What problems can undereducation and illiteracy bring? Who does this issue really affect?…
In my personal literacy narrative, I have chosen to include the most important literacy sponsors that have had influenced my growth as a reader over the years. I would like to dwell on the positive impact of my parents, books and educational institutions on my personal literacy. It goes without saying that each of the aforementioned factors has had an impact on my development as a literate person to certain extent. At the same time, my interaction with people and books as the literacy sponsors is still of high significance to me now. My literacy sponsors taught me the necessities of life and helped me to become more literate. Thanks to the positive impact of my literacy sponsors, education and self-development…
Social bond theory was created by Travis Hirschi and it is a form of social control theory. Social control theorists are more interested in explaining why someone is not being deviant rather than why they are. In this theory it is expected that deviance will occur at some point. Hirschi's social bond theory explains that deviane is expected to occur because crime is easy to do; you do not need any special skills to commit crimes. Everyone has the same amount of motivation to participate in deviance. Social bond theory is made up of four bonds; attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief. Each bond is a bond to conformity and that keeps individuals from doing deviant behavior. Hirschi argues that the strength of social control a person has is what differentiates people who committ offenses from those who do not.…