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Taylor Richards

Professor Jan Rieman

English 1103

Due: Feb. 7, 2011

This essay overall was not a bad final product. I did find some difficulty in the topic, mainly because “sponsors” were hard to think of and to apply it to my own life. I found that I hit some rough patches in this paper, like running out of ideas to talk about and finding examples

to use in the paper. I also had a hard time with the length; I would rather have a set number for the maximum and minimum guidelines to follow to help me while writing. I had a hard time applying the definition to my own personal life and coming up with reasons why people have

helped me. I feel as though I really did not have an “exciting” story to tell.

Recognition to the “Sponsors” of My Educational Journey

As Deborah Brandt quotes in her essay “Sponsors of Literacy” a Sponsor of Literacy can

be defined as “any agents, local or distant, concert or abstract, who enable support, teach,

model, as well as recruit, regulate, suppress, or withhold literacy—and gain advantage by it in

some way” (Brandt 407) Many people and other outside factors will influence the way a person

has learned to read or write. Most people perceive being literate as being able to read and

write. However, this is not always the case. You can be literate in any subject as long as you

posses the skills to be fluent in that required subject. Some people may be computer literate,

math literate, musical literate, and numerous of other subjects.

Most children learn to read at an early stage in life. I owe thanks to my mother for first

contributing to my learning of how to read and write. I remember many hours and nights spent

at my desk doing homework with my mother by my side. She tried to teach me how to write

with those large lined pieces of papers that kids learn to write their letters on. Learning to read

and write while young is often a long drawn out process, but my mom stuck with me and finally

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succeeded in teaching me how to effectively read and write. I owe credit to her for beginning

my process of reading and writing.

Throughout the years of my schooling journey, there have been many effective teachers

during my schooling over the years that have also contributed to my learning of different

reading and writing skills. My second grade teacher, named Mrs. Tomlinson, contributed into

helping me read better and also improved my handwriting where it could be legible. She was a

kind woman, to which I found a great deal of affection to. Since she was so nice and caring, it

was easy for me to learn from her and enjoy her teaching on a personal level. Further into my

schooling years, I had a teacher in my junior year of high school that deserves credit for my

ability to write formal papers and help argue my point. Her name was Mrs. Agee; she was

probably one of the most helpful teachers I have ever had. She worked with students on a more

personal level to identify different writing problems and also different writing strengths. I

stayed many days after school to receive help on the numerous papers that we had assigned in

that class. Even though that class was hard and required much work, I enjoyed it once I

acquired the appropriate skills and learning. Mrs. Agee made writing fun for me, and she also

taught me how to do it in the appropriate manner. Thanks to her, today I am able to write

many essays, research papers, and creative writing papers during my college career. Not only

did she give me the necessary skills to write, she gave me a fun way of looking at writing to

where I could thoroughly enjoy it.

My church has also played a role into a type of literacy present in my life. I have sang in

my church choir for many years, so this could be considered a musical literacy, as well as, a

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religious literacy. Singing church hymns and songs contributes to the religion part, but one must

learn how to sing, read notes, and sing along with others. My singing skills can be contributed

to my choir direction, Barbara Geer. We have sang in many different competitions and I have

progressed over the years in understand the different levels of music and singing. I wish I had

the abilities and the access to learn how to actually play a musical instrument. I believe that

playing an instrument is one way to express yourself. I am also a big fan of different types of

music, so I would love to be able to play different kinds of instruments during my free time.

As we progress through the years, technology has become an even more important

factor in everyday life. I find myself using technology numerous times a day, but I have never

stopped to think how I came about my knowledge of technology. It first started when we

attained a computer in our house. My dad was also a genius at computers and the computer

software. I can credit him with the fact that I am able to fluently use a computer and computer

software. Most people use various different sources of technology, without ever really thinking

about how we came about this knowledge. I believe that mainly people taugh themselves how

to use technology, since it is so new to our lives. I know that I have taught myself how to use

laptops and cell phones, for which I now am a sponsor to my mom and sister for their learning

of technology.

As in Malcolm X’s article “Learning how to Read”, we find that he had the inner

motivation to teach himself a certain type of literacy. I believe if most people had this

motivation and drive to learn a certain subject; then most people could be fluent in that type of

literacy. Malcolm X is perceived as a famous public speaker, as well as, a famous writer

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worldwide today. To me, is it ironic that he never had any formal education to contribute to his

famous attitudes and beliefs. Sherman Alexie is another example of a person that overcame the

hard situations that he was placed in, to better himself and make something out of his own

education. In his article “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me”, we see a minority

Indian boy whom taught himself to read and write through comic books. Both of these cases

were minority citizens whom may have not received equal treatment at their time, but they

both overcame different situations to make an effort in learning specific types of literacy. Most

people can learn any given literacy, if they will take the time and make the effort to do so.

Throughout a lifetime, many people will have different factors that influence their

literacy skills. Some of these factors can impact them positively or negatively, directly or

indirectly; but either way, it will make a person unique and their writing unique as well. During

my life, I have had different teachers, situations, and my parents to influence my writing ability.

I am thankful for all those who have inhibited me and helped me through the years, otherwise,

my writing would not be where it is today.

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Works Cited

Alexie, Sherman. “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me.” Writing about Writing: A College Reader. Eds. Wardle and Downs. Boston: Bedford, 2011. 406-26. Print.

Brandt, Deborah. “Sponsors of Literacy.” Writing about Writing: A College Reader. Eds. Wardle and Downs. Boston: Bedford, 2011. 406-26. Print.

X, Malcolm. “Learning to Read.” Writing about Writing: A College Reader. Eds. Wardle and Downs. Boston: Bedford, 2011. 406-26. Print.