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Sanford 1

Elizabeth Sanford

Professor Jan Rieman

English 1103

September 22, 2011

I am pleased with this paper overall. If given more time, I would be happier with it, but I

am satisfied with the parts I included. My problem was that I had too much to say; I had a hard

time picking which specific events and time periods to talk about. I started writing in

chronological order but had already written five pages before I reached present day. If I could

add more, I would talk more about present day, but ultimately I think the earlier, foundation

years are more important in my literacy journey. I tried to show where I am today in my last

couple of paragraphs, but they are probably the weakest. I think the paragraphs about my

brother are probably the best written because they are very personal for me and vivid in my

mind.

Reading down the Slip N’ Slide of Life

Literacy has always played a significant role in my life, defining individual moments and

shaping me into the person I am today. Deborah Brandt, in her essay about sponsors of literacy,

says that, “Sponsors… are any agents, local or distant, concrete or abstract, who enable, support,

teach, model, as well as recruit, regulate, suppress or withhold literacy…” (Brandt 166). Books,

and those who introduced me to them, are the landmarks on my learning journey, my sponsors of

literacy. Even though I was occasionally my own inhibitor, with help from my mother, brother

and a more mature version of myself, I discovered how to read but ultimately how to learn.



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Growing up, my mother read to me every night, nurturing my love for books and

throughout my life she influenced me to become the excellent reader and student I am today.

Most people think that means that she made me read for a certain amount of time each day and

forced me to sit down in a quiet place to get my homework done. My upbringing was quite the

opposite, actually. My parents never pushed me to read, study, complete my homework or get

good grades. I can hear the gasps now; “What horrible parents!” Although slightly unorthodox,

the fact that my parents did this made me work harder for my own satisfaction. They were happy

as long as I was trying my hardest and I was happy when I could push my “hardest” farther and

farther, to excel at greater levels. I grew into a competitive, self-motivated person who

completed my assignments and received the highest grades because I wanted to. I also did not

have a negative attitude toward schoolwork like most my age, because I was never forced to do

any of it. I learned because I wanted to.

As I grew, my older brother, Clark, became a strong influence. I guess you could call him

the “perfect child”, as he was almost prodigal; he could list and spell the names of all the

dinosaurs and recite timetables by the first grade. It was obvious from a very early age that he

was above average and I wanted to be just like him.

Our summer days were filled with playing on the swing set and riding bikes around our

neighborhood, but whenever it rained, we would take advantage of that time by reading inside. I

remember the first time we ever did this, my elementary-school-self was mildly confused. “Well

yeah, it’s raining right now, but you want to spend all day just reading? It’s going to take you

forever to read those! And what if it stops raining? Can we go play outside then?” I complained

to my brother. Although I loved reading, it paled in comparison to bike-riding and basketball-

playing. The rain never let up though, so I picked up a book, settled into my spot on the couch



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beside my brother and began a new journey. That particular day we tried to make a dent in our

two favorite series, The Bailey School Kids and The Magic Tree House. They were short chapter

books, maybe one hundred pages each, and we could get through six or seven in one day, but I

wanted more. I still loved to play outside, but reading gradually started to outweigh other

activities like video games and television watching.

Through the Accelerated Reader program at our elementary school, students could read

books from the library, take quizzes on them and earn points depending on the score received.

Although competitive, I did not try to read an excessive amount of books just to gain points.

While some kids went out of their way to earn as many points as possible, I still read simply

because I desired to, not because I had an ulterior motive. I would take the A.R. quizzes when I

finished each book, though, and somehow my brother and I became the top two point-earners in

the entire school. This rewarded us with various prizes over our elementary school careers, such

as a scooter with red handle bars and a Toys R Us gift card, which we used to buy a Slip N ’ Slide.

Now we could spend those non-rainy summer days having a blast and cooling off from

the heat. Who would have thought sliding down a long wet piece of tarp could bring such joy?

My brother and I showed off our new Slip N ’ Slide to the other kids in the neighborhood,

beaming with pride. My third grade self thought we were the “coolest cats on the block.”

Reading brought me such joy in those days, both in the moment and down the road, far from

where I had been a few years earlier.

Peer pressure negatively influenced me as a young child and I too often cared what others

thought. One specific instance in Kindergarten is still clear in my mind to this day. My teacher,

Mrs. Pickard, gave us individual reading comprehension tests by having each student come to



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her desk and read a few lines to her from various levels of books. When it was my turn, we

started with a simple picture-filled book, which I read with ease and gradually moved to higher

levels.

“You know what? I’m going to go get you something else.” She went behind her desk

and retrieved a chapter book with a horse on the front, certainly a higher level than anything I

had just read to her.

“Have you read something like this before?” she asked. I shook my head.

“No, but my brother reads those.” I replied.

She told me that all I had to do was try, so I went for it. Even though, there were a few

unfamiliar words, I read the first paragraph and told her what I thought it meant afterward. She

seemed impressed, but I was not sure why.

The next day, I arrived at school to find a pile of Nancy Drew books sitting on my desk.

“What are those?”Other kids questioned. “Why does Elizabeth have big books on her desk and

we don’t?”

“Take these home,” Mrs. Pickard whispered in my ear, “I think you’ll like them.” I

remember the embarrassing feeling of having the other students stare at me. I did not take them

with me; nobody else in my class was reading those kinds of books and I did not want to be

different. “No thanks, Mrs. Pickard. Those are too hard for me.” I lied, knowing I had similar

books at home that I was capable of reading.

At this point in my life, my reaction to that situation would be quite different; it would

probably involve me yelling, “FREE BOOKS?!” and jumping at the chance to explore them.



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Although there was a time when I was quite self-conscious and wanted to be just like everyone

else, I eventually grew into and came to love the person I am today. I love being different, doing

things others would not expect, and I love reading. When my friends call me a nerd for wanting

to spend a whole shopping trip inside a Barnes and Noble, I take it as a compliment.

Fairly soon after my Slip N’ Slide phase, the school book fair became my favorite time of

year and I started asking for books for my birthday and Christmas, rather than clothes or toys. I

remember my extended family thinking I had opened up someone else’s present when I received

The Way the Crow Flies by Ann-Marie MacDonald and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty

Smith on Christmas in the fourth grade. While they were very thick books and were quite a

challenge for me, I had asked Santa for them for a reason: I knew I could tackle them and I knew

they would help me become a better reader. Not to mention, the unique, yet somewhat dramatic

side of my personality also really enjoys shocking people.

Learning to read and write helped me become the person I am today, but without the help

of my sponsors – my mother, brother and myself – I might not have taken the same path to get

there. On the road to literacy, the drivers, landmarks and even the speed bumps pushed and

encouraged me to reach my current level and to continue succeeding on the rest of my literacy

journey.



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Works Cited

Brandt, Deborah. “Sponsors of Literacy.” College Composition and Communication. 49.2

(1998): 165-85. Print.

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