Brandt "Sponsors of Literacy" Reading Response

Summary
   
What I think Brandt is trying to get at is that every person has had a different way of becoming literate. The ways of teaching writing and reading have changed over the years as technology, knowledge, and even the English language has progressed. I am sure a majority of human beings have learned to read and write, but it has all been a special journey just for them. Someone could have learned to read and write from their mother, father, a teacher, or just about any adult figure in their life. She wants to point out to the readers that everyone has had a different experience while becoming literate.

Questions For Discussion and Journaling
Question #5

In my opinion, Brandt is right on in saying that race and social status dramatically effect one's ability to gain literacy. In Ms. Lopez's case, being a Hispanic minority in Texas in the 70's and 80's made it exponentially more difficult to get access to proper tools to learn how to read and write. On the other hand, Mr. Branch had no problem because he was of the majority class. A white male would have just about any resource imaginable at his disposal. So that being said I agree with Brandt 100% on the claim that race and social status effect the ease of becoming literate.

Applying and Exploring Ideas
Question #1

As a white male in a middle-class family growing up in the 90's and 2000's I believe my journey to literacy was a cake walk. My mother was my sponsor above all. I learned how to read fairly well even before starting kindergarten, and was reading children's books out loud in said class. In the higher grades it became even easier to access reading materials and any other tools. Public schools all had libraries and computer labs in them for unlimited use. Granted I despise reading, I did enough of it to keep my reading level adequate to my age and even surpassed my expectations.

My Opinion

This particular reading was a little informational. Honestly I get bored easily with readings like this, but it didn't completely kill me. The biggest dislike I had when reading this was that there was many words I have never seen before, so I don't think I got all the knowledge I could out of it. I already had a pretty good understanding on the literacy struggles with race and social status, but I liked the personal stories about Ms. Lopez and Mr. Branch. These accounts showed the reality through the eyes of real people, and that to me is better than anyone's interpretations.