Deborah Brandt, in " Sponsors of Literacy", argued that class and race can impact how much access a person has to literacy sponsorship. She spoke of Raymond Branch and Dora Lopez who both lived in the same area, but due to their uncontrollable circumstances, had different amounts and forms of literacy sponsors. As I read this article I found myself between both Branch and Lopez's situations. I agree with what Brandt said and for that reason I will be joining her in the argument. I'm currently a freshman in college and one of the classes I am enrolled in is philosophy. One of the things we have been going over is deductive arguments and whether they are valid and sound. An argument can be valid, but not always sound. For an argument to be …show more content…
sound it needs to be valid and true. The validity of an argument partially relies on its "formula"; if A is B and B is C then A is C. This formula will be used for three reasons: 1. this class is a huge factor in my literacy growth, 2. hopefully it will help make my points clearer, and 3.the reader will understand me on a slightly more personal level. Raymond Branch is a European American, son of two well educated parents( his father was a professor), and spent much of his time in computer hardware and software stores playing new games, and reading as a child.
He learned programming techniques and became a self-employed writer of software and software documentation. Dora Lopez is a Mexican American. Her father worked at a technical college as a clerk and her mother attended technical college while also working in a book store. To access Spanish-language newspapers and magazines, she had to travel seventy miles. She taught herself how to read and write in Spanish and used her mother's discount to buy books that were in Spanish. She was exposed to a computer for the first time at the age of thirteen. Later she partly worked as a translator for coworkers …show more content…
(Brandt). I, Elvia Watkins, am half Panamanian and half African American.I was born in Nashville, Tennessee.
My mom is Panamanian and a very bright woman and loves school, while my dad is African American and didn’t care for school at all and isn't very educated. My mom first came to America to study at Vanderbilt University and my dad never went to college. When I was four my parents got a divorce and my mother maintained custody of me. In this day in time people would say that my odds are against me when it comes to becoming literate. Why? Well, I didn’t grow up in the best neighborhood. The area I was raised in was nicknamed "Little Mexico" because many illegal immigrants lived there. I quickly learned that most of the people around me didn’t know how to read or write and they only spoke Spanish. Imagine them living in an English speaking country. If they couldn’t read or write in their own language living in America must be pretty complicated. It would clearly seem like I wouldn't have much access to literacy sponsors at all. Literacy sponsors can be people, places, or even events that shape how a person reads and writes. Those same people, places, and events can play a big factor in a person's opinion about reading and writing as well. However, it was almost impossible for me not to have any literacy sponsors with my mom being in my
life. My mother reminds me of Dora Lopez because she taught herself how to speak English once she got to America. She was taught how to read and write in English back in Panama, but she does struggle with it at times. She still loved to learn and improve herself despite the struggles she continued to have. Its no surprise that she would make sure that I had a good education if she loved school herself. Ever since I was young she engraved in my mind that intelligence and college are essential in life by saying, "You can have everything taken from you, but no one can take away your intelligence". The first thing she did was place me in a private school. She knew very well that public school was free, but she was also aware of the higher level of education found in private schools.
Deborah Brandt (1998) wrote “Sponsors of Literacy”, a journal where she explained her findings of the research she has done on how different people across the nation learned to read and write, born between 1900, and 1980 (p. 167). She interviewed many people that had varying forms of their literacy skills, whether it was from being poor, being rich, or just being in the wrong spot at the wrong time.
I have very few recollections of my early years and the exact age I was able to read and write. Some of my earliest memories are vague on the topic of my literacy. However, I do remember small memories, such as, learning how to write my name in cursive, winning prizes for reading, and crying over every assigned high school essay. Over the last twelve years my literacy grew rapidly with the help of teachers, large school libraries, my family, and so on. There is always room for my literacy skills to grow, but my family’s help and positive attitude towards my education, the school systems I have been a part of, and the horrible required essays from high school helped obtain the level, skills, habits, and processes that I use as part of my literacy
Clive Thompson asserts in his essay, The New Literacy, that people today are writing more than ever as they socialize online. Nowadays, almost everybody uses social media, but it is more popular amongst younger people. Teenagers text and tweet every little thought that pops up in their head. However, numerous scholars can argue that texting and tweeting defiles the serious academic writing with slang and “text speak.” By way of contrast, Thompson claims that using shortened language and smileys online does not degrade a person’s abilities to write well in an academic paper. Furthermore, composing texts and tweets online can help an individual with their writing. By communicating online, we are able to learn grammar and writing through our own
The number of English language learning (ELL) students in the U.S. has grown dramatically in the last decade. According to a 1991 national study, there are over 2,300,000 students in grades K through 12 who are English language learners (August & Hakuta, 1997). This number has grown by over 1,000,000 since 1984. The majority of these students are Spanish-speakers (73%), followed by Vietnamese-speakers (3.9%). Because the overwhelming proportions of ELL students are Spanish speakers, the issue of bilingual education is largely a Latino one. No other language group makes up more than 4% of limited English proficient students. What complicates the issue of education for language minority students is their low socioeconomic status. 80% of ELL students are poor, and most attend schools where the majority of students also live in poverty and are English language learners. There is some difference in the level of poverty among language groups. Here, again, Latinos are disproportionately represented: 57% of Spanish-speaking families earn less than $20,000 compared to, for example, only 35% of families where Asian/Pacific Island languages are spoken (McArthur, 1993). Poverty has many implications for educational achievement, for example, parents' educational attainment mirror income levels, and parents' educational achievement is highly linked to that of their children's.
The literature on learner attrition and on resistance to participation in adult literacy programs suggests that the current delivery system may not be meeting the needs or expectations of many adults. A small but growing body of literature questions whether cultural dissonance between instructors and learners is a factor in learner attrition, and it advocates increasing cultural relevance in literacy practices. Some of the writings also advocate helping learners move toward critical reflection and social action. This Digest explores the poverty-racism-literacy connection, specifically as it relates to adult literacy, the imperative for culturally relevant practices, and the development of critical literacy. Alternative Definitions of Literacy In the prevailing and traditional definition, literacy is regarded as central to helping people obtain and retain employment, which is the key to moving them from dependency toward greater self-sufficiency.
In the essay “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society,” written by Jonathan Kozol, and published in Readings for Writers in New York in 2013, the author raises awareness to those willing to take action against the dangers of illiteracy in a society where one cannot thrive without such an ability. Throughout the writing, the author uses many powerful and intimate accounts of people who are illiterate and the times in which they were deemed helpless, as a tool to help the audience better understand the problem at hand. Mr. Kozol implements statistics as definitive evidence to show just how many persons are unable to read the written word. As another illustration of the dilemma still plaguing America to this day, he brings to light the
Growing up in a Mexican household where education isn’t a priority or important has been one of my major obstacles that I’ve had to overcome. Although my family’s culture believes that education isn’t necessary their experiences and lifestyles have influence and motivate my choices for my future. I come from a home where I have no role model or someone influential. I have no one to ask for advice for college or anything involve in school. In most homes, older siblings help their younger siblings with their homework or projects but in my house no one was able to provide me with any help. I grew up to be independent and to do anything school related on my own. My parents are both immigrants who didn’t get to finish elementary
The general consensus people have about literacy is that for someone to be literate they have to be able to read and write, The question that needs to be answered is what are the elements that affect the way one becomes literate and sponsors they will receive? Race, color and gender are the three main factors that play into the upbringing of an adolescent. These all affect the sponsors available and the literacy someone will be able to receive.
Beth Johnson’s “The Professor is a Dropout” recounts the story of Guadalupe Quintanilla, a Mexican-American immigrant who moved to America with her grandparents at the age of 12. There she was enrolled in school where she had to take an IQ test that was entirely in English. Not knowing the language, she did poorly. She was labeled ‘Retarded’ and put into the first grade, forced to learn with children half her age. After a humiliating incident involving her being scolded for speaking in her native language, Lupe dropped out of school and instead helped out her Grandparents around the house, continuing to read and learn in Spanish at home. At 16, she married, and in five years’ time had three children. When her children started school they
Opportunities abound to stamp out illiteracy at the federal, state, and local level. Are these enough? For those in need, maybe not. Most everyone’s needs are unique. National Family Literacy Program helps those families nationwide with literacy problems. In our own state of Florida, Governor Jeb Bush has set up the Governor’s Mentoring Initiative Program which has helped over 9,000 adults and children improve their reading programs.
Throughout my childhood I was never very good at reading. It was something I always struggled with and I grew to not like reading because of this. As a child my mom and dad would read books to me before I went to bed and I always enjoyed looking at the pictures and listening. Then, as I got older my mom would have me begin to read with her out loud. I did not like this because I was not a good reader and I would get so frustrated. During this time I would struggle greatly with reading the pages fluently, I also would mix up some of the letters at times. I also struggled with comprehension, as I got older. My mom would make me read the Junie B. Jones books by myself and then I would have to tell her what happened. Most
Education has always been a priority in my family. My father has come from very humble beginnings; where both of his parents were illiterate. He was raised on a farm with 16 brother and sisters. His parents put their blood and sweat into sending him to America in achieving the “American Dream”. My father had worked multiple jobs to support his family back home in Haiti. Today, my father owns his own taxi driving business stationed in New Jersey and New York City. My father has worked exceptionally hard in supporting and making sure I have all the necessity I need to mature as a person. My father’s parents not being able to read and not being able to assist him in his growing education has lead him to appreciate the idea of education in furthering a person's life. In addition, my father is able to provide for me more then his parents were able to provide for him educationally and financially
A comprehensive approach to literacy instruction is when reading and writing are integrated. This happens by connecting reading, writing, comprehension, and good children’s literature. A comprehensive approach to literacy should focus on the many different aspects of reading and writing in order to improve literacy instruction. This includes teachers supporting a comprehensive literacy instructional program by providing developmentally appropriate activities for children. Comprehensive literacy approaches incorporate meaning based skills for children by providing them with the environment needed for literacy experiences. This includes having a print rich classroom where children are exposed to charts, schedules, play related print, and
This becomes a broader community issue as more students with literacy support issues seek postsecondary education. Kimball suggested that departments responsible for protecting students’ access to reasonable accommodations need to do better explaining to content instructors the importance, and the value, of supporting students and their literacy needs (Kimball, et al., 1998). Levant clarified that not all students need the same literacy supports, but that most students, diagnosed or not, would benefit from adjusting teaching and assessment strategies in order to accommodate a variety of learners (Kimball, et al.,
Literacy events occur quite often throughout my day. My mornings are usually repetitive with me waking up to an alarm sound and hearing the microwave ding due to my suitemate cooking breakfast. On my way out the door I always take a look at the kitchen trashcan because I hate a dirty kitchen. When closing the door, I insert my key in the door to lock it because I am not use to a door not automatically locking. Since I am a full time student, throughout the day I am involved in literacy events that involve anything that is school related. While walking to and from class, I sometimes look at the traffic lights. Usually I just walk with the crowd paying no attention to the traffic lights, which goes along with my “go