Brandt Responses

Pre-Reading
1. Schools encouraged us to read books that were either classics or books that had a deep kind of message or challenging meaning. They discouraged us from reading books that were more fun and not so academic,  such as popular fiction books that have sometimes been made into movies. Activities that supported reading were book clubs and class assignments that required us to do a lot of reading.

Synthesis
This piece was hard to put with other readings that we have done because unlike the others that talked about writing techniques, this one talks about the differences in literacy. I wasn't quite sure how they could relate other than the fact that they both have to do with writing and how it differs depending on the writers background.

Summary
In her article "Sponsors of Literacy", Deborah Brandt attempts to tell the reader that people become literate through "sponsors". She argues that it is a person's environment that shapes the way they become literate and how literate they become, not just up to the individual person themselves.

AE #1
My literary history was somewhere between Branch and Lopez because while I came from a fairly poor farm community where not too many people did anything literary in their careers, the school in my town was good and my parents both had good reading skills. I also had a sort of natural ability to read as a child. I was reading simple sentences by the age of two, so I don't really remember "learning" how to read when I was in school. However, the people and environment around me certainly helped me to expand my knowledge on the subject over the years. I would consider the access provided as adequate. My teachers in school taught pretty well, and my parents and the library in town provided me with books and opportunities to read even more. I do wish I had access to talk to more people that were interested in writing when I was younger. Other than my teachers, I was one of the only people I knew that didn't think writing was a chore, so I really wish I had the opportunity to talk to other writers when I first found my interest in writing.

My Thoughts
I thought this reading was actually a bit interesting because it was a break from all of the writing technique articles. I also liked that it told the story of different people from different cultural and educational backgrounds and how they all still achieved a high level of literacy.