Sponsors of Literacy-My Way

Writing this essay was a process. I initially couldnt understand how to explain the ideas
from Brandts articles through my partners narratives. However, as we discussed our ideas as a
group, it became clear how each element was present in our narratives. Jarod Ricks and Nick
Angell reviewed my drafts. Jarods review was helpful, as he explained what I should do with
my essay to make it clearer. The length of the article itself made this essay difficult because
there was a myriad of ideas , which I had to concentrate and relate to my group partners
narratives. Im most proud of the part in my essay where I cohesively related all three elements
into one statement.

The Three Elements of Literacy

Deborah Brandts essay on the Sponsors of Literacy explains how and where literacy is
transmitted, and what it is transmitted through. Our parents, teachers, and employers, are all in
some way sponsors of our literacy. We are granted further access to literacy from those who
invite us and teach us how to teach ourselves. This essay aims to explain how and why literacy is
translated between groups and people, and how it is then used.
Within our groups, sponsors of literacy were made apparent multiple times. In Brandts
essay, she presents three systems through which sponsors of literacy make learners capable of
attaining literacy. They are Standards, Access, and Sponsorship (Brandt). One of the members of
my group, Nick, had all three of these systems present in his venture to understanding the
literacy of airplanes. Nick was sponsored by his parents, granted access by flight instructors, and
held to standards by those who create the criteria which must be met. (Angell).
Sponsorship is a fairly easy concept to digest. When I think of a sponsor, I think of
someones support; the backing of anothers goal. Our elementary school teachers were likely
most peoples first sponsors, aside from their parents. They gave us the ability to read, and too
turn an image into a word. In Nicks narrative, his parents were his sponsors. They made the
opportunity for him to fly planes available to him (Angell). Without the initial opportunity, any
of his other feats that lead to him learning to fly would never have happened.
A second of the three concepts, Access, is very similar to sponsorship. Through
sponsorship, access is granted. Sponsorship is the support, access is the action of giving the
metaphorical literacy. Jarod, one of the other partners in my group, was granted access to
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learning color guard techniques by one of his instructors. When his instructor leant him a silk
flag and pole to practice with, he was granted the ability, or the access, to achieving the
techniques and skills that he wanted to achieve. We are granted access when we are handed the
ability to teach ourselves, instead of to be taught by someone.
The concepts outlined by Brandt are definitive and employable in multitudes of venues,
when they are applied to the idea of how you come to accomplish something. When we are
granted access, we are given the ability to teach ourselves. When we are sponsored, we are given
the opportunity to be taught. And the standards we are held to is what pushes readers to achieve
greater literacy in the goals they choose to aspire too. Brandt created these ideas to create a
standardized view of literacy in modern society. Through these ideas we are now able to identify
literacy in action and what it is being used for. The concepts outlined by Brandt were apparent in
my groups narratives, and aided them in defining who helped them achieve our goals.

Citations
Brandt, Deborah. "Sponsors of Literacy." College Composition and Communication. 49.2
(1998): 165-85. Print.
Angell, Nicholas. Sponsors of Literacy 2016.
Ricks, Jarod. Sponsors of Literacy 2016