Literary Sponsors

    For our first brainstorming journal assignment, our professor had us read "Sponsors of Literacy" by Deborah Brandt. This reading was designed to show how their are people, ideas, and institutions that help guide and sponsor our literary learning. The piece comments on the dynamic of these literary sponsors and what their role is in teaching. One issue that came about in Brandt's writing is the fact that literacy is constantly evolving.  How has the demand for literacy changed and evolved over time? People are left behind during these demanding changes.  In general, this reading is a start to developing a literary research question and gets one thinking on possible issues that are important today. The following questions are discussed in the journal entry:

• How does Brandt define a literacy sponsor? What are several particular characteristics of a literacy sponsor she offers throughout the article?
• Why does Brandt claim that sponsors always have something to gain form their sponsorship? What does this motivation have to do with Brandt's finding that the sponsored sometimes "misappropriate" their literacy lessons?
• Offer at least two examples of how literacy sponsors can gain from their sponsorship, and then develop at least two examples from your own experience. 

   Journal 1  

     Deborah Brandt, in “Sponsors of Literacy,” states that sponsors set the terms for literacy.  A literacy sponsor is an agent who withholds, supports, and teaches literacy in an attempt to gain an advantage or receive a benefit in return.  Sponsors are similar to delivery systems, as without them, literacy could not be brought to each individual learner.  Parents, teachers, and employers are all examples of sponsors who convey the act of reading and writing.  Sponsors can also be establishments and ideas that convey some sort of literacy. A literary sponsor must be influential, more knowledgeable, and informative.  Furthermore, a sponsor must employ power and determination as some of their driving characteristics.

       Brandt claims that sponsors always have something to gain from their sponsorship, as they are looking for success in some way.  Sponsors receive benefits either directly or indirectly, simply by being associated with whom they sponsor.  If sponsors had nothing to gain, than their would be no advantage for any sponsorship at all. Since they are always looking to gain something from their sponsoring, often times literary lessons are “misappropriated.”  Some sponsors put self-interest and self-development ahead of literary lessons.  When this happens, the lessons can be taught improperly, send the wrong message, or be “misappropriated.”

        Literary sponsors gain sponsorship in many different instances.  For example, as Brandt pointed out, companies sponsor Little League teams all the time.  By wearing the sponsor’s name, the team gets to play ball while in return the company is being advertised.  Another instance is when the England Protestant Sunday Schools was sponsored to enhance learning by adding writing and math to their curriculum.  Ministries sponsored the learning and received the benefit of spreading the Protestant faith in return.  In one of my own experiences, Barnes and Noble sponsored my elementary school by encouraging students to read a certain number of chosen books.  The students who participated, including myself, gained literary knowledge and in return Barnes Noble received a form of advertising.  Moreover, a literary sponsorship is given each and every day by our culture in their constant support of technology access.  Libraries, schools, restaurants, and even public train stations provide Internet access allowing us to read something on the internet at our own convenience.