Brandt Journal
Summary
Brandt, Deborah. "Sponsors of Literacy." CCC 49.2 (1998): 165-185.
In Deborah Brandt’s analysis of literacy, she explores the connections between literacy and economics and politics. She emphasizes the role of literacy sponsors in the process of learning to read and write affectively. Brandt says that literacy affects multiple aspects of civilization, economics, and revenue. Literacy sponsors do not necessarily have to be people or things that support literacy or model it. Sponsors may suppress literacy sometimes, but still always impacts the literacy of the sponsored. Sponsors also usually have something to gain from contributing to literacy, whether it be monetary, spiritual, or helpful to the sponsor in any way. In order to gain individuals to sponsor, there must be incentives involved. People must have a reason to learn literacy. For some it is for their faith, others for work, and for others it could be to assist family. The goals of the sponsors and the sponsored do not always match up though, because often times the two have different reasons for literacy to be used. In different settings the supply of adequate sponsors could vary depending on factors such as race and economy, with a higher socioeconomic status correlating with higher literacy. Perhaps this is due to the fact that higher caste racial groups have more opportunity to contact and use sponsors. Competition also plays a vital role in literacy. When literacy could give the sponsor/ sponsored a competitive edge it makes it more appealing to teach/learn it. As expectations change for what is expected of peoples’ literacy, the demand for sponsors also increases.
Analysis
Brandt’s analysis of literacy in connection with politics appears to make sense and express the importance of literacy sponsors on the lives of anyone learning literacy. In societies with higher economic status, like America, there is high emphasis on literacy. These kinds of societies can afford to put more emphasis on literacy. They can afford to pay for children to attend schools and receive educations in reading and writing. In societies consisting of more poverty it is more difficult to supply the kind of education to teach kids literacy. It also seems to me that in societies that find it harder to educate their young people, there also lacks a supply of sponsors later on to teach literacy. If few learn it, few grow up to teach it. But in these same sorts of societies there is less demand for literacy. Physical ability may be of more importance to the society than the knowledge of how to read and write. In situations with higher economic status there is less demand for physical ability and more demand for intellectual prowess. And it makes sense that in a society with high demand for literacy skills there would be more competition for it. Whoever possesses the best reading and writing skills is capable of going farther in life and accomplishing more or the society. If a society based on literacy can produce higher levels of literacy, then the people with those skills can give back more to society in return. In the same way that society has goals for those skilled in literacy, people have their own goals to achieve through literacy that can propel them above the average person in their economic situation. For some this it religion, some family, some politics. Take Malcolm X for example. In prison the economic status is not exactly geared toward creating literate individuals, but he pushed himself to become as literate at he could be in order to get his message out. This is an example of a sponsor that does not directly strive to support literacy, but ultimately provides literacy to someone willing to work hard for it.