Savannah Jackson

Samantha Gonzalez

English Composition 1 – 0024

27 August 2023

Reading Response 1

Suzanne Kesler Rumsey establishes the idea that literacy is passed down through cultural

traditions in “Heritage Literacy." Rumsey explains three distant ways to develop heritage: adoption,

adaptation, and alienation. However, in “Sponsors of Literacy”, Deborah Brandt establishes a separate

idea that literacy is dependent on the sponsors in people’s lives. She defines sponsors as the more

powerful individuals or institutions who “enable, support, teach, model, as well as recruit, regulate,

suppress, or withhold literacy” (Brandt 166). Although the rationale behind the changes in literacy is

different between the two authors, they are connected by the idea that literacy will change from

influence. Rumsey recognizes this in her own life by explaining that she “can see the ways that the four

generations of my own family have accumulated literacy” (Ramsey 577). Brandt acknowledges this as

well by informing the reader of the ways the invention of the steam press deskilled workers during the

Industrial Revolution, yet it also allowed for literacy to become more public.

On the other hand, the two authors display different arguments on the groundwork of the

changes in literacy. In an interview with Mary, an Amish woman living in North Indiana, and her daughter

Elaine, Rumsey’s principle is proven. While the Amish avoid the use of computers in school, Mary has

come to understand Elaine’s use of computers in school. This interaction is a real-life example of literacy

being influenced by generations of tradition. In Brandt’s case, she contrasts the experiences of two

different adults who moved to the same city; Raymond was a majority race member and had a high-end

socioeconomic family profile, but Dora was a minority race member and had a low-end socioeconomic
Savannah Jackson

Samantha Gonzalez

English Composition 1 – 0024

27 August 2023

family profile. In the end, Raymond had substantially more access to literacy than Dora because he had

more powerful sponsors (his family and institutions) surrounding him.

The sponsors of literacy in my life have impacted me more than my culture. I find that I

reciprocate the effort that teachers put into teaching into my own work. Most of my teachers have

emphasized the importance of writing, and therefore I do not have a hateful relationship with writing. I

have found that writing more professional papers is more exciting because I get to reveal all my thoughts

without any restrictions. These interactions with the people in my community force me to critique and

reinterpret their literacy into my own.