Digitized Roots: The Evolution of My Literacy Daniela Kaplan

My literacy narrative is as much a story of cultural heritage as it is a tale of personal growth. It is

a story that does not start with the first page of a book, but rather with the oral traditions of my

family passed down from the corridors of my youth. These auditory beginnings I have found my

first literacy sponsors as defined by Deborah Brandt whose stories provided the foundation of a

life-long association with language. The progression into formal education introduced me to my

next set of sponsors: teachers who opened the door of the alphabetic code and librarians that

tended to portals into other worlds. Schooling did not only increase my literacy, but it broadened

my interpretative capabilities and demonstrated the use of language to both understand the world

and change it.

At the same time, my story was being dictated by factors external to the classroom surrounding

media and a dawning digital age. Each medium—from the printed word in newspapers and

books to the dynamic interface of the internet—added a layer of literacy, thus forming a complex

multimodal literacy identity. These media served as both sponsors and gatekeepers, controlling

the rate and nature of my literacy development. The texts that I came across did not just carry

information, but they involved me in a dialogue with the world. Regardless of its form – novels,

poetry, essays, and later digital content all called out to me; they questioned and challenged me

in turn. Through these interactions, I started to comprehend the character of discourse, exchange

of ideas and value in perspective.

However, as I waded in the waters of my literacy journey, I quickly realized the latitudes that had

made my way – education availability, technology exposure and complete freedom to read. In

this realization, I made it my intention not only to seek literacy for personal advancement but
Digitized Roots: The Evolution of My Literacy Daniela Kaplan

also to think about possibly becoming a sponsor. This story is a network of many others,

embedded with the cultural, socioeconomic, and educational strands that Brandt and Rumsey

bring out in their work. Brandt, Deborah. “Sponsors of Literacy.” College Composition and

Communication, vol. 49, no. 2, 1998, pp. 165–185. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/358929.

It is also related to literacy over time and space, heritage literacy practices handed on by the

generations as well as personal adoption of such practice to adapt to the changing digital

environment. Herein lies the essence of my literacy narrative: This work is an excursion into the

past, an analysis of what is happening now as well as a reflection on the future development of

literacy. I would like to refer to my Pinterest board, the photo with the quote ‘You need to wake

up and realize that life does not wait for you...’ and this urgency pushes me to a quest for

knowledge and literacy.

Each thread in the tapestry of my literacy is for an influential literacy sponsor who I have written

into my story. These sponsors did not only teach me reading and writing but have also shaped the

way I understand and engage with the world through language. My journey was really long, as I

recently moved from Ukraine, and here I already got my new sponsors with the new way of

influencing me,

Meanwhile, before I could fully understand the idea of a book, my integration into an

environment in which speech was purposely used and vital to human beings did not allow me to

comprehend until now. That is why in my Pinterest board, I have photos of the bookshelves.

Hence, it is this place-under the family umbrella that my abilities to read were laid. My parents,
Digitized Roots: The Evolution of My Literacy Daniela Kaplan

appreciating the glimmer in my eyes of curiosity, began to include books within my realm and

help me from words that I speak into books. They became the medium through which the stories

of our ancestors connected to those that lay helplessly bound within thousands of thick volumes,

setting up in me a reverence for chosen words simultaneously surviving it until today.

The formal organization of schooling replaced the informal sponsorship network that had

previously been part of my life by providing me with new literacy benefactors. Each of my

teachers, with their exceptional variation in teaching strategies and character itself, had their own

color added into the palette of literacy that I was. They were the ones who taught me the

mechanics of language: the language, word arrangement, even comma placements. As an

example, I would like to bring up my primary school teacher . She taught me a lot, and gave me

very useful and valuable information. But unfortunately, she would not be able to provide that to

others, as she recently passed away because of the war. Yet above and beyond these technical

skills, they instilled a love of the book that was even more transcendent than utilitarian – a love

about looking for meaning in what was written, not finding any answers but getting new

questions; all so poignantly expressed on one occasion when my father received an especially

pricey substitute package from his mother-in-law. Geography replaced history and science

reports extended the boundaries of literature classes, so my education evolved into a

multi-dimensional experience where all subjects I learned worked as parts towards broadening

my understanding of how language could create rich images and emote.

As I moved from that of a young reader to a more critical one, the media became an important

sponsor in my literacy narrative. The television programs, newspapers and the Internet brought
Digitized Roots: The Evolution of My Literacy Daniela Kaplan

before my eyes a varied variety of writing and thinking giving valuable lessons in critical reading

and source evaluation. Digital Transformation allowed me to learn about the concept of digital

literacy- one that was just as important as reading and writing in this era. Community had a

two-pronged role in my literacy development. It was both a sponsor and a benefactor of my

developing abilities. Local libraries, community centers, and cultural events contributed to my

literacy by offering resources and opportunities for interaction with texts and ideas outside of my

immediate surroundings. At the same time, my growing literacy enabled me to engage in my

community, via volunteering work or sharing information from stories I had heard and

knowledge I had gained.

The legacies of storytelling, the veneration of written word through parental inheritance and the

oral tradition are all elements of this patrimony. These practices are also not stagnant, since I

incorporate them with the digital tools at my disposal, creating a type of hybrid literacy that is

both traditional and innovative.

This journey to literacy has not been without its challenges and is awareness including the

awakening of privileges that allowed my access to literacy. The merger of literacy and privilege

evolved as something profound in my discourse, when I came to realize the difference between

privileged access to literacy and what comes with it. Moreover, I had to leave my home, and

move to the country, and then start developing myself in the culture.

In my literacy development’s narrative, the frameworks developed by Deborah Brandt and

Suzanne Kesler Rumsey give helpful lenses to analyze. The Brandt notion of “literacy sponsor”
Digitized Roots: The Evolution of My Literacy Daniela Kaplan

gives a deep insight into the different things that have influenced my literacy development.

Those sponsors, from family members to companies' digital technologies not only have given me

particular skills but also formulate my disposition and response to the world of texts.

Under the viewpoint of Brandt, it is possible to trace how economic and social dimensions

created my access to literacy. Working as primary sponsors, my parents offered me books and

other educational materials consistent with the socioeconomic status reflecting their preference

for an educated family. Just like that, Teachers and Schools proved to be very important, also as

Brand stated educational establishments are large sponsors with great power. This, however,

varied according to resources, teacher expertise and the curriculum as Brandt observes might

result in disparities in literacy development. Brandt, Deborah. “Sponsors of Literacy.” College

Composition and Communication, vol. 49, no. 2, 1998, pp. 164–167. JSTOR,

https://doi.org/10.2307/358929.

Through my exploration of the digital realm, Brandt’s framework guides me into how technology

takes a leading role as sponsor changing literacy to its very nature. The shift from print to digital

media, the use of multimodal texts, and engagement with global content have broadened my

literacy according to Brandt’s definition which understands literacy as set in motion and

responsive to shifts within society.

Merging these models, my story unveils a mosaic of literacies that is variegated and intricate. It

presents literacy not in terms of a collection of skills but as a social practice shaped by

multitudinous forces. These frameworks highlight the fact that literacy needs to be studied not
Digitized Roots: The Evolution of My Literacy Daniela Kaplan

only from an individual perspective but also in terms of society, culture and technologies through

which our decoding of language and texts becomes possible. My literacy beliefs and practices

are a combination of my previous experiences, supplemented by the dynamic nature of the

digital context.

Today, I tend to constantly alternate between traditional and digital literacies. The tactile pleasure

of a physical book does not exclude the comfort offered by electronic reading devices. Likewise,

my writing also represents this bifurcation that begins with notes written in hand before moving

into digital forms for editing and publishing. My understanding of literacy has broadened to

include many aspects other than the ability to read and write. It now encompasses digital skills

including the navigation of online spaces, critical analysis of digital information and awareness

to the specificity in communicating via a digitally enabled medium. This wider view of literacy

is representative of the modern world, which requires globalization and information

overabundance.

In addition, my perceptions of literacy are seriously shaped by its acknowledgement as power

and privilege. I have a keen sense of the differences in literacy availability and consequences that

follow it to affect individuals and communities. This consciousness, in turn, has instilled a sense

of responsibility in me to promote and contribute to literacy initiatives as I believe that literacy is

not only essential but also part of fundamental human rights. My practices involve conscious

effort in the struggle for balance between consuming and producing content.
Digitized Roots: The Evolution of My Literacy Daniela Kaplan

Finally, my literacy narrative is a continuing and fluid tale that welcomes new influences and

shapes itself with the constantly shifting medium of communication and information. It is a

never-ending process of education and adaptation, which I consider revealing the ability of

literacy to transcend both personal and societal spaces.

For a conclusion, this literacy narrative transcends the mere description of my passage through

different stages of reading and writing. It is a reflection of the different sponsors of literacy and

how they have helped in forming my understanding of language and its strength. Every step of

the way, whether I am tracing my family’s oral traditions or wandering through digital realms

within the internet, each has contributed to shaping me as a literacy identity. This quest has not

been merely about learning to read and write but also of the ultimate acquiring understanding of

wider ramifications. It highlights the significance of literacy as a means for individual

development, social interaction and cultural awareness. Understanding the complexities of

literacy I continue to be its learner and sponsor, recognizing how this varies life for a person and

a community. This story will persist as a symbol of the timeless strength of words and the role

that each literate individual plays within a world-connected society.

Digitized Roots: The Evolution of My Literacy Daniela Kaplan

Work Cited
1. Brandt, Deborah. “Sponsors of Literacy.” College Composition and Communication, vol.
49, no. 2, 1998, pp. 165–185. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/358929.
2. Rumsey, Suzanne Kesler. “Heritage Literacy: Adoption, Adaptation, and Alienation of
Multimodal Literacy Tools.” College Composition and Communication, vol. 60, no. 3,
2009, pp. 573–586. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20457082.