Sponsors of Literacy

The fact that literacy equals power and opportunity can be seen once again in Deborah Brandt's article Sponsors of Literacy. She demonstrates how the demand for different types of literacy changes over time, leaving behind those who have not acquired the skills and specialties that new technologies require. She also shows, as in the example Raymond Branch and Dora Lopez, how people who are born at the same time and even grow up in the same area can have very different opportunities available to them. Due to his financial and educational background, Raymond had much greater exposure to learning tools and opportunities which enabled him to become a successful software writer. Dora's experiences were much more limited than Raymond's, causing her to have less opportunity for economic and educational advancement. I think this is an important issue to keep in mind when it comes to how society views success. Typically, those with higher paying and more influential jobs are held in high esteem. Americans value hard work and respect those who seem to have worked their way to the top. What is often overlooked is the fact that it may have been much easier for certain successful individuals to arrive where they are, while others who work just as hard but had less opportunities are unable to achieve the same kind of success. I know that educational institutions cannot be changed over night, but reading stores like Dora and Raymond's reminds me of the need to close the gap between the haves and the have-nots, which of course, is one reason for the discipline of Community Literacy and Service Learning. Sponsors have the opportunity to use their influence for good, but communities cannot wait for the ones with the most power and influence to make a positive change. I think that parents, teachers, employers, grandparents--really any literate person--can take part in encouraging literacy in others.