The Importance of Literacy in Society Today Prieto

Jasmin Prieto ENC1102 5 September 2013 The Importance of Literacy in Society Today People experience different situations and
obstacles growing up which inevitably shapes how the person is today. Some are more fortunate than others and have access to many sources at the tip of their fingers, others have to really work for what they want. With that being said, everyone has their own way of becoming literate to succeed in society. When regarding the term literate, its not only the ability to read and write, but also the capability to comprehend what is being read. Deborah Brandt, professor in the Department of English at the University of WisconsinMadison, compares literacy to land in terms of being a valued product that can help people gain profit and succeed in society (Brandt 336). In other words, a person must be literate in order to advance in life. There are many ways and forms of help that assist people in becoming literate; these forms of help are referred to as sponsors of literacy. According to Brandt, she defines sponsors as anybody (and/or anything) that regulate and help people become literate while getting something out of it as well (Brandt 334). These sponsors are the foreground to why people become literate. A sponsor of literacy can be as obvious as teachers and parents teaching someone how to read, or can be more obscure such as tools to write with or an elementary school. Growing up Ive had many experiences and literacy sponsors that taught me how to read, write and comprehend some before I ever started school, others later in my teen years. Ranging from my reading glasses to my own mother and father, Ive had many sponsors of literacy that made me more anxious to
learn and have gained valuable skills that have helped me get through college and progress in life. There are many material aspects to becoming literate that people take for granted, such as the simplicity of a colored pencil or lined paper. For myself, Id have to say my disability (poor eyesight) was quite an advantage on my road to literacy. Prior to the days of having reading glasses, I would struggle learning in class due to the fact that I couldnt see what was on the board clearly. In order to help improve my learning skills, I had to always sit towards the front of the classroom to see better. After I got my first pair of glasses in sixth grade, a whole new world of learning was opened to my eyes, literally. My glasses have made it easier for me to read things far away and made me more enthusiastic about reading things in the distance, just because I finally could do that without squinting my eyes. Because of my poor eyesight, I developed the habit of always sitting towards the front of my classes even in college which leads to less distractions and more learning. Learning to read was fun for me as I was growing up. Every night of my childhood I would cuddle up next to my mom as she would read me books written by Dr. Seuss and when it was around the holiday season she would read me Christmas stories. I wouldnt repeat back words, but I caught on to the concept of rhyming in the Dr. Seuss books. Throughout the day I made this rhyming game and tried finding everyday things that rhymed just because I thought it was fun. Once I was able to, I slowly began to read short stories by myself not only to impress my parents, but also because I associated affection with reading since that was something my mom and I did together. I learned to love reading and was always excited about what new information I would discover from reading. Because of my mothers determination and consistency with reading to me every night, I really blossomed in my reading skills. Having my
mom as my literacy sponsor is important to me since she genuinely cared about me succeeding and becoming literate. Being able to read words off of paper is one thing, but being able to understand what signs and symbols stood for was a whole other ballpark. In order for someone to flourish in life, it is key to be able to comprehend signs and know the exigence behind an article on the internet. The ability to grasp all the different road signs takes time and practice, and thats exactly what my dad had when he taught me how to drive. He printed out all these different road signs with their corresponding meanings, made them into flash cards and studied me at least three times a week. Prior to this exercise, I had no idea what the yield sign actually meant, same with most of the signs that are normally seen on the highway. However, thanks to my dad and his creativity, I was able to understand majority of the street signs before I even got my permit. This flash card exercise that my dad used on me taught me the importance of comprehension; reading word after word is meaningless if the reader cant comprehend what is being read. All of my past experiences growing up have taught me many lessons in life, but the most important of them all is how crucial it is to be literate. I was fortunate enough to be able to have all the resources I wanted in order to read or write, and my sponsors of literacy no matter how big or small were all crucial pieces to my puzzle and significant in their own way. My literacy skills are especially important at my job in retail where I am constantly communicating with customers, striving to find out and fulfill what their real needs are. I am able to successfully read body language in order to find out which customers are approachable or not and am advancing in sales positions because of my effective communication and literacy skills. Today, I am proud to say that I am a studious and intelligent college student who enjoys reading to gain knowledge and wont stop until I can fully comprehend what Im looking at. Emphasized through my
advancement in my working environment, my ability to be literate is one of the primary reasons I am able to effectively thrive in society. The literacy skills I currently possess have truly grown from when I began reading and writing as a child. As a college student, I am able to successfully read and comprehend collegelevel journals while also being able to interpret the journals in many ways. Not only that, but the amount of literacy sponsors I have available to me today is practically endless. From having the multitude of books obtainable to me at the UCF library to my best friend who gives me writing advice, not to mention the limitless world wide web for research purposes, my literacy skills can only continue to progress in this competitive society.
Works Cited Brandt, Deborah. Sponsors of Literacy. Writing About Writing: A College Reader. Ed. Elizabeth Wardle and Doug Downs. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martins, 2011. 331-350. Print.

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Jasmin Prieto ENC1102 5 September 2013 The Importance of Literacy in Society Today People experience different situations and

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