Jessica Wolfe Professor Wolcott Literary Narrative 30 August 2013 Literacy Narrative Deborah Brandt in !

he "#onsors of Literacy$ describes a literacy s#onsor as the figures %ho turned u# &ost ty#ically in #eo#le's &e&ories of literacy learning( older relatives) teachers) #riests) su#ervisors) &ilitary officers) editors) influential authors*$ +Brandt) ,- .o%ever) s#onsors do not only have to be #eo#le* Brandt also teaches that a #erson can have an institutional s#onsor such as a school or a library* An institutional s#onsor can be any #lace that has contributed to a #erson/s reading and %riting gro%th* 0or 1alcol& 2 it %as #rison* !here are &any factors that contribute to %ho a #erson is) %hat they do) and %ho they %ill beco&e* 3 believe that a literary s#onsor is the factor that contributes to these things the &ost* 3 have had &any literacy s#onsors in &y lifeti&e that have affected &y reading and %riting) but the one that stands out &ost to &e %as &y high school 4nglish teacher* 3 5no% that in 6$ a&ount of years) %hen 3 loo5 bac5 on &y life) 3 %ill al%ays re&e&ber hi& as the #erson %ho influenced &y reading) %riting) and even s#ea5ing abilities the &ost* 1y &other %as &y first literacy s#onsor* 3 %as taught to read and %rite fro& a very young age* When 3 %as born she 7uit her 8ob in order to be a stay9at9ho&e &other* 3 can/t re&e&ber a day that %ent by %ithout her having read &e a boo5* When 3 got a little older) "aturdays %ere dedicated to garage sales* We li5ed to call it treasure hunting*$ 1y &other tells &e no% that &ost of the boo5s %e accu&ulated %hen 3 %as young %ere fro& our treasure hunts* 3 ac7uired a stutter %hen 3 %as three years old* 1y &o& too5 &e to a s#eech thera#ist %hen it hadn/t gone a%ay for a cou#le &onths* "he told us it %as co&&on in children &y age and that &y #arents should let &e 5ee# reading aloud but %ithout any corrections* 3 did this until

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the stutter beca&e &anageable and it really only sho%ed itself %hen 3 %as in social situations or %henever 3 had to give #resentations in class* 3t %as so stressful to be able to visuali:e %hat 3 %anted to say) but then not be able to say it clearly and fluently* 3n ninth grade 3 too5 the elective 4#ic Poetry %ith the 4nglish teacher) 1r* .arrison* !he first day of class he handed us all a syllabus %here on it had a section for oral #resentations* 3 had been assigned a %ritten assign&ent for The Iliad and an oral #resentation on The Odyssey. ;ranted) 3 had done oral #resentations for school before but none for 1r* .arrison* 1r* .arrison not only taught at our high school but %as also a college #rofessor at Pal& Beach Atlantic <niversity* .e %as in the %ar) had tattoos) and used e6#letives in class* !o &e) he %as terrifying* .e had the re#utation of being the toughest teacher in school because he treated his high school classes the sa&e %ay he treated his college ones* When it ca&e ti&e for &y oral #resentation 3 had gotten about t%o #ainful) #itiful %ords out before he sto##ed &e and as5ed &e to go outside* .e follo%ed &e out of the classroo& and si&#ly as5ed &e) What are you afraid of=$ All 3 %as able to do %as shrug &y shoulders* !hen he told &e that so&e of the &ost influential s#eeches in A&erica/s history %ere given by #eo#le %ith s#eech i&#edi&ents) such as Winston >hurchill) and gave &e ti#s for &y s#eech* .e told &e that if 3 believed in the %ords 3 %as saying then 3 had the #o%er to &a5e others care too* But the tric5 that 3 still use to this day is that if 3 start to feel &y %ords getting caught in &y throat) 3 should 8ust ta5e a dee# breath and s&ile* 3 didn/t give a fla%less s#eech after that) but it %as a start; a start to a ne%9found confidence in &yself and &y s#ea5ing abilities* 1r* .arrison is %hy 3 have chosen the &a8or 3 a& in today* Political "cience) running for office) had never crossed &y &ind before having hi& as &y teacher* .o% could 3 #ossibly do so&ething %here the &a8ority of &y 8ob %ould be #ublic

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s#ea5ing= 1alcol& 2/s short narrative &ade &e reali:e that if you %ant so&ething badly enough) and are %illing to #ut in the ti&e and the effort) you can acco&#lish your goal* 3n &y case) all it too5 %as a teacher %ho could see %hat 3 %as ca#able of* 3 still struggle %ith &y stutter %hen 3 need to &a5e a s#eech) but 3 have learned and develo# tric5s as %ell as breathing techni7ues to hel# &yself* Literacy s#onsors) 3 %ould argue) are one of the &ost influential factors of a #erson/s life* A s#onsor) %hether institutional or hu&an) has the #o%er to influence a #erson/s life for the better or the %orse* Luc5ily for &e) it %as for the better*

Wor5s >ited Brandt) Deborah* ?"#onsors of Literacy*? College of Composition and Communicatoin@A*2 +1AAB-( n* #ag* Print*

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2) 1alcol& ) and Ale6 .aley* ?Learning to Cead*? !he Autobiogra#hy of 1alcol& 2 +1AD,-( ,* Print*