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 Tarra Poole

Professor Jan Rieman

English 1102-073

January 31, 2011

Thanks to you

     Looking back over my educational career I have had many sponsors that have encouraged me

and those that I would have to say have been less than encouraging. Nevertheless I have taken

everything that I was taught and grown into the literary savvy person I am today. A literacy

sponsor is a person that helps, teaches, or can even discourage you to the point where you want

to prove them wrong. However in the long haul you become savvier in different literacy’s

because of this person’s interference in your life. The main literates that I use in my everyday are

reading, writing, and music. When I think of my sponsors that have helped develop these

literacy’s only three come to mind: my mother, my English teacher Ms. Davis, and my

band director Ms. Gullick.

    Like Malcolm X my reading started with a dictionary. At the age of three I remember

desperately wanting to be able to read. I was a very independent child; I did not like being read

to, I wanted to do it myself. I would ask my mother what different words meant that I saw

around the house, like in a newspaper. After my asking her what the third or fourth word meant

she got a dictionary and helped me look the word up and read what it meant. I asked her why she

just could not tell me herself. She told me that she already knew what the words meant but for

me to know for myself I had to know the meaning of the word which would help me in the long

run. I did not understand then but now that I’m older I thank her for doing so. From that time on
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I grew a love for words and reading. Even today if I do not know what a word means or if I see a

word that looks interesting to me I look it up and write it down, which in turn expands my

vocabulary. My mother is a great sponsor for me because introduced me to a love for words,

provided me with books that challenged me, and had words that she knew where ahead of

my age level. Doing so strengthen my reading comprehension skills. She is one person that I owe

my reading literacy to.

    My next sponsor at the time I thought her to be a suppressor or just an evil teacher. However

as I got to know her and her teaching methods she ended up being one woman that nurtured my

writing literacy more than any other person. Ms. Tasha Davis was my English teacher from sixth

grade up to the eighth. Going into her class I thought that writing would not be that different

from reading. The more that I worked on it the better it would get and that would be the end of

it. Little did I know it was the complete opposite. My first year with her I grew an appreciation

for poetry. The way when written it flowed beautifully. Writing poetry came naturally to me but

going into writing essays I was out of my element. My grammar structure was terrible. Ms.

Davis let me know every day. It took me awhile realize she just wanted me to be the best writer

that I could be. Those three years that I was with her were the best for me. My appreciation for

the art of writing grew. Her tough love and persistence of perfection in writing made me a better

writer.

    Music has always been a passion of mine since I was a little girl. I love every type of music

there is. My literacy for music met new horizons when my band instructor Ms. Terri Gullick

entered my life. In fifth grade I started playing the clarinet. I like listening to bands and I always

thought that the woodwinds produced beautiful sounds. I wanted to play sax but my hands were

too small at the time. When I was learning how to play the clarinet Ms. Gullick would always
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say that you have to understand what you are playing for it to mean anything to you. At the time

I did not understand. She also always said that you must understand that you apart of something

greater, that ever section mush come together to make music. The four years under her

instruction, I understood what she meant when she said that it has to mean something to me. Its

own thing knowing how to play an instrument. It’s a complete other being able to believe in what

you are a playing and know the beauty of it. My literacy for music expanded to not only the

music I hear on the radio but that of orchestra, opera, and of course marching and concert band

music. My love for instruments grew also. I learned how to play clarinet and the sax. I thank her

for being able to show me the depth that music has and giving it a new meaning to me.

For the literacy’s that I know I must thank these three women for pushing me to become

who I am today when it comes to reading, writing, and music. For if it was not for them I would

not have to love for reading, writing, and music. In these literacy’s I would still be ignorant if it

were not for them showing me the light. I aspire to be what they were for me to many other

generations after me. I thank these women for showing me the way of being a good sponsor to a

young child; I am the proof that it makes a difference.

Tarra,

You do a good job here of showing your appreciation for those sponsors who helped you acquire

the types of literacies you explore here. As you look toward revision, consider the aspect of

Brandt’s definition of sponsor that notes how sponsors benefit from being a sponsor in some
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way. Can you see what your mom, and your English / music teachers had to gain from you

acquiring the literacies that you did? See my marginal comments for further ideas.

I encourage you to read your work aloud. You have a number of sentences here that distracted

me from reading/ getting your full meaning (and you don’t want that. You want to make your

meaning accessible to your reader). Let me know if you have any questions.

Dr. J,

I see what you mean by I need to read my paper out loud because there are a lot of

awkward sentences. I don’t have any huge questions but I do thank you for pointing out my

awkwardness. I think it would help it I defined literacy. I should just use Brandt’s definition then

put my interpretation after. Thank you.