Alexander 1

Grace Alexander

Samantha Gonzalez

ENC 1101

24 September 2023

Multimodal Literacy Essay

I used to absolutely hate, despise, and abhor reading and writing. I believed it to be a boring

waste of my time, and it made my hand hurt! I thought to myself often, “People actually do this for a liv-

ing?”, “People go to college for this?”. To put it into simpler terms: I didn’t think I was a good writer, so

instead of working to better my writing, I gave up and just decided to hate it altogether. Fast forward to

the present day, I read constantly, thoroughly enjoy writing, and have my own at-home library, consisting

of a wide collection of novels that I own. This summer, I read over 16 books, and read around 1,820,040

words. Obviously, I wouldn’t have read this much if I didn’t enjoy reading. Through the help of a literary

sponsor, what I used to view as a chore became a hobby. I learned that if you find the right book or writ-

ing prompt, reading and writing can become a very enjoyable pastime. On the other hand, some forms of

literacy can’t be taught, but are more so inherited, like the love I have for music. My love for music has

never changed, and it is a passion that has been instilled in me since a very early age. Through both spon-

sorship and heritage literacy, I have been able to both discover and strengthen passions that are instilled

through my family and ones that emerged through the guidance of sponsors.

From the times when I was around six to ten years old, I had a babysitter that would come over

about one to two times a week. She was an English teacher at a high school. When I was that age, I really

wanted to become a teacher when I became older (probably just because I wanted to boss people around),

so I was constantly asking her to show me what being a teacher was like. One day, she gave in to my pes-

tering and decided to let me help her grade some papers. For the assignment I was helping with, she

wanted me to read the paper and write if it was either horrible, alright, good, or excellent. Eight-year-old
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me was absolutely ecstatic because I got to judge other people’s writings! The assignment was for her stu-

dents to state their favorite piece of literature and describe how and why it means so much to them. From

what I remember, some of the students created well-written papers, whereas there were a couple that I

couldn’t even finish because they were written so horribly. We would do this every month or so, and I al-

ways looked forward to reading the assignments and papers she brought with her; this is something I

would have never looked forward to before.

I thoroughly enjoyed hearing the creative ideas from these students, and I learned from this that

there were no wrong answers when it came to writing. No matter how eccentric the plot lines were or how

strange the characters and writing style was, my babysitter always gave them an A. In Brandt’s discussion

about sponsors of literacy, she explains how sponsors of literacy “… lend their resources or credibility to

the sponsored but also stand to gain benefits from their success, whether by direct repayment or, indi-

rectly, by credit of association” (Brandt, 167). In my case, my babysitter was not only getting paid to

watch me, but also had some work taken off of her hands! She taught me the joys and creative freedom of

writing, and that made the activity much more enjoyable for me. Through this, a special bond was formed

between me and her. Brandt notes this in her work, writing that “The concept of sponsors helps to explain,

then, a range of human relationships and ideological pressures that turn up at the scenes of literacy- learn-

ing from the benign sharing between adults and youth…” (Brandt, 168). The relationship I formed with

my babysitter still stands to this day, not only through occasional communications but through the pas-

sions I have nowadays. Memories spent reading and writing with her bleed into my own hobby of reading

that I have today. Brandt further explains the concept that many sponsored people aren’t aware that they

are being sponsored. “People throughout history have acquired literacy pragmatically under the banner of

others’ causes” (Brandt, 168). In my case, I just thought that I was helping my babysitter with her work-

load. In reality, I was gaining an entirely new perspective on reading and writing; I learned to view it as a

creative journey, not a waste of my time. This positive attitude of reading continues to influence how I

view reading and writing today.

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While some literacy can be learned, some are inherent. My entire family is composed of musi-

cians. My dad toured professionally with Kenny Chesney and Hank Williams Jr., my mom is a music di-

rector for Disney, and my brother is currently in school studying sound design. My connection with music

has been both taught and inherited to me through my parents and grandparents. When I was growing up,

someone was always playing music. I believe that there is a song for every emotion, and I learned that

from my parents. When I am happy, I play music. When I’m sad, I play music. Nowadays, I find it eerie if

I don’t have music playing in the background. I greatly enjoy playing piano, guitar, and ukulele in my free

time. I also love to sing and write my own songs for fun. Having an “ear” for chords and notes, as well as

a strong connection to the power of music, doesn’t come from practicing- it is a gift, and I am lucky to

have inherited this musical proficiency from past generations.

I realize that this love for music is passed down since I have noticed that my friends don’t have

nearly as intense of a passion for music as I do. I don’t think that music would be considered as a way of

life for most people. Growing up, when I would go to sleepovers at a friend’s place, pianos, guitars,

basses, and keyboards weren’t strewn throughout the house. At my house, it is the opposite! Rumsey puts

my inherited musical literacy in simpler terms, by describing it as heritage literacy. I have learned the cul-

ture of music and many different musical genres through my parents and their parents. Strengthening my

passions comes from learning from the past. Specifically, as music changes over time, I can teach my par-

ents and grandparents about newer music that interests me. “When these community members pass on

their uses of technologies and tools, the next generation must make the same decisions.” (Rumsey, insert

page number). As my children grow up, they can teach me about their musical interests, and I can share

with them mine! The same applies to my family and what they have taught me through their acquired mu-

sical knowledge.

Musical styles that were popular in my parents' day and age are not the same now. New tech-

niques of engineering, producing, and mixing technologies have emerged over time, completely redefin-

ing the process of creating music. When my parents were in the musical field, these kinds of technologies

didn’t exist, or weren’t nearly that advanced. Nowadays, there is so much more to learn in the field, and it
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has been interesting seeing them learn new about new musical technologies. They have gained this infor-

mation primarily through my brother, who is currently studying this emerging technology in college. “In

general, heritage literacy emphasizes not just the ‘piling up and spreading out’ of accumulation, but also

the ways that literacy practices pass back and forth between generations; the old inform the new, the new

impact the old” (Ramsey, 577). As in the above example, heritage literacy is cross-generational. There is

much to learn from both past generations, and more to learn from the future.

Through both direct and indirect experiences, my literacy has grown to become a vital component

towards my sense of self. If it were not for the bonds I formed through my childhood babysitter, I would

have never been able to foster my love for reading and creative writing in the way that I have. On the

other hand, being born into a musical family and possessing a musical “gene” has allowed me to express

myself creatively and find shelter in music. Without these experiences and gifts, my literacy would be

completely different, and would lack the personality and individuality that it possesses today.

Canva multimodal link:

https://www.canva.com/design/DAFvZULCB6k/sJ3wkvYLLqLXePyGJpftIA/edit?

utm_content=DAFvZULCB6k&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source

=sharebutton
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Works Cited

Brandt, Deborah. “Sponsors of Literacy - JSTOR.” Sponsors of Literacy, National Counsel of

Teachers of English, May 1998, www.jstor.org/stable/358929

Rumsey, Suzanne Kesler. “Heritage Literacy: Adoption, Adaptation, and Alienation of

Multimodal Literacy Tools.” College Composition and Communication, vol. 60, no. 3,

2009, pp. 573–86. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20457082. Accessed 24 Sept.

2023.