The articles "Heritage Literacy" by Suzanne Kesler Rumsey and "Sponsors of Literacy"

by Deborah Brandt both provide insight on vital aspects of literacy development. The impact
literacy has on individuals and communities is highlighted throughout both texts, however,
Brandt and Rumsey take various approaches to explain what influences literacy acquisition.
In Suzanne Kesler Rumsey’s “Heritage Literacy,” Rumsey emphasizes the cultural
significance of literary practices. Heritage literacy is passed down and “...an explanation of how
people transfer literacy knowledge from generation to generation…” (Rumsey 575). Once the
knowledge is acquired, one can transform it to make it their own where “...certain practices,
tools, and concepts are adapted, adopted or alienated from use, depending on the context.”
(Rumsey 575). One’s cultural roots and heritage affects their literacy practices through the
traditions, values, and languages that are transferred across generations within families and
communities. For instance, when a child grows up in a bilingual household there are different
literacy practices compared to one who grows up in a household that solely speaks one language.
Within a community, heritage literacy can encourage educators to incorporate and appreciate
diverse cultural traditions and languages in the curriculum. Heritage literacy has impacted my
life through learning languages in school. For most of my years in education I have learned and
practiced Spanish, although I do not speak the language at home, I consider it a part of my
heritage literacy. Additionally, coming from a Jamaican household, speaking patois and having a
slight accent with certain words is a part of my identity and my heritage literacy.
In Deborah Brandt’s “Sponsors of Literacy,” Brandt underscores how literacy is
influenced by power dynamics, socio-economic factors and the resources made available by the
sponsors such as parents, teachers, peers, media and employers. The hierarchy is further
explained where, “Throughout their lives, affluent people from high-caste racial groups have
multiple and redundant contacts with powerful literacy sponsors as a routine part of their
economic and political privileges.” (Brandt 170). Those in the higher class have an advantage in
comparison to those in the lower class, with regard to the kind of literacy they can attain. In such
a way that, “Poor people and those from low-caste racial groups have less consistent, less
politically secured access to literacy sponsors—especially to the ones that can grease their way to
academic and economic success.” (Brandt 170). Since literacy is based on those in higher power,
the sponsors, and literacy development is influenced by external influences, sponsors of literacy
do not solely focus on the individual. Suppose that a child grows up with parents who are avid
readers and taught the child to read and write early, this child may be at a greater advantage than
a child whose parents are not as involved in that area. The resources and sponsors that each child
would have, would contrast. I have experienced Brandt’s concept of sponsors of literacy through
the kind of middle and high school I went to. I went to a private high school on scholarship,
where I was surrounded with people of the higher class, therefore, I would receive resources that
they would normally get for being a part of the higher class because I attended the school. I
believe this has affected my literacy now because of access I was given to use resources that are
unavailable to others.

Citations:
Brandt, Deborah. “Sponsors of literacy.” College Composition and Communication, vol. 49, no.
2, 1998, p. 165, https://doi.org/10.2307/358929.

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

Multimodal Literacy Tools.” College Composition and Communication, vol. 60, no. 3, 2009, pp.
573–586, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20457082.