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Sherman Alexie - Sydne Anderson & Nydia Arnold 

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Sherman Alexie - Sydne Anderson & Nydia Arnold 

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A. Name & Brief Bio: Our project was focused on the amazing writer Sherman Alexie. Alexie was a little boy born in the late 1960s to hardworking, poor Spokane Indian parents who lived on the Spokane Indian Reservation in eastern Washington state. He was raised on unpredictable checks and government food supply. Their income status would consider them poor, but his parents fought to provide for him and his siblings a good life. Alexie, born with water on his brain, beat the medical odds that predicted he would not survive into adulthood. He grew up to be an avid reader, despite speculation and endured ridicule and bullying for his devotion to reading and writing. Alexie got his love for books and reading from his father, who would always buy books from surrounding shops and filled the house. Some could say Alexie’s niche for reading was inevitable. Alexie was arrogant and determined to prove himself and education despite the judgement from his peers, he went on to become a writer.
B. Types of Sponsorships & literacy Skills/ Opportunities: Sherman Alexie does not blatantly label anyone or anything a sponsor of literacy in the text. When we reread and analyze the text, we believe that Sherman Alexie’s father was a big literacy sponsor in his life. His father indirectly taught Alexie the literacy skills and opportunities that shaped his career. Alexie’s father had an avid love for reading and books. He would always encourage reading inside of Alexie’s home, and provided books and literature from all over the surrounding area, stacking it up in house. Because of his father, Alexie always had a ready supply of literacy right under his fingertips. Inevitably Alexie began reading the books his father would keep inside the home, and inevitably developed a passion for reading. As we all know an abundance of reading directly impacts one’s writing, so Alexie also gained the skill of good writing as a result.
C. Outcomes for Identities: The experiences of books and reading with Alexie’s father had a vast impact on his life, mainly early on. The skills and passions derived from his father’s passion for books allowed Alexie to gain a passion for books of his own that manifested to his love of literature. While reading, Alexie began writing and became confident and arrogant in his success. His father's gift of passion for reading was ultimately the gift of his livelihood. Alexie went on in life to become a devotional, successful writer and all of that can be owed to the skills and impact his fathers planted in his life at an early age. Reading and writing was not just a career for Alexie, we believe it was his motivation. Reading and Writing motivated Alexie to excel in life, and he then used that same drive to go back and motivate younger kids who were just like him. His father planted a seed, and Alexie spent a lifetime allowing it to grow.
D. What is the significance of the writing element of a “paragraph” for Sherman Alexie?

In ``The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me'' by Sherman Alexie, we see a lot of talk about the meaning of a “paragraph” and how it goes beyond the literal sense and is used in reference to our lives. Sherman places heavy emphasis on the meaning and usage of these words in the context of his story. As he mentions in the text, he was taught that a paragraph holds together words that are fenced together to work and serve a greater purpose. He looks at his reservation as a paragraph in the country, his house as a paragraph to the houses around him, etc. A paragraph in Alexie’s eyes is special to one, certain piece to a bigger puzzle that describes how that one piece is made up and how it functions. When each paragraph is solid, it allows them all to function as a greater whole. Sherman Alexie teaches us to focus on our inner paragraphs so that we are able to bring everything together to function cohertenly.

E. Writing Concept: Connect one of today's writing concepts to your profile. How do you see any of the concepts discussed in class lecture today at play in your sponsor's life?

Sherman Alexie connects to multiple writing concepts. Throughout his writing, we can see that he connects to identity-Landen and inquiry-driven as he discusses the hardships he went through as an infant and growing up in difficult living situations. He connects to identity-laden because we can see that throughout his writing he explains how being born with a rare condition, growing up poor, and as a three-year-old Spokane Indian boy that knew how to read was something rare but huge. Life experiences can have an impact on people’s identity and how they tend to live life. Seeing his parents struggle to find jobs and making ends meet motivated him to become better and he found interest in writing and reading thanks to his father as he would bring books home for him and his siblings. Which also pushed him and gave him this drive to be a better reader and writer, along with the impact of him finding interest in reading Spiderman comics at a young age.

F. Inserted above.

G. What are some implications of Brandt's ideas of literacy sponsors for your                       education right now as college students?

As college students, We picture literacy sponsors as guidance and a fresh start for everyone as we have to adjust to college life and being in a new environment. As a College student, you have to get used to being on your own and being responsible for making your own decisions. Starting college you can meet new people from all around the country who can relate to some experiences you have faced while getting to experiences living somewhere else. Even though some classes may be online you are still able to find people to meet throughout the campus with different events, organizations and social media. Along with being able to meet new people as you can make your own decisions and be in control of your education, you will be able to find literacy sponsors that interest you. When we were in high school our literacy sponsors were chosen for us in some type of way. Now we have the power to choose them ourselves as they can guide us on the path we want to take.

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Raymond Branch- Jalen Mays, Kendall Howard, Janiah Walker

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Raymond Branch- Jalen Mays, Kendall Howard, Janiah Walker

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A. We know that Raymond Branch came from a very rich background and was of high class. He was also a white cis gendered male. He had a lot of opportunities at his university due to this. He was able to do really well in his courses of computer programming using those opportunities. He also did well in documentation. Even at a young age he had this access to computer technology. He got his first computer at 12 and this was huge because they were very cutting edge at the time.

B. One of Raymonds most prominent sponsors was his parents. While I’m sure that they personally educated him, their social and financial status had much to do with the opportunities that Raymond was presented with from an early age. Their high status likely had much to do with the types of schools that he grew up going to. He had access to lots of good resources and the best education that could’ve been offered at the time. His fathers’ access to the computer lab at stanford university, sparked his interest in computer science, which would later become his career.

C.Due to the access and opportunities he had, Brandt was provided with a resource-rich environment. Early on in his life he was easily able to have access to computers and learn about the software. His father’s science lab gave him the opportunity to learn about the present computers at Stanford University. This effected him later in life because he already had an early start. Before he went to college, he had been well prepared with different computer programs and software. He had already been conditioned in some of the knowledge. These various literacy sponsors allowed him to have the privilege of having a head start.

D. One Christmas, Raymond received his first personal computer as a gift. Before, he would venture into his father’s science lab and look through the computers there. He was able to have this resource for himself which made his documentation easier. This singular Christmas gift became a sponsor for Raymond because it gave him an advantage to what he was pursuing. It gave him more access and ability to be involved in the industry. Branch had a head start with understanding computer software that later became more advanced and very popular.

E. The identity-laden concept connects to Raymond Branch because his experience ties to his identity. When he was young he researched and explored new technology to better his understanding. This all tied to his experience. His exposure/excess to different literature containing computer documentation influenced his identity. Everyone has a different voice and identity. Raymond's formed from this being a part of him. His whole life he had been revolving on around the documentation of computers. He was always curious about them. His experiences growing up and behavior as a young computer programmer shaped him into who he became.

G. She implies that class can level the playing field academically for all and this is especially true if you are a male. The patriarchy purposely upholds men to a higher standard. This enables them to potentially achieve more than women. She also touches on race and the impact it has on education. We go to Howard because we need a space for us to thrive rather than be objectified, and that's why HBCU’s were created. As black students our previous literacy sponsors enabled us to learn and grow as students, but probably not to the extent that we need to reach as black students. Our teachers, and organizations didn’t teach us the same way our families have.

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Carol White- Kaia Brown, Danielle McCollum and Aniya Smith

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Carol White- Kaia Brown, Danielle McCollum and Aniya Smith

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Carol White was born into a poor, single-parent household in 1940. She graduated high school in 1960. At the time clerical work was one of the fastest growing occupations for women. And so she worked in the field primarily as a secretary. Carol white was a woman that worked continuously through five maternity leaves and a divorce, while running clerical positions in both private and public sectors One of her first secretarial jobs was with an urban firm that made films. White worked closely with the Vice President. Because of this relationship, she was able to learn rhetorical strategies. (Brandt, 1998).

Carol’s career increased her literacy skills and her religion provided her with opportunities to demonstrate them. Carol was often  required to type letters and articles and also sometimes proofread. (180) The magazines, letters and articles were some potential sponsors for Carol. She was “keenly interested” in her work(180). She says her boss made their writing appealing. This was cause because he’d use anecdotes.

She found his anecdotes, side notes, appealing. Her religious job was to go door to door and do missionary work. She would tell anecdotes, like her boss. She thought these stories would be relatable and “motivating” in hopes to get people to convert(181). This exposure to anecdotes taught her the value and power of them. Human anecdotes are an important part of communication. This is very important because it allows other to relate to the speaker.

G.    As a college student, I see literacy sponsors as something that has some way shape or form has shown me a way to write. Whether it’s a new genre or a new structure. Not only did it show me writing but also new ways to speak or help me understand complicated reading material. These sponsors include teachers, workbooks, family and friends, advisors or a new book. All these things and people served as sponsors.

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A. Dora Lopez is a Mexican-American girl who was born in a Texas border town in 1969. She lived with her grandparents, who were labor workers then soon moved to a college town far from the city. While living there, her father attended college to become an accountant while her mother worked part time at a bookstore. Through her mother’s job, Dora was able to get discounted books thus having the opportunity to self educate herself towards being a proficient reader. None of her cousins or siblings could read or write so she took the initiative to learn.  In a way, this bookstore was her literacy sponsor because it was one of the first times Dora was surrounded by literature. Later in life, she was exposed to her first computer and worked as a teacher's aid. With that, Dora had someone to look up to and acquire knowledge from. She later got a job as a cleaning lady and with that she was a translator for her supervisor. Overall, she truly built everything with the help of others and utilizing every resource and opportunity that presented itself.

B. Lopez gained sponsorship in various ways throughout her childhood. She had to travel to the nearest town in order to get magazines to read. Through her mothers job at a bookstore she was granted access to a large selection of books and was able to purchase them with her mother’s employee discount. At her cleaning job, she broke down the language barrier by translating conversations and information from English and Spanish for her supervisor. She also wrote and explained instructions to the staff for him. Working as a teacher's aid, Lopez was exposed to technology for the first time because of her job's proximity to computers. She utilized her resources as well as her family members to expand her literacy through speech and books.

C. Dora Lopez had various experiences with literacy sponsors that affected her early on and later in life. Lopez gained drive and determination as she had to seek out opportunities by herself. She worked at a bookstore and learned how to read efficiently in both English and Spanish. Dora Lopez’s biliterate skills developed and paid off much further down the economic- reward ladder as she had to travel and got to take part in programs. She took part in government-sponsored youth programs and commercial enterprises that in the 1990s, were absorbing surplus migrant workers into a low-wage, urban service economy.

D.  Due to Lopez being a lower social scale, she does not have an abundant amount of opportunities handed to her. She has endured many obstacles such as language barriers, location and lack of connections due to being in an unfamiliar area. She had to take extra initiative and go the extra mile in order to reach out to others to get assistance.

E. In Lopez’s life, we noticed that the community oriented writing concept is being utilized. The community oriented threshold concept highlights on working together with others and one can quickly notice that pattern throughout Lopez’s story. Throughout the text, we noticed that she utilized her community and those around her in order to educate herself and gain knowledge. Lopez received aid from her mothers job, fathers transportation and college education in order to get to where she is today. These stepping stones from her community were crucial towards her literacy development and sponsored her love for reading and writing.

G. Brandt’s ideas of literacy sponsors connects to the education of college students right now. College students have had to adjust to the new normal due to the majority of their classes being online. Students have been able to connect due to being in the same situation through this pandemic. Literacy sponsors are created through conversations in the cafe, reading students campaigns, joining clubs and conversing with teachers you may have in-person class with. Students have gained access to Literacy sponsors through the surrounding parts of campus as well. The art museum, tours of federal buildings, and simple encounters with restaurant owners or customers at eateries have allowed students to try new things and gain literacy sponsors.

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Dwayne Lowery Profile by: Alexis Thomas, Amir Shackelford, & Kaedriana Turenne 

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Dwayne Lowery Profile by: Alexis Thomas, Amir Shackelford, & Kaedriana Turenne 

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A. Dwayne Lowery is a man of Eastern European ancestry. He was born in 1938 in a semi-rural area in the upper Midwest. He is the third of five children. His father was a rubber worker and his mother was a homemaker. His childhood home was filled with his father's union publications, left-leaning newspapers, and radio shows. After graduating he spent some time in the army. When he was out of the army, he worked in an automobile assembly line. When that job became too repetitive, he worked a day job reading water meters. Then in the 1970's he became active in the growing public employee unions which during that time he ended up applying for a union-sponsored grant which he received and spent four months in  Washington, D.C for training and union activity. After the four months, Lowery came back home and worked as a full time field representative for the union.
B. During his life, Lowery had many literacy sponsors. First, was from his father. His father's union publication, left-leaning newspapers, and radio shows which exposed him at a young age to different political climates, readings, and writings. His day job reading water meters was also a sponsor because it was where he rediscovered newspapers which he read in the early mornings. He stated that during this time he started to get more interested in the things happening within his state and became more political. His work and travel in Washington, DC was also a literacy sponsor because there he had to read a lot, had an extensive amount of homework and written reports to do. His job as a field representative was the last literacy sponsor because it led him to change his writing practices and helped him to improve his communication skills.
C. This exposure to various literacy sponsors affected Lowery in many ways. His father's newspaper, publications, and radio shows grounded Lowery in having a certain drive in advocacy for certain social and political issues. His day job reading water meters helped him to rediscover newspapers which the reading made him become more political. The union Lowery worked for made him and others involved learn new skills because of the change in the skills and education needed for the job. For example, Lowery had to do workshops for two to three days to learn new legislation and improve his communication skills. It also changed his writing practices  because of all of the briefs and transcripts he had to write. He also had to change his writing practices in order to keep up with the attorneys and educated-coworkers he would interact with while working. It also made him a more critical thinker and develop problem-solving skills.
D. Lowery's story represents the dynamic relationship between the demands for job skills and the changing literacy standards because when Lowery started working as a field representative he realized that the literacy he had previous to the job wasn't advanced enough for it. Especially, when he started dealing with attorneys and college-educated co-workers there was somewhat of a noticeable decrease in his skills. When the municipal and country governments started hiring these attorneys, it changed the writing practices in the union. As stated in the story his job had him complete workshops in order to develop the new skills needed for the job.
E. The writing concept "process-bound" is played in Lowery's story. Writing is always changing and in the story you can see it as well.  The writing practices changed when the union started to have to interact with well- educated individuals. The union he worked for had to change their writing practices. The union had their employees take union-sponsored workshops in order to to learn arbitration, new legislation, and communication skills.
G. Some implications of Brandt's literacy sponsors for our education as college students right now would have to be the people and things we interact with at our school, on campus, or off campus. For example our teachers, the new people we meet from all around the world on campus, social events, organizations and the different attractions around us. It could be our specific college for our majors. Especially, when being in a new setting because most of us are from different states, countries, and have been virtual for over two years because of the pandemic we all will have some type of new literacy sponsor. Not to say for all it will be an easy thing because some may have to actively look for it in some way.

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A.  Malcolm X was an African American male, living in an under-resourced neighborhood. His role as an activist in the 1960s was in part due to his passion for learning. He was accused of robbery and went to prison for 7 years. He had nothing but time on his hands, so he started learning how to read and write. As he started, he would get tripped up on how he demanded everyone’s attention whenever he spoke, but couldn’t write on paper what he wanted to say. The best thing he could think of was to request a dictionary, pencils, and tablets. Indeed, it was the best for him. He slowly began writing the words downlisted in the book, starting with A’s. As he wrote, he understood and remembered quicker than the last time. Reading became a part of his everyday routine, he read anything he came across that had words. It made him forget all about being imprisoned.
B.  Malcolm X has been influenced by places and people all around him. He shares his admiration for Bimbi’s forceful presence in any conversation. His communication and conversation skills were ones that Malcolm hoped to one day master. Malcolm spent time trying to mimic Bimbi but the lack of comprehension led him to the dictionary in hopes of understanding the words he hoped to convey. The dictionary became another literary sponsor for Malcolm, as he taught himself to write every word and learn the definition that corresponds with that word. Malcolm’s journey with sponsorship began in the prison system, and as peculiar as it may sound. The prison served as a sponsor for Malcolm’s literacy skills. It was there that he learned to write, and where he began to read to understand. Prison cultivated an environment where he could learn freely and deliberately.
C.  His experiences with various literacy sponsors prompted him to take an interest in learning and expand his education through reading. He uses reading as a way to expand his vocabulary and improve his writing skills in his early life. Later on in life, literacy sponsors cause him to take an interest in activism and equipping himself intellectually to deal with racial injustice and bring change. These experiences made him a more informed member of society and he can think critically about things that affect him, as a college student would. The prison system for Malcolm X represents an important literacy sponsor, and his “rigorous self-education” shows his initiative and dedication to learning. D. Synthesis: Answer your SPECIFIC profile-related question about your individual. To be provided during breakout rooms (3-4 Sentences
D.  Why do you think Malcolm X felt the most free in prison?
As previously mentioned, Malcolm X’s time served in prison opened his eyes to the world of literacy. It was in the prison system that he began to “read” to understand and write with purpose as the words he was writing held weight because he understood them. He talks about how reading became liberating to him because his love of learning was nurtured through reading and writing. He dove deep into any books he could find, because the more he learned, the freer he felt. Knowledge was
E.  In Malcolm X’s life, we can see the inquiry-driven writing concept at play. His identity as an underprivileged black male in America influences a lot of his studies. This prompts him to learn more about things that affect him during his time in prison. One of the reasons why his self education is so meaningful is because he can better understand his identity and he can use his newly found knowledge to uplift others and bring change to blacks in his community. In some ways, his education was more meaningful than formal school-based literacy learning because he had the opportunity to explore things that were impactful to him and things he was curious about.
G. As we transition into our new environment, we as students are left to seek out new literacy sponsors. Who’ll replace the sponsors from our previous environment. Some will find immediate access to sponsors whereas others will have to actively seek out literacy sponsorship similar to Dora Lopez. Literacy sponsorship can take new forms and we develop skills to interact with new forms of literacy. As college students, sponsorship becomes self-driven and students have to take the initiative to establish relationships with sponsors.

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In NARRATIVE FORM, address the following items:

A. Name & Brief Bio: details upbrining regarding class, gender, and any other pertinent information you found in the reading and/or Google search. (7-8 Sentences)

B. Types of Sponsorships & literacy Skills/Opportunities potentially gained. Think about what's implied in the text, not just outright stated. Sponsors can be anything from conversations in family breakfasts, comic books, actual school, online chats .... (7-8 Sentences)

C. Outcomes for Identity (7-8 Sentences)
What effect did these experiences with various literacies sponsors have on this individual, early on or later in life?

D. Synthesis: Answer your SPECIFIC profile related questions about your individual. Questions are on Blackboard assignment prompt.

E. Writing Concept: Connect one of today's writing concepts to your profile. How do you seem any of the concepts discussed in class lecture today at play in your sponsee's life?

F. Multi-Media: Find an image, short video, short song, or draw a pic... to add to your profile here. Do not just arbitrarily pick something. I would wait to find your multi-media element until you have completed the written portion of the assignment.

G. Meta-Moment: What are some implications of Brandt's ideas of literacy sponsors for your education right now as college students?

H. Conversation as Inquiry: Read your peer groups' profiles and come up with two critical questions to ask to at least 1 group. Post your (2) questions as a comment on their padlet post. If certain profiles are lacking a peer response comment, please choose one that needs it.