Literacy, Opportunity, And Economic Change

In the essay “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society” is written by Jonathan Kozol, published in “Reading for writers” in NY. 2013. The author Kozol is a nonfiction writer, educator and social activist. In the essay, he writes about illiteracy occur in American society, illiterates who cannot read are getting trouble with many issues in their life. He is successful in affecting readers by using rhetorical throughout his essay. Kozol has also shown his talented skill of writing with logos, ethos and pathos. With logos, he is well-developed on the core of his argument, talented in appeal to readers’ emotion with pathos, and impressing readers to believe in his reliable with ethos.

People are exposed to literacy all throughout their lives through learning and experiences. The way one is exposed to literacy varies from person to person. In Deborah Brandt’s Sponsors of Literacy she states that literacy is not only the ability to read and write but also one’s ability to apply those skills to daily life. One gains much of their literacy through the different sponsors they experience. A sponsor is “any agents, local or distant, concrete or abstract, who enable, support, teach, model as well as recruit, regulate, suppress, or withhold literacy and gain advantage by it in some way” (46). Throughout Brandt’s essay she gives examples of different types of people who experienced different upbringings with a variety of sponsors.

In “Sponsors of Literacy,” author Deborah Brandt attempts to explain literacy, its history, and how there are influences that form the way we learn and practice literacy. Brandt argues that the forces that influence an individual’s literacy are sponsors of literacy. Some “forces” that Brandt discusses are influential people, such as parents, siblings, teachers, and mentors. Other forces can include culture, race, gender, language and location, access to technology, and politics. Brandt described several events in our history to help define what exactly a sponsor of literacy is. She spent several years interviewing people from all walks of life to find their unique literacy history and used them as examples in her writing. Varying ages, backgrounds, and sponsors indicate that literacy changes with each generation and is viewed as a valued commodity.

As I come home one afternoon from school, I see my mother with her brows pressed firmly against each other. I cautiously approach her because I assume she’s upset. The closer I get, the easier I can analyze her face; she abruptly hands me a letter and commands me to read it for her. I read thoroughly and begin to translate the information from english to spanish. The letter came from the IRS; informing her about a balance due next week. She, with a softer look thanked me. Her frustrated attitude quickly disappeared. But, I ask myself today, what if I wasn’t there? What if my mother would 've just put the letter aside due to her incapacity to understand, consequently missing the due date? The author of “Illiterate America”, Jonathan Kozol expresses his concern on the issue of illiteracy in America. Although his book was published in 1985, illiteracy and the examples Kozol provided in his writing remains relevant to the world we live in today. Kozol’s purpose in writing this book was to bring awareness and expose the flaws America purposely overlooks. In efforts to bring his readers out of their “comfort zones”, Kozol successfully uses the strategies of allusion, analogy, and anecdote.

Writer Jonathan Kozol, in the essay “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society,” suggests that the alarming rates of illiteracy in the U.S. are corroding the fundamentals of democracy, reinforcing the structures of inequality that created the problem to begin with. His argument draws on a range of evidence and support from multiple sources such as philosophers and historical figures, anecdotes, and first-person accounts. Kozol’s purpose is to not simply illustrate the various personal tragedies that people with underdeveloped reading skills face, but to tell his audience that such tragedies when you add them up constitute a threat to the basic values that maintain the nation as a whole.

It is unsettling to imagine what my life would be like if my father was not fortunate enough to receive the education and guidance that he had. Maybe my parents would not have left the crime-ridden streets of Johannesburg to seek safer lives. I probably would have followed in my grandfather’s footsteps and worked in the grim conditions of a South African gold mine. Perhaps I would become a discouraged alcoholic like my uncle, working as an underpaid, over-scheduled steel mill welder. It is not possible to know, but in most likelihood, I would not be in the fortunate position I am now. Education is a necessity to attain a prosperous life. A strong educational foundation must concentrate on the skills of reading and writing. Often a quality education is not accessible to lower socioeconomic class citizens, which results in those people remaining stagnant in their current class. In Sherman Alexie’s essay, “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me”, it is clear that individuals of lower class designations must seek alternate methods to become literate to compensate for the limited opportunities they have due to stereotypes that obstruct access to effective education.

Summary: In the essay, The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society” written by Jonathan Kozol, and published in Readings for Writers in 2013, Mr. Kozol is raising awareness to the literate society about the danger our people are heading towards with the lack of literacy in our country. Kozol used a few strong points to prove his point. First, the voters of our country; how they cast their vote on the candidate that attracts their eye the most. Secondly, real life situations of how people go about being illiterate. Lastly, personal stories; how it made it a bigger concern in his life.

Taking things for granted is a very common practice in society, the ability to appreciate the smaller things in life is a trait not commonly found in many. Be it having the ability to attend a university, or having the proper use of all of one’s limbs, many don’t fully understand and appreciate the gifts they have. In his work, The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society, Johnathan Kozol relates this idea to the importance of literacy, and the implications and struggles that are imposed on society and those who lack it.

Learning to read and write in English was critical when I was growing up because my parent knew next to nothing about America’s culture and language. It was extremely important to have someone in the house that could translate English into my parent’s native language. Literacy in English meant that my family was going to be free from placing our burdens on someone else’s shoulder. Through my family’s experiences, I have learned that literacy can help one acquire freedom and independence because it allows a person to communicate their ideas.

Adolescence is a trying time when one struggles to gain independence while still under authority, understand one’s roles in an unforgiving hierarchy, and still find a way to form an identity. With all of this it’s no wonder that one later looks back on the adolescent years with bittersweet nostalgia. However, it also brings to mind the influences that shape us at this critical point in time. While reading the case studies in Margaret Finders’ Just Girls: Hidden Literacies and Life in Junior High, I was struck with the realization that in my middle school and early high school years I was what Finders referred to as a tough cookie. Which lead to an important question, did my own literacy practices shape my identity or did my identity shape my literary practices? In this paper I will explore how literacy practices and literacy underlife are shaped by the processes in which adolescents build their identities.

This article named “Do Today’s Youth Read Less than Past Generations?” which support Americans to read more books and enhance reading and writing abilities, was written by Dana Gioia, who is a writer and served as the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts as well. In this article, writer wrote a number of different aspects of influences, which involved in social, economic, cultural and civic implications, when people read less, to persuade individuals to improve their reading abilities. I am of the same mind of the author; in my perspective, reading skill is a kind of basic ability for the modern civilian, it is really important in this society, even if the media technologies are developed very well.

Literacy plays a huge role in many people’s lives everyday, whether it is learning how to read and write for the first time or writing a five-page essay for the hundredth time. We experience literacy differently and have our very own unique stories on how it has impacted our lives and had made us who we are today. It is an essential aspect that I use in my everyday life, such as in relationships, daily interactions with others, and learning. It has become such a powerful aspect and human right in which it allows one to speak his/her mind and in some cases express their opinion to the world. My personal literacy history has shaped me into who I am today because without my experiences I would not have been able to gain the confidence and

Most literate people take for granted their ability to read and write. Unlike the average American, farmworkers suffer from being illiterate and having the highest dropout rates in comparison to any other group in the United States. Farmworkers are paid low wages and migrate frequently for seasonal jobs. Generation after generation this inadequate lifestyle is passed down, creating an unbreakable cycle. The young children, who may still have a chance at a better life, are deprived of the opportunity to be literate through the United States education system because of their nomadic lifestyle, which can later result in serious consequences once they face adulthood. Poverty and migration keep young children from having dreams beyond farm work.

There is a strong correlation between student illiteracy and poverty. 25% of children in America never learn how to read. Children who grow up in poverty stricken areas have extremely limited exposure to reading materials. In addition, children living in poverty experience challenges in obtaining nutritional food and tend to live in an unsafe environment, which can affect educational advancement. “According to the Heart of America foundation, 61 percent of families living in poverty do not have children's books in their homes. Consequently, children living in poverty already have a 50 percent weaker vocabulary than their wealthier peers at the start of school” (Hart). Along with the lack of reading materials, lacking proper

In this task I am going to identify 2 different theories of language development I am going to be doing, Naom Chomsky and Jean Piaget.