Brandt Assignment

Greg Warman

10-1-12

Eng 1510

Brandt Assignment

                Brandt argues the changes in literacy over the course of 1895 to 1985.  In this argument she uses examples from the lives of a few people.  The example she uses of Raymond Branch and Dora Lopez really was an eye opener for me.  I can relate to the literacy journey that Raymond had: being born into a well-off family, having an expectation from everyone around me (family, friends, etc.)  to become educated by using all the new technology and learning tools that surround me in the community.  His story really made me think of myself and really see how education and literacy came about not so much because I yearned to acquire a better understanding and knowledge of language, but because it’s what everyone else did, what my parents wanted me to do, and what I was expected to do.  After reading about Dora’s story and how she had taught herself how to read and write and then went so far as to teach her family also, it opened my eyes to how much of a blessing and necessity it is to be literate.  For some people, like myself, I really overlooked the underlining reasoning of literacy.  I thought everyone was literate and going through the same processes as me.  After reading Dora’s story, I am now aware of how lucky I was to receive the education I did and developing my literacy.