Blog for January 19th:
My sister and I always have the same fight. Without fail we habitually argue about cleaning up. Since I usually helped my sister wash her dishes, clean her room, and tidy up before her friends come over, I expected that she would do the same but that is where I was wrong. My mother usually butted in mid-screaming match and advised that “one should not do for others, expecting anything in return.” After several reoccurring fights and maturing I have found this advice useful but it contradicts Brandt’s theory that sponsors of literacy encourage literate activities to “gain advantage.”
I think this idea of “gain[ing] advantage” and sponsorship does not encompass the job of a teacher. While Brandt list teachers as a main sponsor of literacy I do not think that teachers choose a life of reading/writing instruction for personal gain. As an aspiring teacher I can say that I plan to teach reading/writing for the sole benefit of my deserving students. The barely there money incentives of teaching is definitely not what I am seeking walking into my classroom each day. Frankly even in my future career my mother’s advice pertains, I will teach for students but I do not expect any personal “advantage” from them. So my question is, are school teachers really sponsors of literacy?