Tyler J. Eppley
Project 3
English 308J
Instructor: Matthew Vetter
Literacy, the ability to read and write, is the backbone and overall structure to
learning any type of information. Without literacy our world would struggle and crumble
to the very dust from which it rose. Literacy is something that is dynamic and
complicated. It is something that can’t be pinned down to simply reading directly from a
book or perhaps composing words onto a piece of paper. It is far more complex than that.
Literacy is something that can be accounted for through newspapers, books, the internet,
television, discourse communities and many other resources. As stated literacy is
something so active and diverse that it is constantly being influenced by different source
materials and situations. Being able to identify your literacy elements is rather difficult
and hard to understand, but the best way to attack this question of literacy is to first
identify your sponsorship. Sponsorship in a simplified version is the people and elements
in your life that have affected your literacy and developed it thereafter; in “Sponsors of
Literacy” by Deborah Brandt she emphasizes that, “Sponsors seemed a fitting term for
the figures who turned up most typically in people’s memories of literacy learning”
(335). During this essay I will personally talk about my literacy history and how it has
been influenced and developed throughout portions of my life through sponsors and
discourse communities.
My literacy journey began in my very home. I was home schooled until my
freshman year of high school. So the majority of my base literacy skills came from my
family. My mother, Lorna Eppley, was my instructor during the home schooling years of
my life. I can vividly remember the flash cards that she used to hold up in front of my
brother and I. The flash cards had simple vowels scripted on the front and on the back
Tyler J. Eppley
Project 3
English 308J
Instructor: Matthew Vetter
were examples of the vowels incorporated into words and phrases. I can remember
distinctly hearing her voice saying A, E, I, O, U repeatedly. Jamming this information in
my head was tiresome and repetitive at the time and that memory of boredom is etched
into my mind permanently. Home schooling was always difficult and frustrating for me
as a child. My 17 month older brother, Samuel Eppley, and I were started at the same
time for my mother’s ease in teaching and also to humor me. Although I struggled had
frustration, I never wanted to give up. I wanted to learn and remain in the same grade as
Sam. Also having to home school two children in the same grade would be much more
efficient and simplified compared to teaching two kids in separate grades. So, as long as
my grades stayed up I would stay in the same grade as my brother. This was a constant
struggle for me in the literacy aspect. I can remember taking reading and comprehension
exams throughout the years and my brother would be dominate in every aspect. I on the
other hand would struggle. Having the feeling of discomfort and embarrassment of not
being able to read as quickly or proficiently as my brother caused me to turn my back on
reading. Burned into my mind I can still see those dreaded reading and comprehension
books with their glossy gray and black covers. The memory of Mom telling us to open to
a certain short story in our comprehension books and then setting the timer for the
appropriate amount on our GE microwave is a memory that is neither enjoyable or one I
want to re-live. I can recall the timer winding down and not being finished, my brother
on the other hand finished countless minutes before me. Scrambling I would answer the
question at the end of each comprehension portion and turn in my results. Of course my
words per minute were slower than Sam’s and my comprehension was no where near his
Tyler J. Eppley
Project 3
English 308J
Instructor: Matthew Vetter
expertise. I believe this is what developed my hatred toward reading of any sort as a
child in elementary school.
Due to my hatred of reading I learned to develop my literacy through other facets
such as writing. I greatly enjoyed writing. I loved the feeling of formulating thoughts and
getting them down on paper. It was a sense of release for me and it seemed to be
something that could flow generously from my mind. My literacy and development of
vocabulary came through sponsors such as; the discourse community of my family, using
synonyms application available in Microsoft Word, and using the dictionary.com to find
more intellectual and defining words while writing. Having a small background in the
reading aspect of literacy tremendously hurt my development in grammar. From reading
people develop the skill of understanding sentence structure, punctuation, and spelling.
These are all aspects which I struggle with today due to my lack of passion for reading.
Rather than having a firm grasp on the development of a sentence with all the correct
punctuations and spelling, I now have a slim grasp of it. Instead I plunge myself into
developing a sentence and just fling my thoughts down on the page. I believe this creates
my love for writing. Being able to just cut loose and attack the page gives what I believe
to be a unique style to my composition. This style of compositions creates a warm and
tangible aspect for the readers of my work.
Taking a step back, although I never had a joy for reading during my childhood I
do remember one instance that started to swing my feeling from absolute hatred of
reading to a more relaxed dislike for it. During my junior high years I began to read the
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien. What spurred my quest to read such a large
Tyler J. Eppley
Project 3
English 308J
Instructor: Matthew Vetter
series of books was due to the release of “The Lord of the Rings” movies. Upon watching
the first movie I decided that I wanted to enhance my understanding of the story line and
characters. I distinctly recall opening up the massive thousand plus page book and never
feeling a sense of rush or doubt that I would finish it. The book was enjoyable and
although slow at times it never distracted me from reading it. I believe that perhaps the
combination of the literacy sponsorship of the movies combined with the books created
an atmosphere that was relaxed and comfortable to me as an individual. This was the
turning point of my absolute hatred toward reading.
Upon moving forward in my life into high school I was presented with multiple
sponsors now, rather than just my mother and family members. Now all of the sudden I
was surrounded by hundreds of fellow student, teachers, coaches, and faculty members
that I never had met before. The opportunity for my literacy to take a major turn for the
better had arisen. Being home schooled and growing up in a strong Baptist family meant
that I was rather sheltered as a child. Now entering into high school I was exposed to
numerous foreign words and phrases, that to be honest I hadn’t heard or experienced
before. Also while entering high school I joined the football and baseball team. These
two sports during my high school years completely and utterly turned my literacy around.
To this day I frequently catch myself describing nearly anything by correlating it to sports
or team work. A plethora of knowledge had been dumped into my lap that for the most
part I soaked in. While participating in sports I developed a passion for football and for
learning everything there was to know about it. I began to read anything I could get my
hands on about football. Football was something that was simple, yet complex. The goal
Tyler J. Eppley
Project 3
English 308J
Instructor: Matthew Vetter
is simply to score touchdowns and prevent the other team from doing so. Then again the
complexity of blocking assignments for the offense line, the footwork that was necessary
for a simple hand off by the quarterback, and the outside contain assignments of a gunner
on the punt team were things that interested me. I yearned to learn more and be as well
versed as possible in these areas. This yearning for knowledge created a door to swing
open for my literacy development. Correlating sports with reading and research helped to
once again dampen my hatred for reading as The Lord of the Rings did during my junior
high years.
Finally, once being accepted into Ohio University there was again a major
opportunity to develop my literacy. In my years of college thus far the development of
my speech, writing, reading, and research skills is tremendous. Ohio University has
allowed my literacy to flourish in a way I have never seen before. Professors have
challenged me to increase my reading habits. In turn my grammar knowledge has
increased greatly. I do still struggle with very basic punctuation at times but I see this as a
reflection of my younger years and my ignorance in despising read. Ohio University has
also exponential increased technology’s sponsorship on my literacy. Before college I had
general computer skills but absolutely no knowledge when dealing with actual computer
language. After taking a programming in C class and working with Auto CAD my
knowledge and literacy elements dealing with technology has sky-rocketed. Although
technology and computers are irreplaceable parts of our society today, they will never
totally replace the general and traditional literacy practices; as Dennis Baron argued and
emphasized in “From Pencils to Pixels”, “I will not join in the hyperbole of predictions
Tyler J. Eppley
Project 3
English 308J
Instructor: Matthew Vetter
about what the computer will or will not do for literacy, though I will be the first to praise
computers, to acknowledge the importance” (423). Looking back I would love to have a
chance to change my literacy habits in elementary school. I believe that with a little more
work and dedication I could have become an avid reader that was passionate about books,
magazines, newspapers, and any other type of material I could lay my hands on.
Hopefully one day I’ll find that person that I lost during my childhood years of fear and
doubt.
Works Cited
Deborah, Brant. “Sponsors of Literacy.” Writing About Writing. Elizabeth Wardle and
Doug Downs. Boston, MA. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. 87. Print.
Baron, Dennis. “From Pencils to Pixels.” Writing About Writing. Elizabeth Wardle and
Doug Downs. Boston, MA. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. 87. Print.