From the reading, I learned that everyone has their own journey and struggles with literacy. They just find a way to deal with it and get to the point where they want to be, for example, Cisneros. She was the only daughter in a family of six sons. She wanted approval with her writing from her dad and instead of taking that negatively, she took that as a positive literacy sponsorship.

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A time when I encountered an alien literacy was when I had to say a script in front of my classmates in drama class. I was so nervous at the time because I was afraid of speaking in front of the public. I was unfamiliar with the words and pronunciation of the script. I was in six grade at that time and I was still developing my literacy. To perform well and get a good score in the class, I kept memorizing the lines over and over again. I would give the paper to my sister and practice the lines. I also searched up the words that were strange and unusual to me. After a few days, the time had come where I had to perform in front of the class. My performance wasn’t perfect but it went pretty smooth due to all the practice I had done over the past couple of days.

This reading by Pasqualin was interesting. I liked reading this essay. It made me keep on reading and finish it till the end because it was understandable and easy. I also like how he applied the events that occurred in his life. He used the work experiences and turned them into deeper meanings. I can relate to this essay because he was a foreigner in a new country just like me and he was still developing his literacy throughout his life.

The main point Pasqualin is trying to make is there are going to be struggles and obstacles in our life and we need to learn how to coop with it positively without panicking. He was calm and thorough when problems happened in his life like when his mother called junks to his books.

Some ways I can use reading to help me shape my literacy for MA2 are by using my experiences, taking notes while reading, and read books to find a motto like Pasqualin from each book.

Question #5 from pg. 99

Raymond Branch was a European American male who was born in 1969. He is the son of a professor and a real estate. Branch received a computer as his first gift. He could go to his father’s lab and mess around with computer programming. Not only that but also go to computer hardware and software stores to fool around. He was sponsored by the labs, newest technologies, and most educated personnel. He had financial support throughout his life and didn’t have to worry about anything. Branch had everything he wanted and needed.

On the other hand, Dora Lopez was a Mexican American female who was born in the Texas border. Her father was a bookkeeper and her grandparents were migrant workers. Dora was 13 years old when she was exposed to computers. She received a used word processing machine from the campus as her first gift. Lopez taught herself to read and write. Her family had to travel 150 miles to get groceries and Spanish-language newspapers and magazines. Lopez was sponsored by her parents, basically whatever they could provide her such as mailroom, bookstore, second-hand technology.

Overall, Branch had more privileges and opportunities compared to Lopez where she had little privileges. I agree with Brandt’s claim because it’s true that race and class impact one individual’s literacy and access.

Question #1 from pg. 100

My literacy history is similar to Lopez’s. Back in Nepal, I went to schools that were made out of bamboos. There weren’t any chairs or tables to sit so we had to sit on the floor, carpet underneath the mud. I came to America in 2010 with my family and I didn’t know how to speak English. I learned to read and write in a newcomer center in Twin Falls, Idaho. Also, by watching cartoons, videos, movies, on YouTube. Both of my parents are uneducated. My dad traveled to a few different states looking for a job. It was difficult adapting to the environment and adjusting everything such as food, language, friends, clothes, etc. As I grew up, I learned more about this new culture. I would have to go to the public library to read books. I got my first phone when I was a sophomore in high school. My family and I had financial issues growing up and less access to books, and computers. My sponsors are my parents, grandma, cousin, siblings, teachers throughout middle school and high school.

Appropriation between Sarah Steele and Carol White

Brandt ideas were kind of surprising to me because it said we are all shaped by many factors and we are a literate person on our own practices and history. Something that spoke to me was about the values of literacy. My sponsors helped me be who I am today.

In this chapter, I was surprised by how there was so much about writing. As I started reading the book, I understood what writing is, what it does, and how it’s more than just writing. I was confused about the CARS model because I don’t fully get what it is trying to say. If I were to pick one of the threshold concepts and study in-depth this semester then it would be about student’s belief about good writing not having grammatical errors. Genre is a recurring kind of text. It can help me undertake my in-school and out-of-school writing tasks by going over, again and again, the learning material. You can read rhetorically through text by finding its value. Writing and reading impact the writer and the reader. The writer should have a clear message that wants to send to the readers and the readers should send or reply honest feedback about how the writing is.
Key terms:

•  Threshold concept – idea that changes your thinking which you can’t unsee and go back.  
• Rhetoric – set of principles they’re using often unconsciously to shape their communication and make decisions about it. 
• Exigence – need or reason for a given action or communication.

I am having difficulties adapting to this new environment. I have been stress lately by a lot of things but I will get through it. I have learned so much in this little time. It’s confusing to manage this school work because every class has different tools that they require us to use.