Kayla

Victim

“The popularity of the victim narrative in student texts indicates that students associate school-based literacy practices with oppression and even cruelty.”(Alexander 618)

” I received pretty good grades on my writing assignments, never anything too terrible. Then I got to high school an every bit of confidence that I had about writing was stripped. Freshmen year of high school my English teacher, Mr. Stritch, was the person who ruined writing for me.”(Kayla)

The quote from Kayla’s text, relays a simple and easy connection to the concept of of the victim narrative, as she feels victimized and oppressed by her highschool teacher.

Sam

Positive Sponsor of Literacy

” Sponsors are entities who need our literacy as much or more than we do. They are investors, cultivators, exploiters, proselytizers, innovators, and they are in competition with other sponsors for the formidable powers and benefits that can come their way via our literacy.”(Brandt 331)

“There was something about her patience and encouragement that made me feel that with her help, I could get the hang of this. She went on to describe to me what writing was in further detail.”(Sam)

Sam’s teacher was a very positive literary sponsor for him, he was struggling to get a grasp on what he needed to do, and his teacher helped him along. This set him up for a positive outtake on literacy for his future.

Hannah

Victim

“In victim narratives, students wrote about negative school-based literacy experiences that stigmatized and marked them, including being misread by poor or insensitive teachers, having a “masterpiece” ruined by a teacher’s notorious red ink”(Anderson 617)

“When I finally got my paper back, all I felt was disappointment. I couldn’t believe what I saw, I looked at my paper and saw a B- minus circled in the top right corner. I did not understand.”(Hannah)

Hannah had written a paper that she thought was very well done, but when she received the grade she did, she was crushed, since it had been something so personal that she had worked so very hard on.

Blake

Hero

“Who is the hero, the villain, the most powerful person, and the least powerful person? Do these roles shift, and, if they do, when and how? “(Williams 344)

“The story was missing a period. I was so mad at myself for wasting all that time over a silly period. So back to the teacher’s room I go to show her I finally finished and could go out to recess.”(Blake)

Blake was the hero of his own story, in the beginning he was the least powerful person, he had no idea what to do about his paper. His teacher didn’t just hand him the answers, they made him find them for himself. By the end he was the most powerful character of his story, and he made his own success, making him the hero of this narrative.