Source Note: “Interview with Deb Larsen”

March 13, 2009 in Research Project

Title: “Interview with Deb Larsen”

Summary: High school teacher feels NCLB has caused public educators to prioritize the wrong elements of the classroom experience.

Topic: Should the Obama Administration reform the No Child Left Behind Act?

Category: Citizen; Personal Interview

Publication Information: N/A (Face-to-Face Interview)

Author: Thomas Moriarty, interviewer, and Deb Larsen, subject

Location: N/A

Accessed: March 12, 2009

Support:

• Mathematics: Deb states the biggest issue she’s seen with the mathematics requirements is the effect it has on the way teachers determine their curriculum at the beginning of the year. While she says her school had a poor track record with math to begin with, it has only worsened as teachers are forced to lower their grading standards and homogenize lesson plans just to make the district and state requirements.
• Reading: Deb says the high school has created a remedial reading class to bring students with poor reading scores up to benchmark. The problem with this, she says, is that the program doesn’t go far enough back to address the real issues with their reading difficulties.
• General attitude of fellow teachers: Deb feels many teachers at her school are now focused solely on getting their entire classes to meet proficiency benchmarks, and aren’t devoting enough time to one-on-one instruction of students. On whether NCLB should be repealed or merely reformed: Deb feels that reform would be preferable to outright repealing the law, as there is a definite need for some form of standardized testing.

Audience and Agenda: Deb Larsen is a speech and psychology teacher at Marshfield High School in Coos Bay, OR. She has been employed by the Coos Bay School District for over 20 years.

Usefulness: My interview with Deb provides a glimpse into the world of the modern high school teacher as they struggle to come to terms with the reality of the post-NCLB era. It also serves to confirm the findings of of other researchers and the beliefs of many legislators regarding the burden placed on individual schools by No Child Left Behind.

Advertisement