Recorded Interview, Effective Oral and Written Communications

The People Interviewed

Meredith Donnelly

Miss Mere has been in Doulos ever since I got there, which was in 9th grade. She is one

of the best art teachers Doulos has ever had and I have taken that class a ton because I love art.

She is one of the teachers that knows me best.

Philip Croom

Mr. Croom is my social studies teacher in Doulos. He has been there a full two years

teaching me World History, Economics, and Government. He’s only been in Doulos a short time,

but he’s seen enough of my actions in class to have a valid say.

Kerry Russel Dougan

Kerry is actually my father. He gave me homeschool on basically all subjects including

Math, Science, History, and English. He taught me from 4th grade to 8th.

Milagros Geraldina Calderón Soler de Dougan

Milagros Dougan was my fourth-grade teacher who taught me Math, Spanish, Dominican

Social Studies, and Science. Even though she taught me a long time ago her word is still valid

because she is my mother and she teach me things about life every day.

Questions and Answers

1. In which language do you think I express myself best? Why?

a. Croom: Honestly, Alina is one of my students who could go either way. But, in

our class, she uses English ‘cause it’s a requirement in class and honestly she’s

one of those that adheres to it really well. I don’t hear her speaking a lot of
 Spanish in class. From what I ‘ve seen and from what I’ve gathered she uses her

English very well.

b. Kerry: I would think probably English. Most of your education has been in

English. You’ve read a lot more in English than in Spanish.

c. Milagros: I think you express yourself well in both languages in English as well

as in Spanish.

2. Have you seen me using my language abilities well during your classes? How?

a. Meredith: Yes. I have seen you write artist statements and short stories to

coincide with your projects and they have always communicated well what

you’ve desired to execute in your projects.

b. Kerry: I haven’t given you classes for a while. I think so. I continue to be most

impressed with the English classes you gave to 3 girls. You obviously did a good

job with that. English is a language skill.

c. Milagros: I think you know the grammar well in Spanish. I only taught you in

Spanish.

3. Do I express my honest opinion fully and well?

a. Meredith: Yes. You definitely express your opinion honest and well… and fully.

You are unafraid to speak your mind when it comes to talking about art that you

do or don’t like and your always really communicative of how or why you have

the opinions that you do on projects that you’ve done or students have done or

other artists have done.

b. Croom: Very, very well. Alina is not scared to voice her opinion even if it may

get her in trouble sometimes. She does a good job of posing her opinion and
 letting people know. And she understands when certain things are appropriate and

certain things aren’t appropriate and she knows when to draw the line. She does a

good job in that.

c. Kerry: Sometimes yeah. Not very, shall we say, prudently at all times. You

always express your honest opinion. And sometimes when you probably

shouldn’t express it. And you always tend to like the weird side of things. So, if

your opinion is different than everybody else’s you definitely like to express it.

4. How often have you seen me reading and understanding a text to my best abilities?

a. Meredith: When you’re not working on a project you’re always reading and I’m

assuming you are understanding what you are reading because you do it often.

b. Croom: We read a lot in class and write a lot. And I hear Alina talk about things

that she’s read. And her tests in my class prove that she gains a pretty good

understanding of the material in Civics, which is what we’re studying write now.

So, I think that what she reads and picks up, she does a really good job of

interpreting and developing her own opinion about it. But, also knowing, what’s

being asked of her. Material and content wise, I think she does a good job of that.

c. Kerry: How often? The better question is how often have I not seen you reading?

And I really can’t think of many times. You’ve read pretty much constantly since

I taught you to read and you always enjoyed being read to as well. Obviously, you

must understand it or you wouldn’t be reading so much.

5. In formal presentations have you seen me use professional speech in English and

Spanish?
 a. Meredith: I have seen you use English in our class critiques when you speak

about your own work or the work of others. You use correct vocabulary in

sentences. I haven’t see you use Spanish in my class, but that’s because we use

English in my class. I have seen you use Spanish in Expedition Night. So, yes.

b. Kerry: Yeah. Especially in your expedition night I’ve seen you use formal speech

in English and Spanish.

c. Milagros: Yes. I have. Like the last expedition night, I taped it, and it sounds

very professional. Even Sarah said that.

6. Have you seen me thoroughly understand given instructions?

a. Meredith: Yes. I have seen you understand thorough instruction and if you don’t

understand you are quick to ask a question to clarify.

b. Kerry: That’s not a point that really sticks out in my mind. So, probably, the

answer is yes because if you didn’t thoroughly understand instructions I think I

would remember it.

c. Milagros: I think you understand instructions, yes. But sometimes you don’t

follow them.

7. What do you think of my possible career in creative or screenplay writing?

a. Meredith: I think you are an incredibly creative person. I’ve seen your passion

for film since day 1. So, I have no doubt that you are desired to go to that

industry. I have no doubt you will be able to accomplish that.

b. Croom: Well she’s definitely versed in this area. She knows her movies and she

knows her writers and just anybody who’s involved in movies and film. So, I

don’t know what her specific roll would be in that but she has a very strong
 interest and has studied it in depth. So, I think she can go far and do well. I know

she likes a particular genre so, my advice would be branch out a little bit and

explore other genres. But, yeah, that’s something I think she could be very

successful in.

c. Kerry: I think it would entirely be a possibility. You’ve read a lot which gives

you a good background. So, if you keep working on your creativity and I think

you could certainly launch in that direction, but it isn’t an easy field.

8. Have you ever known me to be dishonest?

a. Milagros: No. I think you are a pretty honest person. Sometimes to honest. Like

being very direct.

9. Have you ever been able to not understand me when I speak?

a. Kerry: I don’t really remember not being able to understand you except maybe

when you use some Spanish word I don’t know.

10. Do you think writing and speaking are some of my strengths?

a. Meredith: Yes. I think you definitely have a heart for writing. I think that as long

that you’re open to critique you’ll have a future in writing.

b. Croom: Certainly. Alina loves to write and speak. Obviously, we all have things

that we enjoy speaking about more. We find out in class what her interests are, a

lot of times its movies, certain screenplays or screen writes. I think she does a

very good job of that. Yes, I would say that writing and speaking are some of her

strengths.

c. Kerry: think they’re some of your strengths. Especially because you like them.

You really like to write stories and you like to tell new stories as much as you like
to read one. I would say writing more than speaking. Except of course on

expedition night when you have to speak more.