Interview Questions

Person A: Shelley Ratner is a forty-eight-year-old Caucasian woman who grew up in Pasadena,

CA.
Person B: Michael Ratner is a fifty-year-old Caucasian male who grew up in Doylestown, PA.

1. “What is your date and place of birth?”

Person A: “September 29, 1972. Groton, Connecticut.”
Person B: “July 16, 1970. Rochester, New York.”

2. “What is your gender and race?”

Person A: “Caucasian female”
Person B: “Caucasian male”

3. “What city and state did you grow up in?”

Person A: “Pasadena, California”
Person B: “Doylestown, Pennsylvania”

4. “What are your parents’ schooling and occupations?”

Person A: “My father was an OB-GYN, and he received his medical degree, MD. He graduated
from Ohio State University. My mother had an MA in education from Ohio State University. My
mother has an MFCC from Phillip’s Graduate Institute. She also has a BA from Ohio University.
Her current occupation is a marriage and family therapist.”
Person B: “My father graduated from Villanova University with a degree in Business. He was
Vice President of an oil company called Sun Company. My mother graduated from Temple
University with a degree in History. She then was in politics for a little and then became a
homemaker.”

5. “What are the names and locations of all the schools you have attended?”
Person A: “Polytechnic School K-12 in Pasadena, California. UC Santa Barbara in Santa
Barbara, California. I graduated with a BA in French and received an MFCC from Phillip’s
Graduate Institute.”
Person B: “I attended Peace Valley Elementary School. Then, I attended Unami Middle School. I
then graduated from Central Bucks West High School. I have a bachelor's degree in Biomedical
Engineering from the University of Vermont. I also have a master’s degree in Biochemical
Engineering from the University of Virginia.”

6. “What is your past occupation? What is your current occupation?”

Person A: “I was an Investment Banker at Morgan Stanley for four years. I then worked as a
venture capitalist at Safeguard Scientifics. My current occupation is a homemaker.”
Person B: “I was an Investment Banker at Morgan Stanley for eight years. I was head of
corporate development for drugstore.com. I was CFO of a company called Bocada, Inc. I am
currently the CEO of Fate Therapeutics, which is a biotechnology company.”

7. “What are your earliest childhood memories of seeing other people reading and writing?”
Person A: “My mother used to read romance novels at home for fun. She also read popular
novels at the time. My father would write in his office when I was a child.”
Person B: “My father read Dr Suess books and mixed in inappropriate words. I found the
reading humorous because I enjoyed the colorful language that he added to the children’s books.
My mother used to study for college, and I would see her reading textbooks and journals.”

8. “What are your earliest childhood memories of self-reading and self-writing?”

Person A: “I remember writing in my diary when I was about twelve years old. I recall having a
pen pal from Ohio, and her name was Sarah. I also remember writing to child stars from popular
television shows in the 1980s. The book contained all their addresses to send them fan mail.
Unfortunately, none of the child stars ever wrote me back.”
Person B: “I used to enjoy reading the Hardy Boys books. I would write book reports in schools,
and I recall writing poetry for girls in my class. I would love to read Sports Illustrated Magazine.
I would read novels cover to cover, and I appreciated a good novel. I read the sports section of
the newspaper when I had my cereal every morning.”

9. “What are your earliest memories of direct or indirect instruction?”

Person A: “My earliest memory of direct instruction was in Kindergarten. I mostly remember
them singing the alphabet on the way out the door. I also remember them teaching us how to tie
our shoes and read a clock.”
Person B: “I remember learning mathematics with flashcards, and my teacher used to do a
contest where he would have two people compete with flashcards. When the teacher held up the
flashcards, the person who got the right answer would continue competing. He would go through
the entire class and see who would win. I used to enjoy winning during the mathematics
flashcard game.”

10. “Who do you remember reading to you the most as a child?”

Person A: “My mother read to me the most as a child. I also had a babysitter who would love to
read to me named Sloane. They both read children’s books aloud to me before I went to bed.”
Person B: “My father used to read to me the most as a child. He used to read Sports Illustrated
Magazines to me as well.”

11. “Who are the people you associated with reading and writing during your childhood?”
Person A: “My mother. I remember she would make me write letters so I could perfect my
cursive writing and make sure I always had perfect punctuation. She remembers her mother
asking her questions and her mother would write a personal memory book for her. She also still
writes in cursive to this day.”
Person B: “I associated reading and writing with teachers. I learned reading and writing in
school from my educators, and I then associated the act of literacy with my teachers. They taught
me how to write the alphabet and how to form sentences.”

12. “What role did technology play in your childhood experiences with literacy?”
Person A: “I remember getting a typewriter, and I used that to write my papers in middle school.
I received my first Apple computer when I was in high school. I took a typing class during
summer school to make myself type faster. I recall playing typing games on the computer to
improve my accuracy.”
Person B: “I do not recall utilizing technology to expand my literacy. My parents wanted me to
go to bed at a specific hour every night, but I had an addiction to the Hardy Boys series. Due to
my insomnia and my love for reading, I utilized a flashlight when I was supposed to be asleep to
continue reading.”

13. “What are your earliest memories of writing and reading during school?”
Person A: “In second grade, I wrote a true story about my dogs killing my cat on Christmas Day.
I received the cat as a Christmas present, and my two labrador retrievers killed it in front of me.
My friend in the classroom had to draw my story.”
Person B: “In fourth grade, I did a book report on Abraham Lincoln that I was extremely proud
of. In sixth grade, I wrote a short story about a bike race for my elementary school, and I came
in the first place prize. In the classroom, we had to write Valentine’s Day cards to each other and
to be funny; I wrote a mean card. Due to the cards being anonymous, I thought I could get away
with it. I ended up confessing to writing the mean Valentine, and I got sent to the principal’s
office.”

14. “What are your memories of self-instruction?”

Person A: “I remember having to teach myself mathematics when I could not understand it. I
was not able to look up instructions on the Internet or a computer. I always tried to ask my
teachers for help because we did not have the same access to technology that we do today.”
Person B: “I taught myself how to use a magnifying glass to light leaves on fire. I enjoyed seeing
the flames, and that was a big accomplishment for me.”

15. “What kinds of materials were available for school-based reading and writing?”
Person A: “I received pencils and pens for Christmas in my stocking. I also used notebooks and
three holed lined paper. I used typewriters which were extremely stressful for typing my middle
school essays. I finally was able to use a computer and a printer in high school.”
Person B: “There was a school library where I remember checking out novels about sports teams
that won championships. I was super interested in teams that won the Super Bowls in the 1970s,
and I would read about the team’s seasons.”

16. “What role did technology play on your mental health as a teenager?”
Person A: “We did not have iPhones, email, social media back then, so it did not affect my
mental health. The only way we could communicate was through phone or in person. I was a
pretty happy teenager.”
Person B: “Technology was essential for my mental health because I loved to play Atari and
handheld electronic games called Hasbro. I loved playing electronic football and baseball games
on my handheld devices, and I would come home from school and play games.”

17. “What was your view of people who were literate?”

Person A: “I respected literate people, and I always wished I had more interest in reading for
fun, except picture books. I always equated literacy with being intellectual. My father was a
doctor and was always reading medical journals to make sure he was on top of the best and most
advanced technology in the medical field. I was motivated by my father’s dedication to his job,
which drove me to want to be successful in my educational career. I noticed that literate people
had more opportunities and upward mobility.”
Person B: “I admired literate people. I thought literate people were also intelligent. I enjoyed
reading for amusement, and I had a passion for reading novels. I was motivated to become
literate because I looked up to intelligent people.”

18. “What organizations or extracurricular activities did you participate in that involved
reading or writing?”
Person A: “I worked in my father’s office, and I had to read many charts and take notes. I was in
the French club, and we learned how to read and write in French. I had a pen pal in my French
class that lived in France. I was in the National Charity League, and my role was the secretary,
and I had to write down all of the meeting notes.”
Person B: “I participated in theatre and plays. I was Tom Sawyer in my school play during
elementary school. I believe that it was about when I was in second grade. I enjoyed
participating in theatre, and I had the lead in the school play.”

19. “What are significant events in the process of your learning how to write?”
Person A: “After every birthday party, my mother would make me write thank-you notes by hand
and in cursive. Before the computer, we had to take notes and write essays all by hand.”
Person B: “The theatre helped expose me to literacy through the educational institutions that I
attended. I enjoyed reading and writing when reviewing the script. I appreciated the theatre and
had a desire to act.”
 20. “What is the importance of reading and writing in your daily life?”
Person A: “I enjoy reading news articles every day, and I spend time on social media reading
updates from my friends. I write emails to my friends in different states to keep in touch. I enjoy
going on Facebook and posting for my friends and family to see, especially during the pandemic.
I enjoy reading for fun on vacation and getting caught up on specific books. I have been in a
book club for ten years, and we meet monthly to discuss the book of the month.”
Person B: “I communicate with employees and investors. I am the CEO of a Biotechnology
Company, and literacy is critical to apply them with clear direction and to motivate them. I have
to write every day to get information out to my employees and communicate our results and
accomplishments to investors.”

21. “What motivations influence you to want to improve your reading and writing?”
Person A: “My book club motivates me to want to read books to be able to discuss them. I want
to improve my literacy to become more educated about world events. I think literacy is important
when it comes to understanding politics and I love educating myself on different political
viewpoints and perspectives.”
Person B: “I enjoy interacting with my employees. Due to COVID-19, written literacy has
become very important to communicate with others. It is essential to be literate through written
literacy such as email to communicate with others across the country.”

22. “What is your sense of how people, in general, learn to read and write?”
Person A: “I believe that it starts with their parents at a young age by teaching their child the
alphabet and different consonant sounds. My parents did alphabet puzzles with me to teach me
the alphabet. They also made me play hooked on phonics games.”
Person B: “I believe that people learn to read to write through their parents as a sponsor. During
a young age, I believe parents instil the importance of literacy on their children. I think it helps
children succeed in the future through the sponsorship of their parents.”

23. “How do you use reading and writing in your career field?”
Person A: “As a mother, I read to my children when they were growing up, and I taught them
how to read and write.”
Person B: “I use reading in my career field, having to read and analyze scientific papers to
determine the company’s future strategies. I want to be knowledgeable about current information
to see what other companies are doing as well.”

24. “What role does technology play in your life today?”

Person A: “I use technology on my iPhone to keep in touch with my friends, my husband, and my
children. I use my iPhone to keep up with news articles and watch videos. I use technology to get
me from one destination to another. I use my iPhone to check the weather and post updates on
Facebook. I use social media to connect with my friends on the Internet.”
Person B: “Technology is essentially how I access information. I use technology to communicate
ideas and learn information about the world around me. I use my computer on the daily to
communicate through email to people in my company.”