Source Form #27

Title:  Education Secretary Arne Duncan

 

http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/2009/03/education-secretary-arne-duncan/

 

Summary:  Tom Ashbrook interviews Secretary Duncan about the $100 billion he received to work on American Education.  Duncan is also answers to callers who have various questions about charter schools, No Child Left Behind and higher education.

 

Topic:  http://msaraceno.wordpress.com/question/

 

Category:  This is a journalistic source.

 

What is it?  This is a radio interview of Arne Duncan on NPR.

 

Publication Information:  The broadcast was on March 5, 2009.  The broadcast is playable at onpointradio.org.

 

Author:  The interviewer is Tom Ashbrook, On Point’s host and an award-winning journalist.

 

Location: http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/2009/03/education-secretary-arne-duncan/

 

Accessed: March 8, 2009

 

Support:  This is a straightforward interview and no supporting characters are brought in to backup or fight against Secretary Duncan.  Duncan uses Chicago schools as his main basis of argument for change in education.  Duncan’s experience in Chicago leads listeners to believe he may be experienced enough with disadvantaged students, teachers and districts to handle the issues facing Title IA funding.  At times Ashbrook brings in recorded feeds of President Obama talking, Duncan is asked to respond to these by explaining how he is living up to the expectations being laid down by President Obama in his speeches.  These clips are a way to get conversations going between the interviewer and interviewee about certain topics or to shift from one topic to another. 

 

Audience and Agenda:  The show covers topics interesting to many walks of life.  The audience is growing as more people find out about its topics.  The show has only existed since 9/11.  This is an interactive source where people can call in and ask questions they are having about what’s going on with the show.  The effect of interactivity leads to people against the views of Ashbrook to listen because they can call in and criticize.  Radio is an important source in that it provides people with a medium to listen while they may be doing other things at work or on the way to work. 

 

Usefulness:  This broadcast provides 45 minutes of one-on-one with Arne Duncan.  The importance is high because he is answering the many questions people are having with what is going on with the money and specifically what is going on with NCLB which directly relates to Title I-A Funds.  As a result, the information is in line with many of the conclusions I have drawn from other sources, which is that the administration has no idea what they are going to do because so much needs to be changed before it is going to work—money or no money.  As a validation of such it was interesting to here so much emphasis on charter school programs and data based ideas.  Another source I have located ridicules data as a whole for producing anything that can transfer from state-to-state.  Thus, the relevance of Duncan talking about how much of a need there is to use such strategies is going against the grain of another voice and adds to the disagreement—creating a more structured line for both sides.

 

Works Cited: http://www.aei.org/include/pub_print.asp?pubID=29301

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