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Singing her praises
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Anonymous user Tue Jan 23, 2007 10:23:09 PST
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0 responses 1 comment Cori Larsen always catches her students when they try to look over a classmate’s shoulder or refer to notes written on a palm.
After cheating her way through elementary school, Larsen knows every trick in the book.
Dismissed as lazy and slow by teachers, Larsen was finally diagnosed with dyslexia in the eighth grade.  After receiving proper tutoring and encouragement, in nine months, Larsen went from reading at a second-grade level to reading at a ninth-grade level. It wasn’t until her sophomore year in high school that she learned how to write a five-sentence paragraph.
Larsen went on to earn her master’s degree in special education from Cal State Fullerton — and now, at 35, she’s in her ninth year as a special education teacher.
“I tell parents I don’t understand what it’s like to have a child with a learning disability, but I understand what it’s like from the child’s perspective,” said Larsen, who teaches 17, 9- to 12-year-old students as a Special Day Class teacher for the learning handicapped at Sing Lum Elementary School in the Panama Buena Vista Union School District in Southwest Bakersfield.
Unlike most fellow educators, Larsen became a teacher not because she was inspired by a special mentor, but because she bore the brunt of teachers’ frustrations, she said.
“I didn’t want anyone to have to go through what I went through in school,” said Larsen, who has taught in the Panama district for five years and in that time has won raves from parents.
“She’s the best educator I have ever come across,” said Lisa Crowley, whose 9-year-old son, Joey, is Larsen’s student.
According to Crowley, since the beginning of the school year Joey’s math skills have improved greatly and his penmanship is nearly perfect.
“And most importantly, his self-confidence has gone through the roof,” said Crowley, who added that although Joey has Asperger Syndrome — a high-functioning form of autism — he recently approached a waiter at a restaurant and asked for a cup, which he was far too shy to do before.
“Cori has been a source of inspiration and hope,” said Crowley, who decided against moving with her four children to Washington because of Joey’s success with Larsen. “He told me he never wants another teacher. He wants to have her forever.”
Of Larsen’s 17 students, 15 are boys, which she says isn’t unusual because disabilities are more common in boys.
About half of Larsen’s students are learning disabled. The other half have various disabilities, including speech and language impairments, ADD/ADHD (Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and emotional disorders.
Most start out in general education, are then pulled out into the district’s resource program, and eventually end up in Larsen’s class. She has many of the students for three years.
“When they get to me, they’re defeated. They don’t think they’re good at anything,” said Larsen, who combats this attitude by praising students’ efforts and by assuring them that their disabilities aren’t their fault.
That said, she also does not “baby” her students and sets high expectations.
“When things get hard, we just work harder,” said Larsen. “My big thing is to promote responsibility for one’s actions and work on the social skills necessary to be good citizens.”
Some of Larsen’s teaching methods could be described as unorthodox. For one thing, she doesn’t like homework, and never assigns more than 20 to 30 minutes of it a day.
“Studies show it doesn’t help very much. Plus, many of my students have emotional issues, and after-school work takes away from family life, which is very important,” said Larsen.
Larsen also incorporates the Lindamood-Bell learning processes — special programs to develop language and literacy skills — into her curriculum. The method develops the underlying sensory skills necessary for reading, spelling, comprehension, critical thinking and math, according to Larsen.
It’s also the method used to successfully teach Larsen once she was diagnosed with dyslexia, she said.
“It reprograms kids to feel the sounds,” said Larsen.
Larsen tries to keep the classroom routine almost the same every day so students know what to expect, which is especially helpful for students with autism, she said.
Mona Millington’s nephew, Cody Melton, 12, butted heads with Larsen at first because she is strict, but he’s since adapted and is now thriving despite his ADHD, according to Millington. 
“The children adjust to her, but she also adjusts to the children. It’s not ‘my way or no way,’” said Millington, who called Larsen a “wonderful human being.”
Larsen also encourages options other than college for her students, which Millington appreciates. She hopes Cody will one day go to a trade school, and most of all, “be socially acceptable.”
Shann Parker’s son Leo, 11, has been taught by Larsen for three years. He also has ADHD, and suffers from depression, Parker said.
“He used to cry all of the time. He was a wreck,” said Parker.
It was Larsen who specifically requested Leo be in her class, according to Parker.
“She’d always ask me, ‘When am I going to get Leo?’ She saw his potential when no one else did,” said Parker.
She credits Larsen for bringing out the best in her son and said that she’s “stabilized” him emotionally.
“When he first started with her, his handwriting was really sloppy. After only two weeks, his writing was almost perfect,” said Parker.
Parker and other parents have Larsen’s cell phone number and are on a first-name basis with her.
Larsen has also provided guidance on helping Leo make the transition to junior high, Parker said.
One of Larsen’s favorite success stories happened during her first year teaching for the district, when an autistic fourth-grader whose parents didn’t think she could read picked up Dr. Seuss’ “10 Apples on Top!” during the second week of school and began reading.
The student’s father, a civil rights attorney in L.A., was moved to tears when Larsen informed him of the good news during Back-to-School night.
“Here’s this big-shot attorney, and he was crying in front of everyone,” said Larsen, who said some students are eventually moved back into general education.
Recently, a former sixth-grade student who had been in Special Day his whole life actually raised his hand and volunteered to read aloud for his new classmates.
“His reading had improved so much that he had the confidence to do it, even with his speech impediment,” said Larsen, who credits the team at her school for such successes.
Despite the fact that Larsen has been kicked, punched and spit on during her nine years as an educator, she says she absolutely loves it, and looks forward to going to work every day.
“This is nothing — my hardest job was as a checker at Savon,” said Larsen.
Sing Lum principal Mona Wilson described Larsen as “magnificent.”
“She has a special ability to reach children who are complicated and not forthcoming with their feelings,” said Wilson, who noted that children open up to Larsen and feel safe with her. “Consequently she can get them to work for her –– and in doing so work for themselves,” said Wilson.
Despite parents’ praises, Larsen is quick to remind them that disabilities aren’t something that go away. She simply teaches children strategies for coping with them.
“Look at me — I still read better upside-down,” said Larsen, chuckling.
Her husband Paul just happens to be bi-polar.
“I don’t see his disability — or any of my students’,” said Larsen.
And while there is no magic pill for living with disabilities, compassion and education help make such a life more fulfilling, Larsen said.
“It’s my goal to see students grow academically and socially,” said Larsen, who also quoted one of her favorite sayings:
“I can’t change the wind, but I can adjust the sails.”

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Comment From: jkappel

Cori Larsen is a personal friend. I knew she was good at what she does, but this article really shines for you Cori! Your humble spirit is a thing of beauty! Keep up the great work, I am praying for you!