Stand and Deliver
For this TDT we were asked to watch the film Stand and Deliver, which I had never heard of. We were then to answer the question – Why is Jaime Escalante different?
There were many reasons why I think he is different.
- The first thing that I noticed in the film is that he has a positive attitude towards learning. In the film, others seem to believe that gaining an education is not always a good thing but he believes that his students can all do well if they try hard at school. I feel that this made him different in the film because not all of the other characters shared the same opinion.
- It appears in the film that the other teachers do not care for the students as much as he does and that he makes their learning more interesting by using different situations that the students appeal to which makes the learning more relevant and appealing to these students. He also goes above and beyond, unlike other teachers, as he starts to take the class early in the mornings, later at nights and on Saturdays. This shows that he is committed and unlike any other teachers in this film.
- One student in Mr Escalante’s class gets a job and explains that he is going to leave and not take the class on a Saturday morning. He takes the student out for a drive in the car and explains to him that it is important to stay in school as it can provide them with more opportunities in life.
Mr Escalante – “You only see the turn; you don’t see the road ahead.”
- Mr Escalante is portrayed as being different as sometimes he has a different method of gaining the attention of his students. He says to one student, “you wouldn’t want anyone thinking you’re intelligent, would you?” This seems to gain the attention of the student. He also speaks to the students in quite an unconventional way when he says, “it’s not that they’re stupid, it’s just they don’t know anything”
Overall, I feel that the main reason that Jaime Escalante is different is because he has a different teaching method from all of the others, has a strong opinion on education and goes above and beyond to help his students learn.
If I was to have a maths teacher like Mr Escalate, I would have enjoyed maths more in high school and not be so frightened of it now.
