Stand and Deliver Notes...

Hey guys, I just realized that I never completely published my notes from the movie; only saved it as a draft. So here it is...

Mr. Escalante comes to Garfield high school to teach computers, but the school is so run down that he ends up teaching math. None of the kids respect him at first, and some even threaten him. But he finds a way to connect to them, at first, by making the class fun and engaging them. Then he moves forward more and more with the curriculum, taking them from elementary grade math to calculus.

He has a way of getting each student to understand their real potential, even if they feel completely hopeless. He even gets Angel, one of the "hard, unruly gang kids" to straighten up his act. When his students struggle, he helps them out, and when they test him, he fights back. He teaches them not only that they have the mind power to master calculus, but also a better way of life.

He takes the kids on different adventures, from museum trips to getting behind the wheel of a student's car and nearly crashing it, just to prove a point. His dedication to his students is especially apparent after his heart attack, when he is toold to stay in bed and he goes back to work anyways. He didn't want to risk his students slacking off, or being given a below-average substitute.

When the integrity of his class is questioned, and everyone says that they cheated on their AP test, he fights for them. And when they retake the test and pass again with flying colors, it is proof that they were as brilliant as he thought they were. It also proved how great of a teacher he really was.