"Stand and Deliver" Part One....

Stand and Deliver is a great story so far. I think it’s fantastic that the teacher is so interested in making sure that his students learn, ESPECIALLY since he’s not even supposed to be teaching math. It’s sad that the school is so low on funding, and even more so that the standards are so low because of the neighborhood they live in, demographics, etc. I found it really shocking that Garfield High School had Phys. Ed. teachers and computer teachers teaching math. How do they really expect the students to learn from someone who isn’t qualified to teach them?

As far as Mr. Escalante is concerned, I think that his passion for teaching is very obvious. His wife mentioned that he could’ve been making a lot more money at his previous job, but he CHOSE to leave because he wanted to teach. Money is not the purpose for his job. He does it because he loves to do it, and it really shows. I guess you could say he lives to work, instead of working to live. One great thing about him (in my opinion) is that he understands the students and their personal struggles. He figured out how to connect to each and every one, in order to reach them on a personal level and ensure that they learn. And that makes him an extraordinary teacher.