What makes him a good educator? Jaime Escalante was a dedicated teacher of mathematics at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles. With Escalantes determination and guidance, Garfield went from a school on the brink of losing its accreditation to representing 27 percent of all Mexican Americans who scored a 3 or higher on the AP calculus exam. His students demonstrated such tremendous development that an investigation by the Educational Testing Service was called to ensure Escalantes classes werent cheating. The students were asked to retake the exam and again succeeded, giving Escalante and his students both respect and renown. What makes him an awful educator? At the beginning of the film, Escalante challenged his students to participate in showy lessons that resembled theatre as much as remedial mathematics. When one student, a young girl, replied with a correct answer, Escalante whispered, Is it true intelligent people make better lovers? Sexual harassment, especially followed by a wink and a smile, isnt exactly what I expect in a movie about an inspirational teacher. When he wasnt whispering inappropriate things to young girls in his class, you could be assured that Escalante was walking around somewhere with his hands down his pants. The fact that nobody ever commented on it in the film is a testament to how little attention was paid in the day-to-day happenings at Garfield. It is no wonder the school was in such poor shape to begin with. If that wasnt enough, Escalantes first interaction with a challenging student, Angel, ended with Escalante threatening to snap the boys neck like a tooth pick. With all of his machismo posturing, Escalante is lucky that he didnt escalate the verbal confrontation to a physical altercation. Real Teacher of the Year material.
