My five questions for this film are: Why does this author or director
chose these particular actors for his film? What was the directors
main
goal for the lead charector to protray? Why are stories that show
disadvantaged individuals overcoming hardship always so compelling
and do
individuals who relate to these situations feel that these stories
represent them accurately? How would the actors or writers explain
the
motivation behind this film? Did profits from this film go towards
disadvantaged students or was this film for profit of the producers
and
the actors that played in it?
Submitted by Luv Bridges.
This movie tells the true story of one teacher who made a difference
in a
poor high school, where he worked teaching math. Jaime Escalante inspired
his students by treating them as individuals and giving them high standards
to work up to. He was Latino like most of his classmates and was able
to
speak Spanish to students who spoke very little English. They respected
him
because he believed in their abilities and challenged them and because
he
shared their culture. He taught them that they needed to fight to get
ahead
because he knew that being poor and Latino already meant two strikes
against
them in American society. Also Jaime developed a sense of team camaraderie,
where students didn't want to let him or their classmates down.
The movie illustrates the difficulties that Jaime and his students
had to
face in order to balance the desire to teach and learn with their daily
lives. This was by no means easy. Jaime and his students sacrificed
a lot to
reach their goal, and in the end they achieved more than just math
skills,
they gained confidence and pride. By teaching his students calculus
Jaime
not only changed the way his students saw themselves, but changed the
way
others saw his students.
This movie is the most inspiring one I've ever seen! Not only
is it
entertaining, but it really happened!
What expectations will you have of your students as their teacher?
Do we have right to tell students that there are obstacles to their
success that may be socially determined?
Is it important to have a sense of team camaraderie in your classroom?
If
so, how will you create that?
How will you validate and encourage your students?
How much are you willing to sacrifice in order to help students
overcome obstacles to their learning?
Submitted by Lisa Rosaves.
The East Los Angeles school that Jaime Escalante is assigned to was notorious for being gang ridden and scoring in the bottom of the barrel in standardized testing. Oh, did I also mention that this school was 75% Latino and received almost no funding. These were just some of the problems that Jaime was confronted with upon entering the school. From the first day of class he challenges the students academically, but not without opposition. He is constantly complained to and about by all of the students. When he receives these comments he turns the tables on the students by asking them why they think they can’t do the work. They responded with answers such as "we’re not smart enough" and "nobody needs math in the real world". Jaime took all of these comments and showed them some real world applications for math and that the white kids from richer neighborhoods were doing comparable work.
Throughout the movie he builds a rapport with the students by using the students’ strengths such as a more collaborative approach to learning math. Most of all he gave the students a sense of pride and confidence that was lacking previous to his arrival in part because of racial stereotypes of Latinos not being able to succeed in math.
Overcoming stigmas that are inherently associated with a group is a daunting task for students and teachers alike. This movie brings about many points that directly apply to our kids and the school system today. The problems of racial stereotypes in areas of study and funding for schools with larger percentages of students of color plague our school system. Jaime Escalante is a shinning example of what can happen when teachers believe in every student and high expectations are placed upon them.
1. What assumptions were made about the kids in the class by others
in the community and what were they based on?
2. What assumptions were made by Jaime when he came to the class?
3. What made his approach successful and how can this be applied in
the classes you plan on teaching?
4. How did the students react to the treatment of their first test?
5. Do you feel that the validation of their efforts was under-minded
by the treatment of their original test scores? Why/Why not?
Submitted by
Domanic Thomas