"Stand and Deliver," A 1988 Film

This is a story of a very special high school teacher in a Hispanic neighborhood in East Los Angeles. I did not see the movie but Garfield High School does ring a bell to me. Jaime Escalante, the greatest teacher in America, believes mathematics is the power to a better life. He, an immigrant from La Paz, Bolivia, moved to Los Angeles in 1964. He started his esteemed career at Garfield ten years later. The student body there is mostly immigrants from Mexico. Most families in this school district had struggled to make ends meet. They often left their children fend for themselves without any parental guidance. But this disadvantageous social and economical situation did not discourage this great teacher. Through his Calculus classes, he inspired his many students to do their best. By hard working, he helped his students from underprivileged families believing in themselves. Many studied at the late Mr. Escalante’s classes had gone to college and followed their mentor’s footsteps becoming teachers and professors themselves, in math, of course.

Exactly one month and four days ago, Mr. Escalante died in Sacramento, California, of bladder cancer.

Years ago, I read articles about the demise of professionalism in many professions that included teachers. So the story of the late Mr. Escalante is so encouraging and refreshing. What he had accomplished during his long tenure at Garfield is also truly incredible. - Ayee