Dr. Sonia Begert
English 101, Paper #2
February 20, 2013
Elementary school was filled with carefree, innocent, and fun times. It was the beginning of becoming your own person and building friendships with those around you. Learning how to read, basic math skills, and following directions were just a few of the things I remember about elementary school. During my time there, I met five different and amazing teachers but out of those five, it didn’t concern me as to when I would be coming back to visit. An important role an educator plays in a student’s life is being supportive, passionate and dedicated. Stu Huggins was exactly that. While watching Stand and Deliver, Mr. Escalante had striking resemblances that reminded me of Mr. Huggins. Although they were very similar, they also had differences but none of which would deem them a “horrible teacher”.
I met Stu Huggins through student patrol in the third grade. He was a 6 foot 2, hairy gentleman with scruffy hair and an untamed beard. No matter the weather, season, or time of day his apparel consisted of a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. He had a warm, inviting aura and was always in a cheerful mood. In passing, you could always count on him to give you the cheesiest smile hidden underneath his hairy face. Along with student patrol, Mr. Huggins was also in charge of after school tutoring, which he was very supportive. I had trouble understanding multiplication problems and I knew I could count on tutoring because I could go there for encouragement which I didn’t have at home. Mr. Huggins sat down with me (even though there were six other students that needed help) for half an hour and helped me understand multiplication using visual aids. He showed me multiplication using his fingers, the multiplication table, drawings, and he even brought out M&M candies to help me understand. He didn’t give up and creatively thought of ways that would help a third grader understand multiplication. Not only was he good at doing math problems, he was also good at writing. I was a nervous wreck about writing my speech at my fifth grade promotion. Mr. Huggins knew how apprehensive I was, but he encouraged me and helped me write a strong speech just in time for the big night.
Not only was Mr. Huggins supportive, he also maintained the quality of a dedicated teacher. He always wanted to help students and if they weren’t coming to tutoring, he had a variety of incentives. He would have snacks, movies, computer/game time and even taking students to baseball games. Along with dedicating his time to help students succeed, he also wanted to learn about students’ families and their backgrounds. The elementary school that I attended was very diverse and I had friends who were from places that were unfamiliar to me. Mr. Huggins was always inspired to learn more about his students. The teachers at school were uninterested about their students and only cared about teaching that day’s lesson and moving on to the next lesson. Mr. Huggins stood out from the rest of his colleagues because he was sincere about wanting to know more.
Passionate according to dictionary.com is defined as, “having, compelled by, or ruled by intense emotion or strong feeling”. Having passion for your career will influence others positively as Mr. Huggins has influenced my life. He was passionate about not letting students bully their peers and in that way, I learned that I should treat others the way that I would want to be treated. He was very quick to catch and call you out if anything bad came out of that mouth. He did not tolerate name calling and it quickly caught on to other students that there would be consequences if there were any negative outbursts towards your peers. Mr. Huggins was always caring and wanted his students to treat each other with respect. Several years after elementary school, I would find time to make it across the street to visit Mr. Huggins. He was still the same perky teacher and his smile lit up when I came to visit. Although I had moved on in life and he was still there, he was still the same old Mr. Huggins I knew. His smile lit up the room when I came to visit and his passion for teaching never subsided.
After watching Stand and Deliver, Jaime Escalante reminded me of Mr. Huggins and how both of them were supportive, dedicated and passionate about teaching. Mr. Escalante taught at Garfield High School in East LA, CA where he would be teaching math to troubled students. His students challenged him by being disruptive but despite their rebellion he supported his students by making himself available and establishing connections with each of his students. In the movie, there was a scene where one of the boys wanted to work for his uncle at his car shop instead of studying for the AP exam. Mr. Escalante took him for a ride in the boy’s car to show him that he was in charge of his own path, he didn’t need to work at his uncle’s car shop. It showed that Mr. Escalante was not only supportive of his students in school but as well as outside of school. Another scene that showed Mr. Escalante being supportive was of the girl wanting to quit because her mother and boyfriend were wondering where she spends all her time. Instead of allowing her to give up, Mr. Escalante knew that she was not a quitter and let her know that he was there to help her pass the AP calculus exam.
Mr. Escalante proved through the movie how dedicated he was about teaching. He gave up time with his family to teach the students afterschool and also on weekends so that they would pass the AP calculus exam. He also stayed during the evenings to teach members of the community English until he had his mild heart attack. His mild heart attack presented the amount of time and effort he put in to give back to his community. Mr. Escalante’s family couldn’t understand why he was putting so much time, effort and commitment with helping his students and not spending enough time with his wife and two children. To sacrifice time with your family and to serve others is a huge dedication which Mr. Escalante gave willingly. He wanted very badly to see his students prevail and validate that his students were just as smart.
In addition to being dedicated, Mr. Escalante has also demonstrated how passionate of a teacher he is. He could have easily bored his students with math problems but since most of his students were illiterate, he used examples that were familiar such as gigolos and women which helped them to comprehend the math lesson. Another example in the movie was the scene where he visited a student’s family restaurant to try and convince her father to let her stop working so she can continue her education. The student’s father became very belligerent towards Mr. Escalante even though all he wanted to do was guide her father in the right direction. He was worried that because she was so bright, she would have lost the chance to see what her life would have been like had her father let her continue her education. Mr. Escalante also showed his passion for his students when he became visibly upset about the testing agency assuming that his students cheated on the AP exam. Instead of fighting against them, he prepared his students to retake the test to prove that they are worthy enough and have the skills to pass.
While Mr. Huggins and Mr. Escalante were from two different areas, their goals were essentially the same; to teach. They wanted to see their students succeed and recognize their own potential. While they have many similarities, Mr. Escalante was laid back in a sense that he did not worry when his students did not show up for class. He made sure that they take full responsibility for their actions and if they wanted to show up late, they should not come to class at all. Mr. Huggins would bug you the next day if you didn't tell him beforehand why you didn't come to tutoring. They may have minor differences but they still put forth the roles that teachers should play in their students’ lives; being supportive, passionate, and dedicated.
Works Cited
"Passionate." Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. Harper Collins
Publishers. 20 Feb. 2013. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/passionate>.
Stand and Deliver. Dir. Ramón Menéndez. Perf. Edward James Olmos, Estelle Harris, and Mark Phelan.
Warner Bros., 1988. Film.
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