What makes a good teacher with examples

Using examples to compare:

1) In the film, Stand and Deliver, Mr. Escalante proved how dedicated and passionate he was about teaching when he made the students sign contracts so that they can stay a couple hours after school and also weekends. This would ensure that his students would pass the AP calculus exam and also prove to the teachers that the students were not helpless. Mr. Escalante also cared about his students and it showed in the scene where he tried to convince Ana's father to let her come back to school instead of helping out at the family restaurant. I think Mr. Escalante cared more about her future than her father did, which I thought was pretty sad. Most parents would love to see their child succeed in high school and continue on to college. I guess some parents would rather see their business succeed. The only bad thing that I could say about Mr. Escalante was that he wasn't a great listener. The scene where his wife was furious at the dinner table because of how hard he was working at school and didn't take time off for himself resulted in a mild heart attack from all the stress he put on himself.


2) Dan Brown who wrote, “What Makes a Great Teacher?” says that, to be a great teacher, they must follow a “recipe” and that should help teachers achieve that ultimate goal. The criteria that they should follow is having prior experience in classrooms, having a rapport with the teachers and principal of the school, having great relationships with students’ families, being a part of the community and also being dedicated and willing to improve. In Stand and Deliver, Mr. Escalante fit some of the criteria that Brown points out in his article. Mr. Escalante did not fit the criteria of having prior experience in schools especially a school that included troubled students. Although he was not equipped with experience, there was a scene where Mr. Escalante showed up on his first day and the students were being rude to him but he came back the next day with a plan to engage his rebellious students. Another ‘ingredient’ that Mr. Escalante did not possess was having a good relationship with the principal and his colleagues. Most of his colleagues doubted his ability to teach the students calculus and deemed them unfit for learning. Mr. Escalante went against their judgments and pursued what he thought was best for his students. Outside of the school, Mr. Escalante was readily available to help his students if they needed him and he never had any hesitation. He wanted the students to come after school and on weekends to study and pass the AP calculus exam. He wanted them to forfeit all their free time because he knew their worth and their capabilities. Although Mr. Escalante was selfless, his intentions of helping his students did not go unnoticed. He did not follow the “recipe” to a T, but he still managed to ensure that his students were successful in passing their AP calculus exam.

3) Sir Ken Robinson’s criteria for good teaching included having creativity and recognizing that intelligence is diverse. I think Robinson would say Mr. Escalante was attentive to his students such that, he was able to use real life examples and connect a math problem to it to help his students understand. Mr. Escalante was being creative with the math problem and that was one way Mr. Escalante connected with his students. He was able to get the students to comprehend the problem because it was what they were familiar with.