Jaime Escalante

Final Assignment: Story of Jaime Escalante

View the movie Stand and Deliver (Menendez & Musca, 1988), which is based on the true story of Jaime Escalante, an individual who overcame ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic issues to become a highly successful mathematics teacher. Discuss the beliefs he held and the strategies he employed in his classroom that contributed to high achievement levels in his students. Relate this information to research on the subject.

A Bolivian-born science and mathematics teacher, Jaime Escalante, migrated to East Los Angeles, California in the 1960’s. He found himself teaching at-risk Hispanic youth, because of language and socio-economic struggles, many had dismissed them as unteachable. By 1982, Escalante had advanced his students enough they were able to excel on the AP Calculus Advancement exams. With Escalante’s determined and encouraging attitude, he was able to reach students many had given up on.

Life of Jaime Escalante

Jaime Alfonso Escalante Gutierrez was born in La Paz, Bolivia on December 31, 1930. He was the second of five children born to Zenobio and Sara Escalante. His grandfather and both parents worked as

He strived for tougher standards and stricter accountability for students, their families, and teachers. Garfield High School was notorious for violence, drugs, gangs, and low graduation rate. Garfield being 95% Latino, 49% were not proficient in the English language and 80% were below poverty line. Escalante believed students should be challenged by the teachers versus being held to such low standards. He demanded quality textbooks, he personally searched and tested the textbook to be used in his classes. Within five years he was able to start the first calculus class. He is quoted in his book, “I found early in my career that children learn faster when learning is fun, when it is a game and a challenge.” (Escalante, 1990, page