DailyGood: Math Teacher 'Stands and Delivers'

What the teacher is, is more important that what he teaches. --Karl Menninger Inspiration of the Day: Not many balding, middle-aged Bolivian immigrants have feature-length films produced about them. But then again, not many people have a heart attack, get a gallbladder removed, and spring back to school the next day to teach math. Jaime Escalante, subject of the 1988 film 'Stand and Deliver,' was a passionate teacher, father-figure, and "street-gang equal" who passed away at the age of 79 on Tuesday. A teacher who explained math concepts using wind-up toys and space-alien dolls, and who drilled his students before school, after school, and on Saturdays, Escalante built one of the most successful Advanced Placement programs in the nation, in a low-income high school that had been struggling to keep its accreditation. "If Kimo can do it, we can do it," one student remarks. "If he wants to teach us that bad." [ more ] Submitted by: Somik R. Be The Change: Send a note of gratitude to a teacher who inspired you. Share A Reflection! tell a friend | archives | unsubscribe a service of CharityFocus 104507 subscribers Rate: