Compare and contrast Rough Draft

Jordan M Nichols       

ENG 101: Dr. Begert

2/19/2013 Paper 2

            Education is an important right given to every citizen in the United States of America.  The educators are the center of every moving part in the education system. Teachers are given the daunting task of not only to teach children academics but also be there to set a standard and motivate our children. Apt abilities would include everything from being the subject matter expert and also in some communities being the only form of role model the child will have to look up to. Two teachers that come to mind are Mr. Escalante and Ms. Watson. Both these teachers have very common characteristics that set them apart from others in their field. The main difference between them is the level and social status where they taught. Mr. Escalante will be a poverty stricken community outside Los Angeles and Ms. Watson would be implanted into a college for women in an upper class social scene. Despite them being on opposite sides of social class, both these teachers had similar apt abilities and personalities to spark an influence in their students.

            One of the most important parts of being a teacher is being able to show students how to use their knowledge and apply it to the real world. Mr. Escalante, portrayed in the movie Stand and Deliver, showed his students how to use mathematics in real life. Mr. Escalante would come to class with a cleaver and an apple and cut the apple in fraction forms. He then would pass the freshly sliced fruit to various pupils and quiz them on what fraction was left from the original apple. He also would take the students on a field trip to a workplace that had computers  using higher levels of math. Ms. Watson also had a keen eye on how to teach out of the textbook by showing her students art in the real world. In the movie Mona Lisa Smile, Ms. Watson walks into her first class and shockingly realizes that the students not only  read the textbook but already memorized the curriculum for her Art class. She would take her students outside the classroom and into various art galleries off campus.  This would be a new perspective to her students by teaching them how to consider modern day art instead of just the famous works in textbooks.

            A much needed skill for a teacher of any kind is being a prime example the students can emulate. Most students need to look up to their teachers as being a good role model in the community or in their field. The lower class students in Garfield High School where Mr. Escalante taught were use to being let down and brushed aside by their community and teachers. Mr. Escalante would start to lead by example on how to be a better person in their community. In the movie it showed Mr. Escalante helping out with nightly English classes for immigrants and volunteering to teach his students higher math during the summer to help them prepare for Calculus their senior year in high school. During the scene in Stand and Deliver, it shows him collapsing from exhaustion during one of his night classes. He was so committed to his community he was willing to risk his health in the process. He would also not except any violence or lack of discipline in his classroom. During the first couple of classes he would have run ins with some of the student gang members where they would try and threaten him. Nonetheless Mr. Escalante stayed true to his values and wouldn’t give in to their demands despite the threats. He would also go in between two students fighting outside in order to show that fighting would not be accepted on the campus. Ms. Watson would also show an example that a woman had more to offer the world then just being a housewife. She was a single but also held a PhD in her field. She would try and encourage her students to go on to graduate school. She would always push her students to surpass the normal status-quo even though it was met with high disdain from her peers and students.

            “Unrelenting” was a well-tailored suit that both teachers wore well. During a school conference where the faculty and teachers were determining how to keep East Garfield’s license, Mr. Escalante introduced a bold statement. He stated that the reason why the students were underachieving in academics is because the community and teachers placed them at that level. He suggested that if the students were challenged by their teachers and peers than they would gain the motivation to achieve higher academically. This was instantly met with sharp criticism from the school. Without the school’s recommendation, Mr. Escalante would trust his students’ yearning for success and set up his own summer school and higher math classes for them. Mr. Escalante had numerous opportunities to give up his intentions, but with each obstacle that tried to come between him and his students’ learning, he chose to blaze his own trail.  Ms. Watson would also be persistent towards her pupils. Class after class they would seem hesitant on becoming independent, but each time Ms. Watson would try to challenge her students to just “consider” new possibilities. During one of her trips outside the classroom to an art viewing, Ms. Watson showed them a new piece of art work. The giant canvas of colors just splattered on to the picture was met with a sudden disgust from the students. She would state to her students’ opposing eyes that they do not have to love or accept art but only “consider” it. These were strong words at the time and it directly corresponded to the situation for the girls. They didn’t have to love the idea of going against the expectation of marrying young and not starting a career, but they did have the right to “consider” the possibility and make up their own mind.

             
          These two teachers would prove that no matter what the circumstance that providing a pathway to 

education is the main priority. Mr. Escalante and Ms. Watson show that if you have the 

right characteristics and love for education you can lead your students down a favorable road. 

There were a lot of opportunities that could have befallen our teaching heroes but with each 

instance they proved otherwise. This could be the new standard for America. The standard would be 

that our children need us to challenge them beyond the normal, and that no matter what the child’s 

circumstance that education should be given indiscriminately and passionately to everyone, no 
  
matter their circumstance.