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Stand And Deliver Original Soundtrack

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Stand and deliver is one of my favorite movies. It's the story of a man who begins teaching at a high school in the slums of Los Angeles, expecting to teach Computer Science. When he arrives what he instead finds is that there is not computer department, and he's stuck teaching basic math to a bunch of social misfits. The beginning of this movie sets the stage wonderfully by showing us the kind of people who inhabit the city as he drives through it on the way to the first day of school. When he arrives at the school we see the students in their natural environment (and a rough one it is). What is a teacher to do?

The protagonist of this awe-inspiring story (Jaime Escalante) is a wonderful example of what can happen when a person chooses to adapt to certain environments and NOT adapt to others. When he's given the task of educating a group of kids that includes some scary gang-member type looking kids, instead of acting like a teacher he acts tough right back (reminding them that they're in HIS domain). Yet, when he's brought into a room with the other teachers and school staff, he goes against the grain. When the school's head advisor tells the principle that everyone is doing their best, he immediately says that he's not. And when she tells the principle that Escalante is asking too much of his students, he boldly tells her that the students will rise to the expectations of their teacher.

This alone makes the movie interesting. But what adds even more drama to situation is the fact that each and every student in the class Escalante teaches has their own peer pressures to deal with. Some students have unsavory friends who would laugh at their taking a class seriously. Some of the students have boyfriends or girlfriends who don't understand their sudden interest in school. And some of the students have to deal with parents who don't understand why their education should come before taking care of their own family.

As the movie progresses Escalante announces to the board that he wants to teach Calculus to his best students, despite the fact that the students hadn't studied any of the prerequisites for the course. Naturally this requires them to study through their summer break, and then six days a week with extra hours!

In any teen environment there is always peer pressure. But what happens when positive peer pressure conflicts with negative peer pressure? When our gang-member type Angel first starts the class he is hesitant to get involved because of his rough and tough friends. When Escalante singles him out however, the pressure of the teacher is greater than the pressure of his "friends". Over time this has a tremendous effect on him. Towards the end of the movie, he's riding with his friend and starts acting stupid, and gets his friend a traffic ticket. When the guy becomes angry with him and wants to fight, Angel just walks away. What does this say about him as a person? To me, it shows that whether he likes it or not, he no longer belongs with his old associates, he's now turning into a responsible individual.

As I said before, at the outset of the movie Escalante is the one who is thrown into pressure groups. He could become just like the other teachers, or just become uncaring like the kids in his class were initially. What he does instead is nothing short of a miracle. He uses his understanding of human nature, and the natural tendency of people to work better when their thoughts are united to his advantage. His class becomes its own little world, a club for the elite, the strong and the brave. And early on, when one of the students refuses to take a test, the other students quickly turn against her and ridicule her. She then quickly becomes obedient and gets back to work (positive peer pressure was too much for her). The harder the students are pushed and the more is expected of them, the more they feel like a team (how can I forget the scene where a student says that the rest of the class will have a better chance of making it without him?).

The driving force of the scholastic miracle (and this movie) is Escalante. As he himself said, if the students don't have the desire, he will give it to them. And that's exactly what he did. He MADE them want to succeed. He MADE them have the motivation to keep pushing and striving for higher and higher goals. Basically, he educated them on how to be successful and hard-working individuals. People who normally wouldn't have anything to do with each other (computer nerds, homeboys, and rockers) all were united by their desire to achieve and make themselves into something great. They pushed themselves harder than anyone had ever done in their lives, and when push came to shove, they were successful in every way. Every single student Escalante taught passed the exam for college credit. Every one. Motivation is a powerful thing, and sometimes if you don't already have it an extraordinary person can give it too you.

Everyone should see this movie.

Stand and Deliver, directed by Ramón Menéndez and starring Edward James Olmos, is an entertaining dramatic retelling of a true story about what one man can accomplish when he dedicates his life to serving others.

The film contrasts the results of an educational system where no one cares enough to do anything more than to emptily, heartlessly "go through the motions," with what can be achieved through the labors of a single teacher who cares enough to demand more. The film argues for this more caring kind of educator. Each contrast suggests the inherent superiority of educators putting more than just their time into teaching their students; they must put in their hearts and souls as well.

The story is told from a several perspectives. The primary perspective is that of Jaime Escalante, a man who leaves the private sector to teach public High School in Eastern Los Angeles. There are a couple of secondary perspectives told concurrently with that of Escalante.

One is that of Angel, a troubled youth who is Escalante's most challenging student. Another is the ongoing romance between two of Escalante's other students: Lupe and Pedro. These differing perspectives serve as a narrative device in the film. The shifting back and forth between these story lines helps to break up the film into comprehensible segments within the linear whole. These alternate perspectives help build the viewer's affection for and interest in the students portrayed; while at the same time building the dramatic tension of the plot.

All in all, Stand and Deliver is successful in its aims (namely advancing the argument that there are no "uneducatable" students) while remaining compellingly entertaining.

In the late twentieth century movies supplanted literature as catalysts for social change. I believe that Stand and Deliver, as well as several other movies like it, have successfully moved education to the forefront as a national issue. The film is in that respect (which may well be the most important respect) a monumental success.

I wholeheartedly recommend this movie.

STAND AND DELIVER is one of the best movies to show to high school kids, whether you're a parent or a teacher. Real life math teacher Jaime Escalante, protrayed by Edward James Olmos, teaches his students more than adding and subracting fractions in the cruel setting of East Los Angeles. He shows them how to stretch beyond their limited lives and to rise to their dreams, and he teaches them how to stand up after the world tries to crush their hopes. I show this movie every year to my 8th grade math students, and when the ending credits are rolling, they are always stunned silent, unable to speak. They love STAND AND DELIVER!

This is a great "feel good" movie, but Hollywood altered the story for theatricality. In the film, a group of students who are having difficulties with simple fractions are brought up, in one year, to become calculus winners.

There is a good backgroud article at:

http://reason.com/0207/fe.jj.stand.shtml

that describes how the process took ten years, so that the original group of future-burger-flipping students were not the ones who passed the AP calculus exam. Jaime Escalante (played by Edward James Olmos of "Miami Vice" fame) actually built up the system of excellence one grade at a time, reaching back to the junior high school that fed Garfield High.

The way that the movie was done, however, allows the viewers to see some of the decision-making processes that the students went through in understanding that they could achieve and did have a chance in life to be more than others around them, especially their parents.

Remarkably, at one point there were as many as 400 students enrolled in math enrichment classes under Escalante's leadership. That's 400 fewer future employees for KFC and MacDonald's. (As Escalante said in one of his taunts to a reluctant student, "So tough guys don't do math - tough guys deep fry chicken for a living?")

Eventually, it appears that the Education Establishment won out, driving the brilliant teacher out, and sending the kids back to a guaranteed failed future.

The idea is great, that no student should be regarded as hopeless, and that all should be encouraged to try, but obviously there is a lot more work involved in that goal than this movie shows.

Stand and Deliver has often been promoted as a must-see for all teachers and students. I have to disagree. It's a must-see for everyone, regardless of educational attainment or profession.

This movie, based on the true story of math teacher Jaime Escalante and his Garfield High students, shows us how one man's uncompromising work ethic can inspire others to overcome the most difficult adversities. Edward James Olmos is perfect as Escalante, a man who does not settle for mediocrity and sets out to instill that same philosophy in his students. No easy task, because his class is composed entirely of inner-city Latinos who have been conditioned by their circumstances to believe that they will never amount to much. Typifying this mindset is Angel (Lou Diamond Phillips, in a brilliant performance), a troublemaker who spends his nights boozing and joyriding with wild abandon.

But with trademark Latino fire, Escalante pushes, and pushes, and then pushes some more. He requires his students to come to school early and leave late. He takes away their weekends, and even their summer vacation. And by the time he's done, they're ready to take the Advanced Placement Calculus test.

Rarely do we see a film based on actual events that inspires us so profoundly. It's just a shame that it's not as well-known as it should be. (Count the number of reviews submitted here.)

Just an aside: Olmos's name is not often mentioned when the topic of conversation is Hollywood's greatest actors. But did you know he got a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his performance in this film? The eventual winner: Dustin Hoffman.

I was first recommended this movie to watch because I was having a hard time with math. I thought was boring and didn't see the point in it. But my father made me watch it, and I'm glad I did.

This film is about Jaime Escalante (portrayed masterfully by Edward James Olmos) and his math class that he had in 1982 (based on a true story). Escalante was a Bolivian living in America that went to East L.A.'s Garfield High School to teach computer science. It turned out that the school had no funding for computers, so they redirected him to teach math instead. His class of eighteen Latin-American students, convinced they would never amount to much, were still struggling with the concept of fractions. They're troublemakers and gangmembers. One of the most complicated and difficult students, Angel (Lou Diamond Phillips), goes home every night to end up drinking, smoking, and throwing bricks through shop windows.

Escalante learns to work with these students, motivating them to learn. Ganas, or desire, are required from everybody. "With ganas you can do anything you want," says Escalante. "And if you don't have ganas, I'll give you some. I'm an expert." Deciding he needs a challenge, he decides that in two years he'll teach the students calculus and have them pass the A.P. (Advanced Placement) Calculus exam. What happens next is truly emotional and inspirational. I won't reveal the ending, as it's for you to see.

This movie is 50 times the movie that Lean On Me is. Stand and Deliver came out while I was in Middle School. I can remember it being shown on PBS. The true story of an ex-Engineer who becomes a high school teacher and encounters the difficulties of the public school system in East Los Angeles. He make the students believe in themselves and aim for something higher through education, resulting in a modern day miracle. This is the story of how all teachers should be. This DVD version is not a remastered version, so the VHS version is just as good.

A great movie to watch if you are feeling down-based on a true story of East LA math teacher Jaime Escalante who inspired 18 of his students to sit for the National Advance Placement Calculus Exam,despite the fact that the school faculty don't think the students will be smart enough to pass it and most of the students parents are unsupportive given that they see little value in education. Olmos is a delight as Escalante, a man who throws in a well paid job in computing to pursue his first love of teaching, and fearlessly puts everything on the line to demand he can teach his students calculus because "basic math is too easy" for them. Great performance also from Lou Diamond Phillips as a student torn between 'the hood' and the promise of a 'straight' future. I have seen this movie many times and each time am struck by the fact that these kids were so lucky to have this kind of teacher. It's pretty realistic in terms of school life and commendably explores the pressures of the students also(largely a cast of unknowns but all turn in great performances)As I said its a true story. Enjoy!

I really liked this movie a lot. It was entertaining and uplifting. It was a motivational movie because it proves that anyone can learn if they try. It also shows that hard work pays off, and that even uneducated students can learn something as challenging as calculus.

It was also humorous sometimes because the teacher tries to motivate his students by doing strange things. There are some quite funny scenes and some scenes that will bring you to tears.

I was amazed by this movie for one strange reason: Mr. Escalante, the calculus teacher, actually looks like a math teacher I had. My math teacher was Spanish too!

This movie from the beginning is quite interesting. We learn the Jamie Escalante wants to teach computer science but he can't because the school doesn't have the computers. So he teaches math instead. He motivates his students to work extra hard and they succeed. There are bumps in the road, but the students work hard and study.

This is a little-known movie that is both entertaining and educating. I would enjoy watching it over.

Set in Garfield High School, L.A., this movie shows the potential of our youth set in motion with the help of a Bolivian teacher who believes all we need is "ganas" - the will power to do something. Based on a true story, Jaime Escalante (James Edward Olmos) over comes great obstacles to prepare his students for the A.P. Calculus exam and the real world they are about to enter. Their first taste of the world comes to them in the form of the E.T.S. as they are accused of cheating. They must now deal with the betrayal of the system they are finally eligible to compete in.