Escalante: The Best Teacher in America (An Owl Book) (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1963, Jaime Escalante was one of the last Bolivian emigrees to enter the United States legally. A teacher in his native country, he spent the next 10 years scaling the hurdles of educational bureaucracy until, at age 43, he won a teaching position at Garfield High School in the barrio of East Los Angeles. There his ability to reach inner-city, Hispanic youths and motivate them to take demanding courses was pivotal in changing the image of the gang-dominated school. In telling the inspirational story of a teacher whose unorthodox methods bring results, Matthews, L.A. bureau chief of the Washington Post , takes us inside the lives of the students, many of them troubled and disadvantaged, and into the striving character of their mentor. National attention focused on Escalante in 1982 when his students were accused of cheating on a national AP calculus examination; a second testing removed major doubts. Escalante's story, the subject of the film Stand and Deliver , is testament that downward trends can be reversed.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Mathews traces Jaime Escalante's career as an educator from its start in Bolivia to his splendid successes teaching calculus and other mathematics courses to disadvantaged high school students, mostly Latino, at Garfield High School in East Lost Angeles. Possessing great enthusiasm for and understanding of adolescents, Escalante has pushed his students beyond their self-imposed limits. His efforts have served as a model for other educators. While inspiring, the book is sometimes repetitive and lacking in organization. However, examples of Escalante's independence of thought, courage, and commitment in pursuing actions he considered best for his students are especially valuable to readers.Pat Wollter, Sonoma State Univ., Rohnert ParPark, Cal.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Company (August 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805011951
• ISBN-13: 978-0805011951
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #400,479 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Stand and Deliver Dedication, September 15, 2000

By	Enrique Torres "Rico" (San Diegotitlan, Califas) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

In a culture where if one is asked have you read such and such book and the reply is "no but I saw the movie", then I 'll reverse the question. Did you see "Stand and Deliver"? Well this is the story of the man the movie is about. In the movie, Edward James Olmos takes the lead as Jaime Escalante, an unlikely hero who immigrated from Bolivia and changed the lives of countless Chicano students in East LA. This is the story of dedication, underpay and a determination by one man to change the course of students views of themselves. A teacher with a vision beyond the classroom. He wanted to change the perception of Chicanos and their role in the education process, they could be capable of taking college prep math. While teaching at Garfield High in the 80's he created quite an uproar amongst his peers by making Chicanos believe in themselves, that they could take AP Calculus and succeed. It would require hard work. A great motivator, who used all his skills, he proved the naysayers wrong. This is a great true story that is more detailed and probably more accurate than the Hollywood version. The background information on the principal of Garfield and various students is much richer than the movie version. This is a feel good book that students,teachers and parents alike should enjoy since they are all participants in the deucation process. A motivational tool to be shared by all who believe in the power of determination. An American success story for all.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Escalante: Si, May 14, 2005

By	davichon "davi" (Frederick, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Escalante: The Best Teacher in America (Hardcover)

A visiting nerd from Mars might well decide that sports was the cult/religion of choice among Americans. This conclusion would work if the visitor compared Sunday TV-tube activity with, say, church attendance. It would also make sense of activity at many American high schools, with its cheerleaders, heros and stars.

After his success at teaching calculus to (yep, here we go again) mostly poor Latino students was dramatized in the movie Stand and Deliver, Jaime Escalante became the closest thing to a star in the little world of education. His story intersects the American sports-obsession in a number of important ways.

Escalante, who considered school sports a distraction for his students, in his own classrooms took the teacher-as-coach metaphor way beyond the 100-yard-line. A Bolivian immigrant and Lakers fan, he had a lot of sympathy and understanding for his students. But as an accomplished, determined professional, he had no time for their excuses or laziness: He used threats and jokes, camaraderie and charisma, insults and incessant drill, much the way a football coach does. He also had the "big game", a clearly defined goal with visible results: The advanced placement (AP) test that high-school students attempt for college credit. Better than basketball as a ticket to a future.

Like many sports coaches--and very few teachers--Escalante got 110% from his team. Starting from zero in 1978 (when he arrived there), by 1987 Garfield High was fourth in the United States in number of students taking AP calculus, and accounted for about a quarter of all Mexican-American high-school students who passed the test.
Journalist Jay Mathews starts with Escalante's childhood and teaching career in Bolivia, but spends about 2/3 of the fast-moving narrative on Garfield. It includes numerous vignettes of students dealing with Escalante's personality, his rigorous calculus teaching, and crises (or simply grinding poverty) in their lives. Mathews goes easy on generalizations, but here are his first two "lessons" near the books conclusion: "Teachers who bring students up to high standards are precious commodities. Leave them alone.... If left alone, teachers who work hard and care for their students will produce better results than ten times their number dutifully following the ten best recommendations of the ten latest presidential commissions on education."

Nancie Atwell says Shut your door and do what you need to.

The Garfield mascot, which became Escalante's symbol for himself and his students, is a bulldog. I believe that we are still "a nation at risk," especially where the education of poor and minority children, the life of our cities, is concerned. Jay Matthew's book, the story of a few determined teachers (and their principal!) will not hold the same lesson for everyone, but is an extremely valuable encounter.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Required Reading for an AP Teacher, December 30, 2007

By	Kenneth P. Raftery "Calculus Teacher" (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I first heard about this book in the summer of 2006 when I was taking an AP Calculus Institute. I of course was familiar with the "Stand and Deliver" film, and I was very curious to read this book. The book tells you the TRUE story of what happened to Escalante and his students. Don't believe everything the film tells you! The film will have you believe that Escalante took students who didn't know how to add and he turned them into AP Calculus stars. That is not true. Escalante spent years developing a PROGRAM where weaker students could correct their deficiences by enrolling in a summer course, etc.
I did find the book to be very motivational, especially since I read it right before I taught AP for the first time. I liked the line where Escalante said AP results are kind of like a "report card for the teacher". The book also details the fact that Escalante would kick a student out of AP (or at least strongly threaten to) if they missed ONE homework. So while Escalante's accomplishment was extraordinary, I wish I had the luxury of kicking a student out of AP if they missed one assignment!!
The overall message of the book and film though is that with hard work, a person can succeed at anything they put their mind too. So it's nice to read a book with a positive message like that.