Jaime Escalante (1930-2010) was a Bolivian-American educator known for teaching calculus to disadvantaged inner-city students in East Los Angeles. Escalante was determined to raise learning standards and inspire the struggling, working-class, largely Mexican American students to do well in their studies.
“His passionate belief [was] that all students, when properly prepared and motivated, can succeed at academically demanding course work, no matter what their racial, social or economic background. Because of him, educators everywhere have been forced to revise long-held notions of who can succeed.” (Source)
He gained recognition after 14 of his students did unusually well in the 1982 Advanced Placement calculus exam and as a result, were accused of cheating. The 1988 film "Stand and Deliver" explores his story of changing lives and demonstrating what it takes to be not just a good teacher, but a great one.
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