Transcript Stand and Deliver and the Master Teacher

The Film Stand and Deliver and
the Master Teacher
Synopsis:
This film is based the experience of high school math teacher Jaime
Escalante at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles, California, a poor
and violent section of the city. His belief that his students would rise
to higher expectations motivated his demand that he teach Calculus to
academically unprepared students who he believed mostly needed
the “ganes”, (the desire) to learn. His mission was to impart this desire
and build his students confidence that they could learn and absorb the
knowledge to pass the AP Calculus test and earn college credit.
Ultimately, they could achieve a better life than pumping gas or frying
chicken.
Film Content Connections
• I took the scenes in the film and broke them into pieces of
activity.
• I assigned these activities to domains.
• Some activities I assigned to more than one domain because I
saw them as applicable to more than one domain.
Domain I:
DESIGNING INSTRUCTION AND ASSESSMENT TO PROMOTE STUDENT LEARNING.
• The teacher understands human developmental processes and applies
this knowledge to plan instruction and ongoing assessment that
motivate students and are responsive to their developmental
characteristics and needs.
•
ongoing assessment:
– Each class begins with a ten minute quiz based on the previous day’s lesson.
•
motivate students:
– Teacher introduces himself to class by building self-esteem with a historical
reference to their Mayan ancestors who were the first to comprehend and use
the concept of zero. Be proud of this and use this ancestral connection as a
basis to believe they too can successful at math. Math is in their blood.
– Takes students on field trip to data center to see possibilities open to those
who apply themselves to their studies, particularly math.
Domain I:
DESIGNING INSTRUCTION AND ASSESSMENT TO PROMOTE STUDENT LEARNING.
• responsive to their developmental characteristics and needs:
– Teacher determines level of basic math knowledge. Dressed in apron
and foot service hat, using and a cleaver, he has cut several apples into
portions to determine if students understand fractions. His exercise lets
the students show themselves they know what few credit them with
knowing. Instead of basic math 1A, teacher decides to start teaching
them Algebra instead. Knowing basic math only prepares one to pump
gas.
– Teacher issues 3 textbooks to one student so he can keep one at home
to do his homework, one in his locker so he can show he does not care
enough to take his book to class, one to keep in class to actually use.
Domain II:
CREATING A POSITIVE, PRODUCTIVE CLASS ROOM ENVIRONMENT.
• The teacher knows how to establish a classroom climate that fosters
learning, equity, and excellence and uses this knowledge to:
•
create a physical and emotional environment that is safe and
productive:
– Teacher moves students with weak English to the front of the room. He
understands their inclination to remain quiet, not participate, and wish to be
unseen by sitting in the back of the room.
– Does not overreact to disruption of gang members attempting to challenge his
authority in classroom.
Domain II:
CREATING A POSITIVE, PRODUCTIVE CLASS ROOM ENVIRONMENT
• The teacher is competent in planning a lesson to encourage self-directed
thinking;
–
Teacher uses real world priorities of the high school student to build an
algebra equation about how many girlfriends 3 boys had.
– Concept of zero. Dig a hole. The hole represents a negative number. The sand
removed from the hole is the positive. Fill the hole with the sand taken out.
– Teacher drills with rhythmic, repetition of the phrase “a negative multiplied by
a negative equals a positive.
• positive learning environment:
– When the gang members made grand entry to classroom, the teacher did not
overreact.
Domain III:
IMPLEMENTING EFFECTIVE, RESPONSIVE INSTRUCTION AND ASSESSMENT.
• The teacher understands and applies principles and strategies for
communication effectively in varied teaching and learning contexts:
– Teacher reminds students they are descendants of the Mayans.
– Tough guys fry chicken.
• The teacher monitors student performance and achievement;
– Ten minute quiz daily.
– Turn in homework. Comply.
Domain IV:
FULFILLING PROFESSIONAL ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.
• The teacher understands the importance of family
involvement in children’s education and knows how
to interact and communicate effectively with families:
– Teacher visits the restaurant owned by one of his student’s
family because she left school to work in the family
business. Her father believed she did not need further
education. Teacher told the father his daughter deserved
to make her own decisions and could graduate and was a
top student who could graduate from college and return to
run the restaurant. Though the father was offended, he let
his daughter return to school.
Domain IV:
FULFILLING PROFESSIONAL ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.
• The teacher understands the importance of family
involvement in children’s education and knows how to
interact and communicate effectively with families:
– Teacher is sensitive to one of his more troubled student’s situations
which drives the student’s erratic behavior and unpredictable
attendance but after exhausting all the teacher’s patience and good
will, the student is denied entrance to class. During Christmas break
the student appears at the teacher’s home with his grandmother to
plea for reentry to the class. It works. Student subsequently scores 5 of
5 on AP Calculus test
Domain IV:
FULFILLING PROFESSIONAL ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.
• The teacher understands the importance of family
involvement in children’s education and knows how to
interact and communicate effectively with families:
– Teacher has parents sign contract that their student would be available
for the extra study sessions at the beginning and the end of every
school day, weekends and during holiday breaks to learn Calculus in
preparation for the AP Calculus test.
Domain IV:
FULFILLING PROFESSIONAL ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
• The teacher enhances professional knowledge and skills
by effectively interacting with other members of the
educational community and participating in various types
of professional activities:
– Teacher runs a night class for adult learners of English.
– Teacher offers the Physical Education teacher who is being
utilized to teach a math class any help he needs to improve his
math teaching skills and math knowledge.
– Teacher visits junior high schools to better prepare students for
high school math.
Domain Specifics Not Addressed in Film
• Domain III:
– There was no technology available in this school. The teacher’s
assignment was to be a computer instructor at the school.
– BUT
– There was no budget to buy computers. Teacher was assigned to the
math department to teach Math 1A Basic Math (a level of math to
prepare to pump gas or fry chicken).
Main Focus was Domain IV in this Film
• The dominant domain in this film was Domain IV.
– Teacher visits the restaurant owned by one of his student’s family. The student
was a top student, could go to college, realize her potential.
– Teacher runs a night class for adult learners of English.
– Teacher offers the Physical Education teacher who is being utilized to teach a
math class any help he needs to improve his math teaching skills and math
knowledge.
– Teacher visits junior high schools to plant he seeds to better prepare feeder
school students for high school math.
– Teacher has parents sign contract that their student would be available for the
extra study sessions at the beginning and the end of every school day, weekends
and during holiday breaks to learn Calculus in preparation for the AP Calculus
test.
– Teacher is sensitive to one of his more troubled student’s situations which drives
the student’s erratic behavior and unpredictable attendance but after
exhausting all the teacher’s patience and good will, the student is denied
entrance to class. During Christmas break the student appears at the teacher’s
home with his grandmother to plea for reentry to the class. It works. Student
subsequently scores 5 of 5 on AP Calculus test
Master Teacher Teaching Qualities
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Positive learning atmosphere
Be an inspiration to students
Respects students and their families.
Motivate the students.
Always willing to learn.
Models educational resilience
Has students work together to stop
negative influences and achieve
educational success.
Insists on excellence.
Models how to avoid bias,.
Responds to bullying.
Be who you teach your students to be.