R.I.P. Jaime Escalante (inspired "Stand and Deliver")

  • Wanna Join? New users you can now register lightning fast using your Facebook or Twitter accounts.
mrtonguetwista

mrtonguetwista

$$ Deep Pockets $$
#1
Feb 6, 2003
23,473
7,035
0
82
#1
LOS ANGELES (AP)--Jaime Escalante, the math teacher at a tough East Los Angeles high school who inspired the movie "Stand and Deliver," has died. He was 79.

A family friend says Escalante died Tuesday in Reno, Nev., where he was undergoing treatment for bladder cancer.

An immigrant from Bolivia, he transformed Garfield High School by motivating struggling students to tackle and excel at advanced math and science. The school had more Advanced Placement calculus students than all but three other public high schools in the country.

The actor Edward James Olmos played Escalante in the 1988 film based on his story.

Olmos says Escalante proved that inner city students can perform at the highest levels, and left an important legacy for American education.
 
caff

caff

Sicc OG
#4
May 10, 2002
17,965
259
83
48
#4
R.I.P. (1930-2010) good ol Bolivian professor who changed many lives. God Bless You.
 
mrtonguetwista

mrtonguetwista

$$ Deep Pockets $$
#18
Feb 6, 2003
23,473
7,035
0
82
#18
A day after Jaime Escalante’s death, President Obama issued a statement praising the maverick math teacher.

“Throughout his career Jaime opened the doors of success and higher education for his students one by one, and proved that where a person came from did not have to determine how far they could go,” Obama said.

Escalante, a Bolivian immigrant whose tough standards and charismatic teaching style inspired the film “Stand and Deliver,” died Tuesday at age 79.

Several tributes are planned. A memorial service for Escalante will be held at 7 a.m. Thursday outside Garfield High School, where he taught.

Here is Obama's statement:

"I was saddened to hear about the passing of Jaime Escalante today. While most of us got to know him through the movie that depicted his work teaching inner-city students calculus, the students whose lives he changed remain the true testament to his life’s work. Throughout his career Jaime opened the doors of success and higher education for his students one by one, and proved that where a person came from did not have to determine how far they could go. He instilled knowledge in his students, but more importantly he helped them find the passion and the will to fulfill their potential. Jaime’s story became famous. But he represented countless, valiant teachers throughout our country whose great works are known only to the young people whose lives they change. Michelle and I offer our condolences to Jaime’s family, and to all those who knew him and whose lives he touched."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom