Today, we lost Jaime Escalante, the inspiration for Stand and Deliver (1988), as well as many teachers nationwide. In memoriam, the Washington Post re-ran the 1982 article chronicling Mr. Escalante's remarkable successes on the AP Calculus exam in an urban, predominately Latino school. Not only was his achievement amazing, but it was so amazing that ETS questioned the validity of his students scores. Moreover, the article's description of Escalante illustrates many traits (commitment, differentiation, routines, high expectations of all learners) that make for exceptional teachers. Although he challenged his students to have the ganas to succeed; he truly had the ganas to unwaveringly believe in the youth he served.
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