Comparison Essay Final Draft

We have all grown up learning new things from many different people. Most of us went through the K-12 education system learning from various teachers. There were exceptional teachers, such as Mr. Escalante from Stand and Deliver and Mr. Williamson, who were dedicated, enthusiastic, brilliant, and believed in their students.

            An exceptional teacher must be dedicated to their work and both Mr. Escalante and Mr. Williamson were very dedicated. Throughout Stand and Deliver we see Mr. Escalante’s dedication and in particular we see it when Mr. Escalante went back to teaching just a couple days after his heart attack (Stand and Deliver). The timing of his heart attack was poor since the students had to take the AP Calculus test in just a few weeks (Stand and Deliver). The doctors told Mr. Escalante he needed to rest for at least four weeks, but he was so dedicated and knew he needed to help his students prepare that he went back to work anyways (Stand and Deliver). Mr. Escalante continued to show his dedication when he reviewed the entire calculus course in just one day. This is probably not something he would normally have done, but his students were accused of cheating and were required to retake the AP test (Stand and Deliver). It had been awhile since the students had taken the first AP test, so they were worried they would not do well on the retake. However, because Mr. Escalante was dedicated to teaching and making sure his students succeeded he took the time to review the entire course in order to prepare them.

            Mr. Williamson was my general chemistry teacher, whose dedication was similar to Mr. Escalante, and made him an exceptional teacher. He was so dedicated that he would spend an endless amount of time outside of the classroom helping his students learn and understand what he was teaching. Mr. Williamson always made himself available at just about any time a student needed help, no matter the day. When finals came around he even gave up his Saturdays and held review sessions just so that his students would be prepared and successful. He was also so dedicated that he would take the time to find the extra little resources, such as videos and websites that helped his students understand a topic and not just memorize it.

            An exceptional teacher must also be enthusiastic about their subject. This was true of Mr. Escalante who always seemed to be enthusiastic. One of the first scenes we saw in Stand and Deliver was Mr. Escalante standing in front of the class, dressed up as a chef and chopping apples into slices (Stand and Deliver). You could see the excitement in his face and how much he loved math and wanted to make it fun for his students. Every time we saw Mr. Escalante he was always enthusiastic, he would walk into the classroom and immediately want to start teaching because he was excite to teach his students and have them learn. We even see his enthusiasm at Christmas when his own son asks him for help with a homework problem (Stand and Deliver). He is so enthusiastic about teaching that he was happy to teach his son at any time, even Christmas.

            Mr. Williamson was also very enthusiastic about chemistry. His enthusiasm was perfectly shown when we started on the topic of lasers in his class. It is a day I will never forget. Mr. Williamson came into the classroom with a smile from ear to ear and was so giddy it was funny. All of his students noticed it and before long his enthusiasm and passion spread to all of us, because after that moment we were eager and excited to learn about lasers. Mr. Williamson was very enthusiastic about laser, but that was not the only thing. He was also enthusiastic about almost anything else having to do with chemistry. This enthusiasm was what helped make him an exceptional teacher because it made class more enjoyable and made the students more enthusiastic as well. 

            Brilliance is also typically found in exceptional teachers. They have to be knowledgeable about their subject if they are going to teach it. We do not want to have students learn false information, so this is an important aspect. Mr. Escalante was certainly brilliant. In Stand and Deliver it talks about his previous job working at a computer program company, where he had to use calculus every day (Stand and Deliver). So clearly he knew a lot about calculus and was capable of teaching it to others. His brilliance is also displayed many times in the classroom when he would solve a complex problem just in his head or when he would write a complex equation just from his knowledge. It was also displayed through his creative ways of teacher his students, such as the chef scene. He cut up apples into slices in order to teach his students about fractions and how to calculate them.

            Mr. Williamson’s brilliance was apparent in several ways. He had his PhD in chemistry and had done a lot of research over his career so his knowledge of the subject was definitely high. However his brilliance in the way he taught the class was a great part of what made him an exceptional teacher. His teaching method was creative and well thought out. He used excellent demonstrations that engaged the students and made us want to understand and not just memorize what he was teaching. With our desire to understand, we had a lot of questions and Mr. Williamson’s brilliance had him answering questions without actually giving away the exact answer. This sounds rather strange at first, but it turned out to be brilliant. In answering a question asked by a student, he would guide us towards the answer, but make us have to determine it for ourselves. The brilliance in this was it made us really think about and help us further understand the subject.

Finally, an exceptional teacher has to believe in their students. Students will often time meet the expectations placed upon them. Therefore, if a teacher believes their students will be successful it is much more likely to happen than if they didn’t believe in them. In Stand and Deliver Mr. Escalante was just about the only teacher at the school who believed in the students. We saw this when Mr. Escalante suggested the school offer Calculus as a course (Stand and Deliver). All of the other teachers did not believe the students were capable of taking Calculus, but Mr. Escalante did and sure enough, they were. Another example of Mr. Escalante believing in his students was when the students were accused of cheating on the AP test (Stand and Deliver). Again, Mr. Escalante was the only one who believed in them and did not think they cheated. Mr. Williamson also believed in his students. He always pushed his students with harder and harder material, but he believed in his students and new they were capable of learning it.

            While both Mr. Escalante and Mr. Williamson were exceptional teachers because of their dedication, enthusiasm, brilliance, and belief in their students, there were differences in their time periods, students, and location. Mr. Escalante was a teacher in the 1980s who taught in a low budget school in Los Angeles, to Hispanic students that were drop out prone. Mr. Williamson, on the other hand, is a teacher in this decade who teaches at a well-funded school to students that are not likely to drop out.

Works Cited

Stand and Deliver. Dir. Ramóm Menéndez. Perf. Edward Olmos and Estelle Harris. Warner Bros., 1988. DVD.