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, and brilliant.
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. 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.
While
both Mr. Escalante and Mr. Williamson were exceptional teachers because of their
dedication, enthusiasm, and brilliance, 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.
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