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RE: Teaching Algebra
Posted:
May 8, 2000 2:48 PM
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Jaime Escalente's story is well told in both the Mathews' book and
the movie. It's probably the only school movie not involving a football
or HS prom as its high point, or with East LA kids not involving a
knifing or drug o.d.
As for his secret, as he put it "ganas". Roughly translated into
English - the 'urge' or 'desire' to do something. Though perhaps, it's
more laced with passion, that is the passion to want to learn (and
teach.)
Now maybe that's a bit hard for most to swallow, but then again,
it worked for this guy. After all, he got these kids up to speed and
after a while had them doing calculus. Not bad for a poor district.
So when people challenge me on algebra for all 8th graders, I think
of this guy and remember what he did.
Al Barron
Metuchen, NJ
> Date: Sun, 07 May 2000 22:52:38 -0400
> From: Guy Brandenburg <gfbranden@earthlink.net>
> Subject: Re: Teaching Algebra
>
> This relates to the complaints (justified or not) that WB has had about
> the
> alleged "treatment" of Jaime Escalante by the "wild-eyed reformedrs"
> formerly
> running the People's Republic of California. (For the humor-impaired: that
> was a
> joke, mostly).
>
> I read the book about Escalante, watched the movie, and also looked at
> least one
> of the Annenberg-CPB (or was it PBS?) videos on his teaching. I'll be
> darned if
> I could figure out his "secret", other than that he had about a gazillion
> manipulatives, and that he had the students work like the dickens,
> including
> after school, weekends, and summer vacations. I am not sure he even used
> a
> textbook, but could be corrected on that point.
>
> Escalante didn't even bother to learn the names of his students, did not
> seem to
> believe in orthodox teaching methods that Mathematically Correct would
> have
> everybody use, but did try to motivate his students by ... what? Appeals
> to
> pride? Practical applications? It's not clear to me what his "secret" was,
> nor
> how to duplicate whatever that was.
>
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