Paper #2

     Mr. Davis and Mr. Escalante are two teacher whom both share the goal of creating smarter students.
They both want to see their students not only pass the class, but to excel from the standards. Mr. Escalante and Mr.Davis share some similar traits in their methods of teaching, these consist of control of their class, making the class entertaining, and their dedication to the class.

     One of the most challenging problems teachers find is having control of their class. Mr.Escalante has shown how controlling a class can be difficult, but also rewarding. When he first stepped into his class room the students were rude and did not want to listen. The school itself was is a low end of town with students whom was regarded as below average.   He was able to gain control of the class after slipping a few lines that seemed dot surprise the students such as:

  "Tough guys don't do math. Tough guys fry chicken for a living."

     Over time Mr. Escalante was able to have full control of his former rowdy class. This important step allowed him to teach the students with a great measure of success. Mr.Davis also had a key skill to teaching in controlling his class. The school that Mr. John Davis taught at was is a more developed part of the world. Mr.Davis, like Mr.Escalante used his personality to keep control over his class room. He used more school appropriate remarks than Mr.Escalante, but he still made remarks. What impressed me the most was how Mr.Davis would be able to prevent students from talking in class without having to move them away from another. He would also preform actions that would reduce the amount of students leaving the class room. The school's policy required students to carry with them a bathroom pass to go to the restroom. Mr.Davis' bathroom pass was a pretty clay basket with a pink and blue handle. This discouraged students from using. One of his more discreet techniques was with the vending machines. Out side Mr.Davis' class room was a beverage vending machine. Students would ask to leave class or go to the bathroom so the could buy a drink. He used to put a piece of paper on the front of the machine that said "BROKEN" along with pulling the power plug from the wall. Both Mr.Escalante and Mr.Davis had a great measure of control in their class rooms.

     One of the most important ingredients for making a good teacher is humor. If you can get the class's attention they are more likely to succeed. John Davis and Jamie Escalante both demonstrated this key tool in their everyday teachings. The best way I have heard Mr. Davis is if you took the host of "Gardening with Cisco" and switched his coffee to decaf. His energy always went hand in hand with his humor and his teachings. When you sat down for class he would always be playing music during the passing periods and always had something to talk about. He was about 65 years old and every year, take a week off of school to go helicopter skiing. Mr.Escalante also shared a similar passion for making the class exciting. All though he did not demon straight the same energy level as Mr.Davis he would rather express it though his witty comments. An example is when he is boarder line threatened by a gang of kids as responds with:

"I am *El Cyclone,* from... Bolivia. One-man gang. This classroom is *my* domain. Don't give me no gas, or I'll jump on your face and tattoo your chromosomes... If the only thing you know how to do is add and subtract, you will only be prepared to do one thing: Pump gas."

Mr. Escalante and Mr. Davis both recognize how keeping the class entertaining is an important skill to have to help their students succeed.

     At the end of the day the main quality trait that a great teacher is their dedication to the class.
Mr.Escalante was an extremely dedicated to his class, and his teachings. He constantly went above the normal standards that the other teachers at his school provided. An example is when he decided to teach a summer math class. Normally a teacher will only teach a summer class if they need the extra money. Jamie Escalante taught a summer class to get his students ahead in math. During the hottest month of the class he taught a class inside a locker room that didn't have an any air conditioning available. He also went outside of the class room to help his students, not only in class but in life. Such as telling a student:

  "You only see the turn, you don't see the road ahead."

 Another great example is depicted Between Mr. Escalante and Mr. Delgato:

[Escalante is eating in the Delgado family's restaurant, speaking with them about Ana's decision to drop out of Garfield High] 
Mr.Escalante: She'll just get fat, waste her life away in your restaurant. You have to understand - she's a top student.
Mr.Delgado: I started washing dishes for a nickel an hour. Now I own this place. Did *I* waste *my* life? 
Jaime Escalante: I washed dishes, too, when I first came to this country. 
Mr. Delgado: Good! Why don't you put on an apron and give us a hand? 
Jaime Escalante: ...Ana could go to college, come back, and teach you how to run this place.

     The amount of dedication along with Mr. Escalante's knowledge of the class is almost unparalleled to any other teacher in the world. Mr.Davis did not go so far out of his boundary's to help students succeed, but he still all ways put some effort into it. He Teaches a variety of classes for different grades and subjects. The main courses he teaches is English 11, Creative writing and Film studies.
The Best example of Mr.Davis's dedication to his class would be his assignment turnaround rate. Mr.Davis would have a six page paper deadline on a Tuesday. Your entire class plus the other 3 English classes would all turn their papers in on the same day. He would literally have your paper read in depth, and corrected on every page and every punctuation mark and back on your desk within two days, for every one of his students. The only time he would take more than 4 days to correct an assignment was on the thirty page screenplay assignment for film studies. Now most educators think of film studies as a group of students sit in a classroom and the teacher just lets them watch movies all day. Mr. Davis held a different standard for Film Studies. You started with a bit of history of film then watch a movie, followed by a review in depth. Every two movie you would take a short test along with a list of 100 minimum word responses on the movies. During the film "Psycho" by Alfred Hitchcock Mr. Davis would tell you interesting facts about the movie along with subtle motif's such as the use of mirrors or the indications of birds. You would end the class with writing an original screen play that ended up with an average of twenty-five pages but must be over six thousand words long. A much more challenging class than just watching movies.

     Both Mr.Davis and Mr.Escalante are great examples of what a great teacher consists of.   They both came from different backgrounds, and taught in different schools. These great teachers both share the same goals. Although their methods of keeping their class's entertaining they still both do while keeping excellent control of their classes. Above all else both Mr.Escalante and Mr.Davis provide a prodigious amount of effort in dedication for their classes and students in helping them excel.