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The movie Stand and Deliver has been one of my favorites ever since they made us watch it in middle school. It has a very important message to never give up regard of your circumstances in life and your background. The way Jaime Escalante impacts these students is very interesting because he makes them take out their true potential and not give up. In the movie they make the students retake the AP Calculus exam because they thought that the students had cheated. I think that by retaking it and getting a better score than the first time was the best way to show what Hispanic students are capable of if only they believe in them. This is exactly what Escalante did; he believed in the capability of these students even though they didn’t really believe in themselves. One of the things that really stood out to me was the fact that many of the students had issues with their families which was one of the reasons why they could not really focus in school. The way Escalante had to impact the students both in class and in their personal lives was the hardest decision he had to make but was worth it because he was able to turn them into what they could really do in life more importantly, prove to the students themselves that they are capable of many great things in life. (235)
ReplyDeleteBruno Morales
Stand and Deliver has been one of everyone’s favorite film in high school or middle school. It is a movie that really does open our eyes that no matter your race or economic level, an education is something that these students can achieve. The movie has Mr. Escalante as their Calculus teacher and he really changes their mindset and actually makes them learn while they enjoy it more and more each day. Not only does he help them with math problems but with their personal problems as well. They grow fond of him. They all end up taking the AP exam but get accused of cheating because the scores were extremely good. The students were quite bummed out, but Mr. Escalante didn’t let it get to them. They retake the exam doing even better. All because of one individual who didn’t just sit in a chair waiting for a paycheck every month and actually worked with the students, changed their lives in a good way. What teacher wants to deal with other people’s problems? This teacher went the extra mile to see these students succeed not only in Calculus but in the real life as well and take this stereotype they had shadowing them.
ReplyDeleteGiselle Sanchez
The movie “Standard and Deliver” is one of the most influential educational films I’ve watched growing up as a kid. I feel like this movie correlates very much with some of the videos we watched early in the semester where they talked about high drop-out rates within the Latinx community and figuring out ways to motivate them to start engaging in school programs. This movie spoke up to me because it took place in a high school where most of the students were Hispanic and had trouble succeeding in school due to the resources and peers they had around them, which is something we commonly face unconsciously in poorly funded communities growing up as kids. One thing that I’m sure amazed most of the audience from this movie was that Escalante got his kids to consistently score well in the advanced placement calculus exam. Of course considering the fact that his student were from a poorly educated, crime written neighborhood, administrators accused 18 of his student of cheating on the exams all for the reason of them being stereotyped as dumb, incapable, and most of all Mexican. This was infuriating to watch but as they retook the exam, administrators were proven wrong as results came back even better. Jaime Escalante was clearly a legendary teacher who pushed students to their full potential by getting to know their personal lives and challenging them to a specific standard. He took it upon himself to demonstrate that these kids weren’t dumb but rather unmotivated and discomforted to pursue a specific goal. He would consistently remind his students that they need “ganas” to be able to excel and deliver not only in school but in life as well. This was an influence that carried a domino effect into future generations as his prior students, who were influenced by him, now influence future students just as he did them. (314)
ReplyDeleteAdrian Martinez
Although I’ve seen the film “Stand and Deliver” many times, after taking this course I have noticed how in depth the message of the film actually is. Jaime Escalante was an influential teacher that was determined to not only have his students go to college, but have the Mexican-American community succeed. He educated his students about how great their ancestors were, and how they “had math in their blood” when he mentioned it was the Mayans who introduced the concept of zero. As with prior films, it is empowering to know about our past society, to encourage us to look towards the future. In another instance in the film, Anita, a smart, timid student had considered to stop going to school to help her family’s restaurant, because her father was inducing that notion. This made me think of how many women are repressed by our machista society, how they are expected to be maternal and incompetent not powerful, and independent. As when Mr. Escalante (portrayed by Edward James Olmos) noted that other privileged or (white) high schools were teaching calculus, I believed that stimulated him to start teaching his students that course. He knew his students were just as capable as any other students all they needed was “Ganas”, the will to do it, and someone to push them and that believed in them. One thing I take from this film and from the legacy of Jaime Escalante is that if we want to grow and thrive as community, we should encourage and push each other to achieve greater undertakings. (260)
ReplyDelete-Víctor D. Gaytán
“You can succeed if you have the desire in other words Ganas” that’s what the reporter mentions on the video. Ganas means determination, discipline, hard work that’s the way Escalante defines “ganas”. That really got my attention because he believed in every student it only took for the students to have one of those characteristics. It’s sad to see how the administration doubt the scores of Escalantes students all because they were from a poor latino neighborhood noted for always scoring low on scores. And in the movie “Stand and Deliver” the teachers mention that his students test scores would have never been question if they weren’t Spanish and came from Barrios. He made a point and became to be an influential teacher that was determent to make a difference and make education equal for everybody. This film makes me want to keep fighting for our rights as Mexican- Americans that just because we ae bilingual or look a little darker doesn’t mean we can’t succeed in life. And that all I need is to have “Ganas” to keep on this fight with racist people and trying to break those typical stereotypes that are commonly in our state.
ReplyDelete^^^
ReplyDeleteMaria Leal
I had never watched “Stand and Deliver” but it was such a great influential film that meant a lot to some people. “Stand and Deliver” is a story about the famous Jaime Escalante who taught at the inner-city school of Garfield High in East Los Angeles was brought to the big screen. Escalante’s point was that he believed that every student could learn if given the right motivation. Escalante had huge success and hardships were dramatized through the use of the film. Escalante turned everything around and it’s incredible how much of a significance he was to many. My family could sort of relate to this film as they grew up in a poor community and are Hispanic. Many of my family members had trouble succeeding in school due to the resources. As the year progresses, he is able to win over the attention of the students by implementing innovative teaching techniques, using props and humor to illustrate abstract concepts of math and convey the necessity of math in everyday lives. Escalante was a math teacher and he not only helped them in school but he also helped these kids with the personal lives. These kids succeeded because of one individual because he greatly impacted them and motivated them to be the best they can be. Escalante did whatever he could to better these students and he ultimately succeeded. This is why I highly respect him for all he did, it was incredible.
ReplyDeleteMichael Garcia
The movie, ‘Stand and deliver’ not only encourage me as a student, but also inspired teachers in hundreds of inner-city schools to copy his method. The biggest impact was that he transformed one of the lowest-performing high schools in the country into a model for raising the achievement of disadvantaged children. Presently he did something good for children that don’t have educational opportunities and he gave them a reason to keep on studying. He would tell his students to give all their ‘ganas’ to have determination, discipline, and hard work. When I was small my dad would always tell me to ‘Mija quiero que le eches todas tus ganas a tus estudios porque no quiero que estes como yo.’ I realized that he would say those things because, nowadays nobody wants someone who didn’t go to school or have an aducation, this is why Jaime wanted for them to be successful. His ability to persuade was very effective; now his students are forever grateful to him. This is the main point: that your skin, language or culture doesn’t say if you’re going to be successful.
ReplyDeleteStephanie nicole cantu
The film Stand and Deliver is such a powerful and amazing movie I have seen yet. I had never seen this film before and I am happy I did. This film made me go through every emotion possible and I guess that is what I loved and got so engaged with it so much. I loved how Jaime Escalante motivates and influences these students even though he had no support from some members of the board. He mentions often the word “ganas” in other words the desire to accomplish or succeed in something they put their mind to. In this case Mr. Escalante wants his students to have the desire to succeed and excel the low expeditions that everyone sees in them. Throughout the film we see many ups and downs with all the characters, they all go through their own personal hardships on top of the pressure from the school. Many of them went through heartbreaking things with their families and even Mr. Escalante himself with his health issues. My favorite scene of the film was when he made his students retake the AP calculus exam because they were accusing the students of cheating and the second time around they scored better than their first. This just proved and showed them that Mexican American students can achieve anything they put their mind to.
ReplyDeleteBrandi Rae Rodriguez
The movie Stand and deliver was an eye opener because no matter the race or the living situation, everybody should have the same education. It was sad how some teachers didn’t believe in the students but Jaime Escalante did, he taught them to always work harder and never give up. It’s crazy how he got every student engage and wanting to learn more. Escalante didn’t think that students were dumb they just needed that extra push (ganas). He got them to take the AP calculus and they got good scores, and people thought that they had cheated so they had to retake it. Some of the students were bothered that they had to retake the test and again but Mr. Escalante didn’t allow for that to get in the way. The second time they took the exam the scores were higher than the first time they took it. That showed that the student just needed that extra push or have someone believe in them. Nobody thought they could do it but Escalante did. What caught my attention was Escalante didn’t just help them in school but he also helped them with personal problems. Jaime Escalante did everything in his power to see his student succeed in the future.
ReplyDeleteSandy Martinez
I remember watching the movie "Stand and Deliver" in middle school and being so into it while the rest of my classmates talked and complained about having to watch it. I just couldn't understand as to why my classmates didn't love this movie. I cant even really choose a favorite scene because i just love everything about this film. I love how he never gives up on the kids, and how he always goes the extra mile to help these kids. It just crazy to see how racist the administrative people were towards the minorities. The part that really does get me upset and a little fired up is when they accuse them of cheating just because they had a lack of faith in these kids. "Those scores would've never been questioned if my kids did not have Spanish surnames and come from barrio schools, you know that." even mentions tat had the scores been this high in Beverly Hills they would not have sent those two guys to go and investigate the exams and the people who took it. It just comes to show the way people would treat minorities in those days. But they proved them wrong, and made a huge difference, not only for themselves but it changed the way people looked at minorities, and gave hope to the ones who thought they could never make anything out of their lives because of their ethnicity.
ReplyDeleteJoanne Lopez
The film reveals the discrimination that is made against the “minority” of this country. As seen in the movie, Mexican Americans were viewed as being incapable of applying themselves to given tasks and harvesting the success they deserved. It is unfortunate that because of one’s ethnic background and placement in society that others take advantage of labeling them as “inferior,” and racial stereotypes made by those outside the “minority” further support the despondent judgements. As Mr. Escalante argued in the film, if the conflict of cheating made itself present in a school such as in Beverly Hills, where people are perceived as “higher” in class, students would not have been expected to retest as they did in East Los Angeles. I admired Mr. Escalante’s determination and care to assist the high school students in reaching their full potential and proving others wrong. I believe that many students are wrongfully considered lazy and incompetent because of their struggles in their studies, but the fact of the matter is that they need caring instructors and guardians to show them how to increase their knowledge and gain success. Furthermore, as I watched the news video which displayed actual footage of Mr. Escalante and his class, I was touched to find that not only did he bless their lives within the classroom at that time, but the blessing continued to carry his students to be effective professionals in the real world.
ReplyDeleteCeline Brianna Salas
This movie “Stand and Deliver” was very empowering it really left me thinking about how bad discrimination was towards the Hispanic race. After viewing the film, in my opinion we need more people like Jaime Escalante. I loved the way that he stood firm and fought to make a difference in these kids’ lives. He was an excellent example that if you set your mind to it you could accomplish whatever. He showed his students that they have the capacity to become academically successful if they put strong efforts and hard work towards the goal and never give up. The thing that made me upset, was the fact that just because the kids that passed the Advanced Placement test, came from a Hispanic background were accused of cheating. Escalante had the courage to stand up for these kids and he challenged the school in an expressively way. It was surprising the way that he gains these kids trusts, because I believe it is not easy to stay firm when you have kids that have a rude and ungrateful attitude. This film and the short report got me thinking the impact that Jaime Escalante had in the education. I really enjoyed the film, I especially enjoyed the fact that there are people out there who can and make a difference. Everybody can succeed in life if you dedicate.
ReplyDeleteGuadalupe Cazares
Stand and Deliver is an amazing movie I have ever watched. The first time I watched this movie was when I was in middle school. This movie does a great job in telling us that no matter your race or economic statues, you can always get an education if you put "Ganas". Jaime Escalante is an amazing teacher. He is the teacher who isn't going to stop because the student couldn’t do the work or because the student thinks education is not for them. He is the type of teacher who is going to push you to be better. I didn’t like the fact that the administration didn’t believe that the students got good scores on the test by themselves. The administration thought they cheated, kind of like saying that it's impossible for lower class or different race to get high scores. The students were down about this but I just love the fact that they retook the test and didn’t just prove the administration wrong, but got even higher scores. I myself want to be a high school math teacher and I want to be someone who changes the student's life, help them like school and continue for higher education for a better life. I want to be the one who made the class interesting and made it look easy for people who hate math or have always had a hard time understanding math.
ReplyDeleteIvan Lira
This is the first time I saw the film “stand and deliver” and I think the film was actually very interesting, because I was thinking it was going to be boring story, but when I saw the first scenes and dilemmas I was getting more interested. The film reflects education in our culture, we often see Hispanic or Latinos having the higher rates of dropouts from school compared to others. In the film we see a teacher that wanted to educate students and make them believe in their selves, he wanted to make them believe that they could pass an A.P. exam, so they can prove others were wrong. Now, the way the testing service discriminated just by being Latinos was not correct, for example just by thinking that if you came from the barrio or just by your ethnicity you are not capable to perform well, because you are not “equal” as them. These students could overcome adversity not only against the system, but also personal in the way they never give up and achieved success makes me realize that we should be proud. Jaime Escalante was a role model for others, he changed the mentality of the students he educated by having some unique methods that other teachers may never implement. His legacy will remain in his students and in films such as “stand and deliver”.
ReplyDeleteLuis Reyna
Watching "Stand and Deliver' is one of my favorite films. My favorite thing about this movie was that the teacher treated all the students the same, he believed in each one of his students and never gave up on them. Sometimes that's what we need. Another reason why I enjoyed this movie was that they got to prove the people that they didn't believe in wrong. I didn't like how they didn't believe Latinos could have a place in education. This movie proves otherwise. It got me going when they put them in the library and made them test but, they still got even better results because it showed that they actually have a place in education and shouldn't discriminate. Besides, the fact that Escalante was a teacher he also gave them a place for comfort. They were able to have trust in someone who gave them something to believe in and that is themselves. The amount of power of this movie is incredibly insane because they stand up for themselves in education and they stay together. The students in the classroom get more comfortable and stand together while in the beginning they are shy and not comfortable with each other because they're from different cliques. I just really enjoy and love this movie.
ReplyDeleteYarazeth Ramirez
Stand and Deliver brought so many questioning into my opinion about the current education systems and limitations that are being strictly implemented into teaching systems here in America.
ReplyDeleteI understand that limitations between personal life and professional careers have to very strict in order to maintain the safety of the students; that is why, Jaime Escalante rose such a scandalous controversy among the educational field. The fact that he involved himself so much either his students was seen as “inappropriate” “dangerous” or even “unprofessional” event though this aspect was the most essential one for him and his students to succeed. Sometimes students have the need to feel honestly cared for as the persons they truly are specially by their teachers and peers; however, in the school system we currently have, these feelings can’t be reached. It would take a lot of motivation and actual love for students for a teacher to go against the norms in order to really help them and change their lives forever. Therefore, Escalante’s work is very admirable to me.
Over all, I really enjoyed watching the film and understanding that education is very important aspect of chicanxs’ lives and should really be fought for with courage and inspiration.
Stand and Deliver brought so many questioning into my opinion about the current education systems and limitations that are being strictly implemented into teaching systems here in America.
ReplyDeleteI understand that limitations between personal life and professional careers have to very strict in order to maintain the safety of the students; that is why, Jaime Escalante rose such a scandalous controversy among the educational field. The fact that he involved himself so much either his students was seen as “inappropriate” “dangerous” or even “unprofessional” event though this aspect was the most essential one for him and his students to succeed. Sometimes students have the need to feel honestly cared for as the persons they truly are specially by their teachers and peers; however, in the school system we currently have, these feelings can’t be reached. It would take a lot of motivation and actual love for students for a teacher to go against the norms in order to really help them and change their lives forever. Therefore, Escalante’s work is very admirable to me.
Over all, I really enjoyed watching the film and understanding that education is very important aspect of chicanxs’ lives and should really be fought for with courage and inspiration.
Ingrid Davila
ps. I forgot to put my name in the previous one.
Throughout middle school and high school, I saw Stand a Deliver a few times and I can say I admire Jaime Escalante because he believed in his students when the students did not believe in themselves. I feel that the students did not think they had the potential to do good in school because not even the teachers believed in them, they did not have hope for them, they just saw them as drop out students. Jaime Escalante says all they need is ganas and I agree with him because if you really want to accomplish something, le pones ganas until it happens for you. It is so sad to see how they thought the students cheated on the exam because the grades were too high, and usually, these students don’t get high grades in school. The best part of this is that they were proven wrong and these students did make high grades and that was because they had Escalante as a teacher, and he believed in them and when students see that the teacher believes in them, the students gain confidence in themselves which made them want to succeed.
ReplyDeleteYadira de Leon
I remember it like it was yesterday when they were showing "Stand and Deliver" in my 7th grade year. Watching the film for the first time really opened my eyes on how my parents or other relatives of mine went through high school. There was such discrimination, and lack of educational motivation in these schools, and it angered me that this was normal back then. Normal to not be motivated to get an education, or to at least attend school. There was this lack because administrations of these schools didn't expect for chicano students to actually make it somewhere in life, and expected them to drop out and become a kind of labor worker. Jaime Escalante played such a good role in this movie as an educator who cared so much about his students, and as a role model to these kids. I will never forget one very important lesson he would teach those student, and thats GANAS. I think its a misused term, but Escalante really defines what it means in this film.
ReplyDeleteHector Chapa
Stand and deliver is a movie that inspires students to be more dedicated and to put more effort on anything they want to achieve, not only on their studies. It teaches you that you can succeed on anything in life, but you have to put some time and work for it. I really enjoyed watching it because I’m majoring in math and I understand the struggle of learning math, no much people get math easy, and it is incredible how the professor Jaime Escalante encouraged his students to not be limited, to go beyond their limits, and also it is amazing how the students paid attention to him and followed his advices. In those years there was still a lot of discrimination, not every student had the same privileges as others, so it was hard to teach math in a high level but it was accomplished. The final result was that some students learned and passed the calculus test, this led people think that students were cheating because no one believed on them only Mr. Escalante. This just reflects the big impact the students made by putting “ganas” because before Mr. Escalante encouraged them to give their best, they were regular students.
ReplyDeleteMissael Salinas
Selena Quintanilla was and will always be an important woman for many Mexican Americans. After seeing the documentary, it gave me a better understanding of her life. She started singing at an early age and by ten years old she became the lead singer of the family’s band. Selena didn’t know Spanish but that didn’t stop her from singing Tejano music. Her dad was the one that pushed her and her sibling to sing in a Mexican restaurant and that’s the way they got noticed. Unfortunately, some places didn’t allow Selena to perform because Tejano music was meant for a male to sing it not a female but that didn’t stop Selena’s father. After her first hit she became the “Queen of Tejano” they also called her Mexican Madonna because of her sexy outfits and her dances moves, everybody loved her and they could also relate with her. I still remember the day that I saw the movie, it was interesting seeing everything she went through, but what got my attention how much her fans loved her. Mexican American looked up to her because she was the “American Dream” and she didn’t allow anybody to bring her down.
ReplyDeleteSandy Martinez
‘Stand and Deliver’ presents a message of Chicanos breaking the stereotype others have on Mexican Americans to prove others wrong. Jamie Escalante was a high school teacher of Mexican American students that were viewed as unteachable. Escalante’s students were driven, motivated, dedicated, and much more. They continued to learn and improve their academic skills. Once they could prove that they could put in the effort and strive in anything they set their minds to, they were shut out, accused of cheating. Even the faculty from that very school doubted their student’s intentions. Escalante always stuck by them, only told them to prove wrong once more. Which I realized was a hard thing to ask of them, but they were willing to put in the effort. I believe that this film brings about what the Chicano culture, especially the students, struggle with in that we are doubted and looked down upon just because we are considered lower class. Although it does show the struggles on discrimination, I believe that it is a good representation on how we strive to be strong. We defend ourselves for others to see the strength we have in our communities. What I was proud of was the determination these Chicanos had and their dedication to prosper against the ignorance of others.
ReplyDeleteAlma De La Llana
It is sad to know that Latinos are often seen as individuals who are incapable of achieving goals such as succeeding in school, like the movie “Stand and Deliver” show us. For decades we have been stereotyped, and sadly, new generations are growing up with a fixed mindset, they don’t strive for more because they are not aware of their potential, neither they want to be aware of it. What most people don’t realize is that our mindset is what shapes our attitude and it is the ultimate factor which determines our success or failure.
ReplyDeleteI had the opportunity to read an article about Jaime Escalante in my first semester as a college student. The article is called “GANAS”. Up to this point, every time negative thoughts cross my mind and make me feel discouraged, I remember Mr. Escalante’s words: GANAS, that’s what truly makes the difference. However, I am aware that ganas goes hand in hand with motivation, and sometimes we can have all the ganas but the wrong motivation, reason why we don’t achieve our goals.
“Stand and Deliver” is a marvelous film, it also reminds me of the movie McFarland, USA. These type of films really motivate Latino students to strive for more, to be aware that we can achieve everything we put our minds to...we just got to have GANAS!
Rossy Tapia Cervantes