Mr. Escalante

            Mr. Escalante was a great teacher. He willing took a beyond difficult teaching job because he wanted to help kids and wanted to teach. He consistently went out of his way to help a kid in their learning. On his first day of class, there were a lot of tough looking students, but Mr. Escalante was not intimidated. He knew that if he treated them as equals, he would earn their respect and hopefully get to them, as he did with one. Mr. Escalante came in to class happy every day, and that can always have a big impact on students. It reduces their stress, and smiles can be contagious. He knew that a lot of these students had tough lives, so he was very good about turning real life situations into lessons, and it tended to work. He TRULY believed in his students. He knew that they could learn and he held faith in them even when the other teachers doubted them. Occasionally, Mr. Escalante would good-heartedly embarrass his students into getting them to do their work, like when one girl didn’t want to take a test and he made her sit in a tiny chair in front of the class while they laughed at her. Mr. Escalante learned about his students and based his curriculum off of them. He was a fantastic teacher.