Stand and Deliver Part Two

In the beginning of the movie, Stand and Deliver, we are introduced to the main character, Mr. Escalante, who is a vested teacher into the progression of his calculus students. He understands the real hardships his students face and he empowers them to overcome said hardships through hard-work and rising to the occasion. His direct approach puts ‘control’ back into the hands of the students and he raises the level of expectations with no excuse for not meeting or beating the challenges that lay ahead (in personal life as well as in academics). His dedication comes at a price though and it causes one to ponder “what is a price ‘too high’ to pay when your’ chosen career is designed to impact the entire lifespan of a child?”

Escalante sacrifices the relationships with his wife, his children and even his own self when he exercises all of his times, energy and available resources to into the development of his students. The cost is a strain on his marriage, frustration from his son and ultimately, his physical self because he has a heart attack. By not following the doctors’ orders to rest and take it easy, he puts himself into long term harm’s way.

To further his ‘stress’ the state reviews the test results of his students college level calculus scores and sends an investigation committee to determine whether or not ‘cheating’ took place because all of his student (former slackers, dead-beats and youth with little expectation to succeed) pass.

As one could imaging, moral and esteem are challenged while tensions flare to boiling point for Mr. Escalante, the students and the administration departments at the school, but truth prevails and through a re-exam the state drops the charges of cheating and all of the students are able to move forward with honor.