Formal Paper #2 Rough Draft

Dedication to Inspiration

The two teachers that we have studied in the second unit of this class have contrasting teaching styles, yet they desire to inspire similar lessons upon their students.  Mr. Jamie Escalante from the movie "Stand and Deliver" and Professor John Keating from the movie "Dead Poets Society" are both dedicated teachers.  Their goal was to open the minds of their students and instill lessons that they could use in their lives beyond the classroom.  They had a profound impact on the lives of their students.

During a class, Mr. Escalante asked his students, "Did you know that neither the Greeks nor the Romans were capable of using the concept of zero?  It was your ancestors, the Mayans, who first contemplated the zero.  The absence of value."  He goes on to tell them that they have math in their blood. During a staff meeting at the school he says, "Students will rise to the level of expectation."  Later he tells his students, "There will be no free rides, no excuses.  You already have two strikes against you: your name and your complexion.  Because of these two strikes, there are some people in this world who will assume that you know less than you do.  Math is the equalizer...When you go for a job, the person giving you that job will not want to hear your problems; ergo, neither do I.  You're going to work harder here than you've ever worked anywhere else."  He tells them that the only thing that he is asking from them is desire.

Professor Keating leads his class to the foyer of Welton Academy and tells them to look at the pictures of some former students.  He tells them, “They're not that different from you, are they? Same haircuts. Full of hormones, just like you. Invincible, just like you feel. The world is their oyster. They believe they're destined for great things, just like many of you, their eyes are full of hope, just like you. Did they wait until it was too late to make from their lives even one iota of what they were capable? Because, you see gentlemen, these boys are now fertilizing daffodils. But if you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. Listen, you hear it? - - Carpe - - hear it? - - Carpe, carpe diem, seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary.”

Ana a meek, quiet, shy girl announces that is her last day of calculus class.  Later that day, Mr. Escalante decides to have dinner in a little Mexican restaurant with his wife.  The brick lined interior is scattered with small tables.  Few pictures adorn the walls.  You can see the kitchen staff working in the kitchen through a small window as the sounds of cooking is masked by the Mexican music softly playing in the background.  After they finish their dinner, the restaurant owner approaches the table and asks about the meal.  Escalante points out a discrepancy in the check.  Mr. Delgado, the restaurant owner, calls to his daughter who is dressed in a light blue ruffled off the shoulder dress accented by white lace, and speaks to her in Spanish.  She introduces Mr. Escalante to her father as her math teacher.  Escalante uses the opportunity to tell Mr. Ramirez about the importance of Ana going back to school.  Escalante invites Ana’s father to sit with them at their table.  Without skipping a beat Escalate says, “You should get another waitress.  Ana can be the first one of your family to graduate from high school, go to college.”  Delgado points out that Ana’s mother, sisters and brothers all work for the family business.  Escalante points out, “She can help the family more by getting an education…she should make her own choices…Ana could go to college, come back, and teach you how to run this place.”  Ana’s father does not take the advice too kindly.  He tells Mrs. Escalante, “Your husband comes into my restaurant, eats…and insults me!”   She quietly replies, “Excuse my husband, Mr. Delgado.  He just wants what is best for Ana.”   Ana returns to class.

Neil Perry stops by Keating’s office to have a conversation about a personal matter.  He begins by saying, “I just talked to my father. He's making me quit the play at Henley Hall. Acting's everything to me. I- But he doesn't know! He- I can see his point; we're not a rich family, like Charlie's. We- But he's planning the rest of my life for me, and I- He's never asked me what I want!”   Keating inquires, “Have you ever told your father what you just told me? About your passion for acting? You ever showed him that?”   “I can't”, Perry responds.  Keating asks him, “Why not?” Perry replies, “I can't talk to him this way.”  Keating tells him, “Then you're acting for him, too. You're playing the part of the dutiful son. Now, I know this sounds impossible, but you have to talk to him. You have to show him who you are, what your heart is!”  Perry says, “I know what he'll say! He'll tell me that acting's a whim and I should forget it. They're counting on me; he'll just tell me to put it out of my mind for my own good.”  Keating says, “You are not an indentured servant! It's not a whim for you, you prove it to him by your conviction and your passion! You show that to him, and if he still doesn't believe you - well, by then, you'll be out of school and can do anything you want.”  Perry informs him, “No. What about the play? The show's tomorrow night!”  Keating advises him, “Then you have to talk to him before tomorrow night.”  Desperately Perry asks, “ Isn't there an easier way?”  Keating tells him, “No.”

Mr. Escalante had his students sign a contract specifying terms for spending extra time working for his class which included time in the morning, after school and weekends.  He wanted to make his expectations clear and made sure that each student had their parent sign it so he could hold his students to his rules.  As each student entered the classroom, Escalante collected the forms.  Pancho did not have his paper signed.  His excuse was, “My uncle offered me a job operating a forklift Saturdays and Sundays.  I’ll be making time and a half.”  “So what”, replied Escalante.  He smugly replied, “Two years in the union and I’ll be making more than you.”  Later while Escalante is driving Pancho's car, he tells him, “Kemo, I don't wanna let you down but the money I'd be making will buy me a new Trans Am.”  Escalante tells him, “No one cruises through life, Pancho. Wouldn't you rather be designing these things than repairing them? Can't even do that, things got fuel injection” as he grinds the gears to the car.  “Kemo, you're gonna strip my gears, man!”  “Don't panic, Johnny, just watch out for the other guy”, as he grinds the gears again.  Calmly he asks, “Right or left?”  When he doesn’t get an immediate answer, he asks again, this time in desperation, “Right or left?”  Pancho hurriedly yells in a panic, “GO RIGHT! GO RIGHT!”  Escalante turns right, and screeches to halt in front of a dead end sign.  He tells Pancho, “All you can see is the turn, don't see the road ahead...”

While standing on his desk Keating asks the classroom full of boys, “Why do I stand up here? Anybody?”  Dalton answers, “To feel taller!”  Keating rings a bell with his foot, “No!  Thank you for playing Mr. Dalton. I stand upon my desk to remind myself that we must constantly look at things in a different way.”  He adds, “Boys, you must strive to find your own voice. Because the longer you wait to begin, the less likely you are to find it at all. Thoreau said, "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation." Don't be resigned to that. Break out!”  The students take turns climbing onto Keating's desk to see a new perspective as he tells them, “Now, don't just walk off the edge like lemmings! Look around you!”

Mr. Jamie Escalante from the movie "Stand and Deliver" and Professor John Keating from the movie "Dead Poets Society" were both dedicated teachers.  Their goal was to open the minds of their students and instill lessons that they could use in their lives beyond the classroom.  They produced new ways for their students to see the world.  They taught that them that they can overcome hardships, arise from struggles and do extraordinary things to create something better in their worlds.

Further Drafting Exercises

We received numerous worksheets to help us write our second paper.  They centered on exercises that prompt us to richly illustrate parts for our paper.  For me it was hard.  I am not a creative writing person.  It is difficult for me to try to break out of my bubble.  Try as I might, I am barely stretching out of my comfort zone.  It is tough and excruciating.  I feel like I am banging my head on a wall. 

Trying to go around and around to describe scenes in an interesting way is not easy for me.  I am literal.  I read EXACTLY what is written; there is no reading between the lines with me.  Tell me what you mean and mean what you say. Trying to describe scenes in the movies is more like word for word dialog with me.  I concentrate on the words and not necessarily on the way they are spoken or the body language of the person speaking.  

As I rework my paper in my mind, I am slowly going crazy.  I need to find the happy medium.  One where I fulfill all the parameters of the assignment AND where I feel like I did a good job.

Refine Your Draft...

The two teachers that we have studied in the second unit of this class have contrasting teaching styles, yet they desire to inspire similar lessons upon their students.  Mr. Jamie Escalante from the movie "Stand and Deliver" and Professor John Keating from the movie "Dead Poets Society" are both dedicated teachers.  Their goal was to open the minds of their students and instill lessons that they could use in their lives beyond the classroom.  They had a profound impact on the lives of their students.

“Stand and Deliver” takes place at James A. Garfield High School, a real school in Eastern Los Angeles in the 1982.  It was a coed public school in a poor area in the west coast.  The students were disadvantaged and lacked discipline. 

“Dead Poets Society” takes place at Welton Academy, a the fictional east coast prestigious private prepschool in for boys in Vermont in the 1959 where tradition, honor, discipline and excellence was the school motto.

At Garfield High, the educational standards are set low.  Most students are not expected to attend college.  They come from working class families whose parents did not go to college themselves.

At Welton Academy, tradition of families attending the school for generations is a common theme.  As a prep school, it is primarily meant as a place to prepare for college, usually an Ivy league school such as Harvard or Yale.  Most students plan on going to law or medical school.

At Garfield, students lived at home with their families where they had many responsibilities such as taking care of family and jobs.  They lacked textbooks, higher end classes and money for technology such as computers. 

At Welton, the boys stayed in dormitories, concentrated on their studies, and had many options for enriching extracurricular activities such as the school paper, drama, rowing, and fencing.  Welton was primarily a high society upper class population.

Jamie Escalante quit a good job from a company to become a high school math teacher.  He originally was supposed to teach a computer class, but the school was promised funding for computers for the past two years and did not have computers yet.

John Keating was a former student of Welton Academy where he was part of many extracurricular activities including the secret Dead Poets Society.  He is introduced as a new English professor.

Jamie Escalante demanded discipline from his students at Garfield High.  He spent a large amount of time ordering his students around, usually by raising his voice.  He used ridicule and threats as a scare tactic to put his students into submission.  I think this is because the students lived under tough circumstances and he knew that this was the only way to get through to them.  He also took the time to speak to parents to try to convince them to follow his lead in what he thought would be the best for his students.  He controlled his class.  He had each student sign a contract to make his expectations clear.  He made sure each student and parent signed it so that he could hold his students to them.

John Keating had a different approach.  It was opposite.  He exercised his dominance in a more indirect way.  He led his students in exercises to open their minds because he wanted them to think for themselves.  His ways could be considered unorthodox in comparison to the teachings of the other professors at Welton Academy.  He didn't just want his students to follow his lead, but allow each individual follow where their own mind would have them go. Keating wanted his students to think for themselves.  He didn't approach the students or their parents outside the classroom.  He didn't confront them.  The students usually sought Keating out instead.

Thesis Statement for 2nd Formal Paper

The two teachers that we have studied in the second unit of this class have contrasting teaching styles, yet they desire to inspire similar lessons upon their students.  Mr. Jamie Escalante from the movie "Stand and Deliver" and Professor John Keating from the movie "Dead Poets Society" are both dedicated teachers.  Their goal was to open the minds of their students and instill lessons that they could use in their lives beyond the classroom.  They had a profound impact on the lives of their students.

Begin Drafting Paper #2

Which two teachers will you write about and why?

At this point in time, I am planning on writing about the main teachers we have been studying during unit 2 of this class: Mr. Jamie Escalante from the movie "Stand and Deliver" and Professor John Keating for the movie "Dead Poets Society".  I feel that I have ample material to write formal paper #2 from the resources I have compiled from watching the movies.  I will be a big feat trying to narrow down my notes to be within the 1,200-1,500 word count required while retaining the most important information.

I had originally wanted to write a paper using two personal teachers.  It has been so long since I have been in grades K-12, almost 25 years, and I have not been inspired as to which teachers I could write about.  I have given it much thought.  I would have to liberally use my imagination in order to have enough material to cover the word requirement.

I will begin drafting my paper after I watch the movies one more time while editing my notes to gain more detailed information such as quotes and character names.  I also have to think of a strong thesis statement.  It has to be worded just perfectly.  I am not prepared at this time to blog post the beginning of paper #2.  After re-reading WS 19-22 I plan to work diligently on an outline.  I also plan on studying WS 31-35 closely, as I wish to write my paper in chronological order according to the storyline of the movie, although I may have to make changes if I want to do a point by point comparison of each teacher.  I hope I can get my head together and write a wonderful paper worthy of a good grade.

Escalate vs. Keating

I believe that Jamie Escalate from the movie "Stand and Deliver" and John Keating from the movie "Dead Poets Society" are extremely different.

Jamie Escalante demanded discipline from his students at Garfield High.  He spent a large amount of time ordering his students around, usually by raising his voice.  He used ridicule and threats as a scare tactic to put his students into submission.  I think this is because the students lived under tough circumstances and he knew that this was the only way to get through to them.  He also took the time to speak to parents to try to convince them to follow his lead in what he thought would be the best for his students.  He controlled his class.  He had each student sign a contract to make his expectations clear.  He made sure each student and parent signed it so that he could hold his students to them.

John Keating had a different approach.  It was opposite.  He exercised his dominance in a  more indirect way.  He lead his students in exercises to open their minds because he wanted them to think for themselves.  His ways could be considered unorthodox in comparison to the teachings of the other professors at Welton Academy.  He wasn't so much wanting his students to follow his lead, but to have each individual follow where their own mind would have them go. Keating wanted his students to think for themselves.  He didn't approach the students or their parents outside the classroom.  He didn't confront them.  The students usually sought Keating out instead.

The ways that they are similar are that the both want what is best for their students.  They both used humor in their own way to grab the attention of the kids to make an impression.  I think both teachers and their students were underdogs.  You could not help but root for all of them while watching the movies.

Even thought both teachers showed personalities that were from opposite ends of the spectrum, I think the were both good teachers.  They were effective in their own way and you could see that from the results they brought out of their students.  They each had to utilize different approaches to match the environments in which their students were accustomed.

How Do Garfield and Welton Differ?

Stand and Deliver took place at James A. Garfield High School, a real school in Eastern Los Angeles in the 1980's.  It was a coed public school in a poor area in the west coast.  The students were disadvantaged and lacked discipline.  Compare that to the school in  Dead Poets Society which took place at the fictional school of Welton Academy, an east coast prestigious private prep school in Vermont in the 1950's where tradition, honor, discipline and excellence was the school motto.

There were obvious racial and socio-economical differences between both schools.  This is due to the difference in time period, location and the nature of the type of school the students attend. 

A Garfield High, the educational standards are set low.  Most students are not expected to attend college.  They come from working class families whose parents did not go to college themselves.  At Welton Academy, tradition of families attending the school for generations is a common theme.  As a prep school, it is primarily meant as a place to prepare for college, usually an Ivy league school such as Harvard or Yale.  Most students plan on going to law or medical school.

Another difference is the availability of financial resources.  At Garfield, students lived at home with their families where they had many responsibilities such as taking care of family and jobs.  They lacked textbooks, higher end classes and money for technology such as computers.  At Welton, the boys stayed in dormitories, concentrated on their studies, and had many options for enriching extracurricular activities such as the school paper, drama, rowing, and fencing.  Welton was primarily a high society upper class population.

The two schools were completely different.  Money definitely plays a large role in the quality of education a student may receive.