ED 345 942 SE 052 796

AUTHOR Escalante, JaimeTITLE The Jaime Escalante Math Program.INSTITUTION National Education Association, Washington, D.C.PUB DATE 90NOTE 21p.; This article first appeared in the Journal of

Negro Education, Vol. 59, No. 3 (Summer 1990),published by the Bureau of Educational Research,Howard University.

PUB TYPE Viewpoints (Opinion/Position Papers, Essays, etc.)(120)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS *Advanced Placement Programs; Advanced Students;

Calculus; *Educationally Disadvantaged; EducationalPrinciples; *Enrichment Activities; High Schools;Mathematics Education; *Mathematics Instruction;*Minority Groups; Parent Participation; Parent SchoolRelationship; School Community Relationship; StudentAttitudes; Student Motivation; Student Recruitment;*Summer Programs; Teaching Methods

IDENTIFIERS California (Los Angeles); Esmalante (Jaime); *JaimeEscalante Math Program

ABSTRACTThis article describes the Jaime Escalante Math

Program, a system that in 1989 helped an East Los Angeles high schoolset a record by administering over 450 Advanced Placement exams,having administered only 10 tests in 1978. The article is presentedin three sections. The first section describes the program,discussing origins and backgrounds: student recruitment, thecurriculum, scheduling, textbooks used, past graduates as models ofachievement, community resources recruitment, and teaching methods.The second section describes the fundamental principles of theEscalante Math Program. Ideas discussed include student, teacher, andparent accountability, hard work, teacher expectation, love for thestudents, parental involvement, mutual respect, proper nutrition, andpreventing drug use. The final section, on psychology and theschools, proposes that teachers who encourage, discipline, andmotivate their students can gain their willingness work and helpthe students overcome the obstacles to getting an education thatinner-city students face. The conclusion describes a vision ofmathematics education program of hard work combined with love, humor,and a recognition of "genes," the desire to learn and ability tosacrifice that young people have, that will provide an educationalpipeline taking students from kindergarten through to collegecompletion. (MDH)

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Charles A. Erickson

TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER IERICt"

Innumeracy, the mathematical equivalent of illiteracy, is a growing and serious

problem in the United States. Recently much has been written about this problem

in scholarly journals, the popular press, and periodicals The statistics are stagger-

ing Compared to all other industrialized nations, the United States ranks near

the bottom in math and science achievementIn today's technological age, numeracy is essential for the economic well-being

of the country In the high-tech future of the 21st century, not only economics

but also possibly our nation's very democratic foundation may rest on the ability

of our children to compete in an increasingly global marketplace Math skills and

technical knowledge required to participate in such a society will be far beyond

what is needed even todayIn light of this challenge, an article by a fellow NEA member, Jaime Escalante,

is a timely offering It illustrates how an individual teacher can play a part invastly improving our students' performance Because of the artick's priority, utility,

and commonsense, the NEA has endorsed it and reprinted it for the use of ourmembership On these pages, you will find articulation of ideas that are essential

to quality teachingThe excellence in teaching that our teachers bring to the task has never before

been so crucial to our nation's future There are many laime Escalantes among

our membership Some of these men and women have yet to realize the fullmeasure of their talent and potential We hope this article will provide all teachers

with useful and practical ideas

Keith GeigerPresidentNohow! Education Association

The Jaime EscalanteMath Program

'14

Jaime EscalankMathematics Departmaa,

Garfield High Sckool,

Jack Dinnann,Associate Director,

Foundation for Advancements inScience and Education

In recent years I have been deluged withquestions from interested teachers, com-munity leaders, and parents about mysuccess in teaching mathematics to poorminority children I am not a theoretician,my expertise is in the classroom and myfirst commitment is to my studentsNonetheless, I am willing to share myopinions on this subject ii the hope thatthey might be helpful to other profession-als in the field of education I am hopefulthis article will provide answers I havecalled upon my colleague, lack Dirmann,

Associate Director of the Foundation forAdvancements in Science and Education(EASE), to assist in the preparation of thismanuscript Mr Dirmann and EASE havebeen essential to the success of my pro-gram for more than five years

Together, we will address two basicquestions

1 "What exactly is the Escalante MathProgram in East Los Angeles,"

2 "What fundamental principlesunderlie my approach to teaching,"

1990 by Jaime Escalante and lack Dirmann All Rights Reserved

BEST 6OPY AYALALE

I. THE ESCALANTEMATH PROGRAMOrigins: The Gameof Education

In 1952, while still an undergraduate inLa Paz, Bolivia, I Legan teachingmathematics and physics first at onehigh school, then a second, and finally athird I found early in my career thatchildren learn faster when learning is fun,when it is a game and a challenge Fromthe beginning, I cast the teacher in therole of the "coach" and the students in therole of the 'team" I made sure they knewthat we were all working together In LaPaz, in the fifties and early sixties, our"opponent" was the annual secondaryschool mathematics competition Ourgoal: to reign as the champion over all

the local schoolsIn the eighties and nineties, in the

barrio of East Los Angeles, my studentschant, "De-fense, De-tense, De-fense" (inthis context hard work, holding upunderpressure, not giving your "opponent" aninch), or "Beat ETSI" as they head to theproctored exam room for the Super Bowlof tests the Advanced Placement (AP)Examination The ETS (EducationalTesting Service) AP Calculus test is themost difficult of all the examinationsadministered nationally to secondaryschool students and it gets tougher everyyear Less than 2% of high school seniorsnationally even sit for the exam Of allthe Hispanics attempting the test nation-wide, 25%-30% originate from myprogram

Few students today have not beenlectured on the necessity and importanceof a good education, but the dictum "geta good education" may be too nebulous a

message for easily distracted youngminds Their focus easily shifts to othermorc pressing prublems, particularlywhen they are living in poverty The Al'test provides the formidable outside"opponent*" that galvanizes the studentsand teacher in a united charge toward a

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tangible and inexorable deadline thesecond week of May Over the years Ihave found it easy to focus student atten-tion on this challenge and its very real

rewards of possible college credit andadvanced placement in college mathe-matics courses

Not all students who take the test scorea "three' or better, which enables them toreceive college credit at over 2,000colleges and universities, but chose whosit for the exam have already won the real

game being played. They are winnerNbecause they have met a larger challengethan any single examination could presentThey have attained a solid academicbackground in basic skills, especially mathand science, and are prepared to move onand compete well against the challengesof both higher education and life Manyof my former studi-nts who have gone onto college mathematics orcalculus coursesoften call me "Kimo,' they say ("Kim&is the shortened, student-preferredspelling of "Kemo Sabe," the nickname Iwas given by one of my gang kids in the1970s), "this was easy after your course

As the number of students enrolled inmy program has grown to betweea 140and 200 studying calculus alone, Ad-vanced Placement at Garfield HighSchool has also exploded in other techni-cal subjects such as physics, chemistry,biology, and compuwrs Many of mystudents now take two, three, and some .times even four AP tests in various sub.

iects in 1989 the school set a record withover 450 AP tests administered in 1(-)different subjects By comparison, in1978, the year before I started my APprogram, only 10 tests were administeredfor the entire school and not one studentsat for the calculus examination

Recruiting Students

A growing number of junior highschool students who wish to be part ofthe program enroll early and participatein their first math class during the summerprogram at East Los Angeles College

(ELAC) between their ninth grade year(last year of junior high school) and theirtenth grade year. Thus, by the time thesestudents enter the tenth grade they areprepared to take geometry. Currently, sixEscalante program students are studyingmath analysis at a local junior high schoolBy the time they reach the twelfth grade,they will be ready for third-year collegemath.

I have been able to reach down into thethree feeder junior high schools andestablish an unofficial recruiting networkwithin their math departments We areconstantly trying to pick out promisingkids with ganas (gams translates looselyfrom Spanish as "desire," or the "wish tosucceed") while they are yet junior highschool students, so that thcy can enter theprogram before or just as they arrive atGarfield.

I do not recruit these students byreviewing test scores or grades, nor arethey necessarily among the "gifted" or onsome kind of "high IQ track," becausebelieve that tracking is unworkable andunproven as a guarantee that students willbe channeled into the program of classeshest suited to them My sok criterion foracceptance in this program is that thestudent wants to be a part of it andsincerely wants to learn math I tell mystudents, 'The only thing you need tohave for my program and you mustbring it every day is ganas "If motivatedproperly, any student can learn mathe-matics Kids are not born as bad students,however, the school and the student'shome and community environment cancombine to produce a bad student Theteacher is the crucial point in this equa-tion It is up to the teacher to bring outthe ganas in each student

Today, the junior high school teachersin our locale have a much better idea ofwhat we need for our program I often tellthe following story to show the differencebetween the attitude of junior high schoolmath teachers when I first started teachingat Garfield ten years ago and their attitudetoday In 1979, when junior high school

teachers would tel me, 'Take Johnny, he'sgifted in math," I would almost alwaysignore them. Such a recommendation wasalmost a guarantee that I would pass thatchild over If the child was in fact gifted,I figured he or she would need less helpfrom the teacher Secondly, few of the"gifted" were appreciably different fromthe "average" except in their ability toscore high on tracking tests Instead, Ioften chose the rascals and kids who were"discipline problems," as well as those whosimply liked math I found that the "classcut-ups" were often the most intelligent,hut were extremely bored by poor teach-ing and disillusioned by the perceiveddead-end that school represented forthem Sometimes they showed themselvesto have the most ganas when their learninglight" finally switched on

The Curriculum

A student must have taken and passedthe following courses to arrive at examday and be able to take the AP examAlgebra I, Geometry, Algebra H,Trigonometry/Math Analysis, CalculusAB (first-year college), and/or CakolusBC (second-year college calculus) (Somestudents also take Analytic Geometry ora Pre-Calculus class during the program )Typically, if the student has not previouslyhad any algebra, Algebra I is taken duringthe first year of high school In thesummer after the tenth grade, studentsmaster geometry in an intensive eight-week summer program at EIAC AlgebraII is mastered in the eleventh grade, then,most often, Math Analysis/Trigonometryis conquered during the summer betweenthe eleventh and twelfth grades In theirsenior year, students take AdvancedPlacement Calculus AB if a studenter,tered high school Algebra I com-pleted, then the above curriculum isadvanced one year, allowing the studentto take Advanced Placement Calculus BC(the equivalent of second-year collegecalculus) during the twelfth grade

Scheduling

In effect, as one can see from the listof required math courses in the program,these students are cramming six years ofmath into three calendar yean To ac-complish this 11113 their young lives withmathematics encourage them ,o spendextra time studying. From the day theyenter my program they are expectedand provided the opportunity togreatly accelerate their exposure tomathematics

This intense scheduling enables stu-dents to overcome their previous lack ofacademic preparation and poor studyhabits The net result is that they spendmuch more time being exposed to, anddoing, math probkms than is customaryfora high sch9ol student and not justmore than trIst other students in innercity schools, my classes look more likewhat one would expect to find at any ofthe most highly ranked public or privateschools in the country

Textbooks

The demand fr ir quality texts has beena cornerstone of the Iscalante MathProgram In the seventies I realized thatmy students would be held hack foreverunless they had superior textbooks, sosearched for the best and tested manydifferent texts When I found what Ineeded, I demanded these texts for mystudents Because the cost of such textswas often far greater than the schoolallowance, I soon found myself in conflictwith the administration I also receivedmy first introduction to Title I When Iwent to one administrator to ask for thetextbooks I felt I needed to raise thestudents' Scott", to even the minimumstandard of competency in th: routineState and District mandatory testing, I wastold, 'No, laime, those books do nutqualify for Title I They are clearly notremedial This same individual also toldme, in complete seriousness, "Iaime, ifyou get Netter test scores for these kids

4

then we're not going to qualify for TitleI money I had to fight many protractedbattles to convince others that the moreexpensive books were not an extrava-gance, but a vital necessity Finally, oneassistant principal, whom I will alwaysremember fondly, told me she would workto get the books for my program

I believe that math teaching should bepeppered with lively examples, ingeniousdemonstrations of math at work, andlinkages between math principles andtheir real-world applications Texts whichamplify on these kinds of demonstrationsare the best for use, in my program Insdecting texts, I also work hard to avoidthose that might intimidate my studentswith arcane descriptions In the minds efstudents who have had little succ?ss inacademics, terms such as nalgebre or"calculus" can present an image of diffi-culty, complexity, and potential failureOften, I must persuade or cajole non-cooperative or frightened snadents intobelieving that they can do well with thesesubjects A text that does not offer agradual approach, which enables thestudent to understand one concept fullybefore going on to the next, makes mysob much more difficult

I try to reduce the foreboding image ofhigher math by using texts which defineall the technical terms as they are firstpresented The student's confidence isholstered as his or her knowledge of thesubject increases

Currently, my calculus students eachhave four textbooks Caltulus by teitholdt which is an especially valuable text foits discussiim of limits;, Anal:yin Grointhy

and Colculu> by Thomas (especially goodfor word problems, differential equations,and rate of change problems), Calculus with

Analybc (romory by Anton (especially forvectors). and How to Prowl" for Allot:mt.,'

Platrinnft haft:motion Maihnnatics byBarron The ideal textbook also has atremendous number of practice problemsbecause practice, practice, and morepractice is demanded from each studentFinding enough practice pnthlems hasalways Seen difficult, thus I am currently

developing my own texts and practiceworkbooks for class and homework usethat are consistent with the lesson plansof the program

Past Graduates asModels of Achievement

By exposing the students to the successstories of Escalante Math Programgraduates and showing that there is anupward route to well-paid, fulfillingcareers through higher education, Iimmerse the students in the concept thatthey, too, can succeed not only in highschool, but in college as well Thisencouragement is extremely vital for somewho, before they came to my program,may have never evenconsidered the idea

of higher educationI encourage former students to become

involved with my current classesGraduates who have gone on to completecollege and are now successfully employedare invited to come back and talk to thestudents Before they do, I tell them, "Talkto the kids for about ten minutes and coverthe following four points. ( I) the EscalanteProgram was tough hut it helped makecollege easier, (2) the amount of moneyyou are earning today, (3) tell them tolisten to Escalante, their coach, and (4you were a top student when you were inclass " After the graduate has been thankedfor the speech and has exited, I ask mystudents, What did she (or he) say," Thestudents tell me, then I look at them withmock chagrin and say, "No way You arebetter than she (or he) was You arc thebest; you can do it You can go to anycollege that you want

also arrange two or three field topseach year to get the students out tohigh-tech labs or industrial sites, such asthe let Propulsion Laboratory OK) inPasadena, where math is employed dailyin many different kinds of exciting iobs

The fact that minorities can get these jobs,and that higher education creates oppor-tunities for larger financial rewards, is asmuch the lesson as the demonstration that

math is being used in such settings, As Ishow off one of my proud graduates onthe job at IPL working on the Magellanspace probe project, I tell my students,"You can be a big shot, too "The graduate,radiating confidence, is using an under-standing of math to make a good livingand, at the same time, enjoying a challeng-ing career

Recruiting CommunityResources

Since 1983, there has been a significantincrease in the support that I receive fromother math teachers, the communitycollege, and philanthropic resourcesInitially, I had to recruit individuals whobelieved in my efforts In the beginning Iidentified people who had the potentialto help the program For example, in themid-1970s a young math teacher atGarfield, Ben Jimenez, was about to leavethe profession because his students wereout of control I helped Ben learn todiscipline and control his classes, andfrom then on he was free to concentrateon developing his skills as a teacherToday Ben jimenez is an award-winningteacher He contributes many students tothe total number of AP Calculus passeseach year and is a vital member of theteam

When I was unable to teach summerschool on the campus of the high schoolin the early eighties I found a new homefor my summer program at East LosAngeles College, which is located withinwalking distance of Garfield I first gainedthe support of the private sector in 1983,when the ARCO Foundation became amajor partner in the summer program atELAC K-12 public school education forminorities is a top priority in the ARCOFoundation's philanthropic program )Since that time, ARCO's support has beenthe financial bedrock of the summerprogram Last year the National ScienceFoundation (NSF) joined with ARCO andmade a three-year, private-sector partner-ship grant that will extend through 1992

5'-

Those funds have enabled me to greatlyexpand the number of students, gradelevels, and teachers in the summer pro-gram at ELAC Through the NSF grant Ihave recruited four junior high school andfour elementary school teachers for thesummer program. These teachers joinedme in small seminars last summ T to learnhow to motivate students in tl c K-9 gradelevels to study math

I enlisted the support of EASE in 1984Their efforts have resulted in vital ele-ments such as copiers, special supplies,audiovisual aids, computers, tutor awards,transportation and lunches for studentsduring extra study periods, tee-shirts,caps, team jackets, and scholarshipsFASE's support has expanded into a seriesof motivational videotapes, called "FU-TURES," which feature real classroomscenes of my teaching These tapes willbe available to a'l schools in 1990 throughthe Public Broadcasting System I knowthat I can call EASE at any time, day ornight, and get whatever I need for myprogram EASE raises funds for the pro-gram each year from a wide range ofcompanies and foundations includingARCO, Xerox, IBM, GTE, and theCarnegie Corporation of New YorkMany other donors, both large and small,also ensure that my program is empoweredto serve the maximum number of minoritystudents

TEACHING METHODSSince my first year of student teaching

in Bolivia I have klt an obligation to makemyself a better teacher and to profit frommy mistakes As an undergracivate I wasclosely watched, apprenticed, andcritiqued by an experienced teacherUnder his critical eye, I abandonedunworkable ideas and came to understandthe importance of becoming much morecommunicative with the students and notsimply working at the blackboard all dayThis kind of practice teaching under aproven teacher is vital

There are many traditional and practicalteaching methuds which are based on

common sense workable methods. I

believe we teachers should devote moretime identifying and implementingtechniques that have withstood the acidtest of classroom performance and lesstime "experimenting" in our classes If wewere to study the methods of a hundredvery effective teachers, my guess is thatwe would find their approaches to berather simple and direct, with manycommon denominators As for myself, Ionly use those ideas which have provenworthwhile by demonstration and whichI have tested I test everything that comesto mc before using it, no matter howvaunted the authority who invented it,and I strongly suggest that other teachersdo the same I always have to laugh whensomeone suggests that my program isdependent upon one teacher's personalie,(my own) and could never serve as a rnoddfor use in other schools It lust shows howtar away we have drifted from the funda-mentals of teaching

The Team ApproachI greatly admire the disdpline of

athletic teams and the devotion to practiceand drilling that sports, the drill team, andthe school band are able to command fromAmerican high school students I often useprofessional sports superstars as examplesof successful self-discipline, outstandingperformance, the will to win, persistencein the practice of their skills, and otherqualities The walls of my room arecovered with posters of sports figures inaction Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain,Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdulqabbar,and Babe Ruth are but a few exampleslkfore class, my AP Team has "warm-ups"thand clapping and foot stomping to therock song "We Will Rock You," playedover my rose loudspeakers) They wearclassy satin team jackets, caps, and tee-shirts, and their "practice schedule' is asrigorous as that of any championshipfootball team These are all part of myeffort to make math fun, a team activityI believe that if I do not make mathematicsa lively challenge to my students, then the

subject will continue to seem dry and stale

as it has for so many decades, indeliblylinked to images of pocket slide rules and

"brainy" kidsI often use language, including terms

from sports, to create a sense of action,comradery, and competition among thestudents. For example, the AP Calculus

test is referred to as the "Olympics "Whena student fails test after test, he or she issent to "ICU"the "intensive care unit"which is a special, less desirable sectionof the classroom Students in ICU mustattend special after-school study sessionsuntil their test scores improve Under.standably, students are highly motivatedto perform their way out of ICU Tosimplify and enliven the image of mathand to soften the initial impact of newmath concepts while making them easierto remember, I sometimes invent terms of

my own I use fun or commonplacesubstitutes for real math terms until thestudent's familiarity makes the actual termless imposing The following are someexamples of "Escalantese"

"face mask" a mistake at the probkm's

beginning"gravy" simple substitution"marching band" look at the example inthe book and follow it exactly'green light" easy factoring"red light" difficult factoring, stop andanalyze"secret agent" the minus sign in frontof a parenthesis which has the power tochange the signs of the numbers inside

"rifle pass from Magic lohnson" straight

line"three-point shot" parabola"skyhook from Kareem Abdul-labbar"parabola with a different coefficient"illegal defense" you cannot divide byzeroThe team concept goes beyond jackets.

warm-up routines, and preparing for the

"Olympics" I often break the studentsinto groups to solve lecture problems bypushing their desks together in small

enclaves After school, the studentsalmost always work in teams

Experienced students who have contrib.

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uted to other team members are designated

as 'Ms" (teaching assistants) Theyreceive nominal pay for theirefforts fromfunds that Jack Dirmann and I raised fromthe private sector In this way, my studentscan earn money tutoring math and foregominimum wage work in local restaurants,dry cleaning establishments, or metalplating shops This also ensures a ready

pool of more experienced students whocan "buddy up" with youngerstudents andhelp them through the difficult spots Anadditional benefit to the older students isthe opportunity to Salle and to repay theprogram for some of the help that theythemselves received, as well as gainexposure to the joys of teaching anotherand seeing the light of understanding turnon Much to my delight, several graduatesof the Escalante Math Program have

pursued careers in education

Humor

learned early in my career that teach.ing is fun at least, it should be funStudents learn better when they arehaving a good time While I teach respectand discipline and I demand a great deal

of hard work from my students, I always

try to do it in a way that is fun fuse toys,tell lots of jokes, and let the kids partici-pate A teacher must enjoy his or her workand convey that joy to the students

I have found that humor carries ideasmuch better than a grave monotonebecause it makes its recipients far morewilling to receive what the teacher has tosay In fact, I have heard that somestudents enroll in my program just becausethey heard it was fun, despite having littleinitial interest in mathematics That dimsnot bother me, however usually, theinterest will follow

Classroom Organizing andPlanning

My preparation for my classes is intenseand I must maintain a high level of

organization to back it up I have a rowof file cabinets filled with color-codedsections Every lesson plan for each dayof the year is filed in sequence; everysubject is covered I prepare each quiz,homework assignment, and practicesession before the school year evenbegins, so I save a great deal of time duringthe year This allows me to spend timeand energy working out a more importantproblem exactly how to present a particu-lar concept and spark interest, consideringthe personalities and preparation of mystudents and the chemistry of a particularclass

II. FUNDAMENTALPRINCIPLES OF THEESCALANTE MATHPROGRAM

Accountability

Teaching has its products, as does anyhuman endeavor High on the list ofproducts of good teaching are graduateswho know their subjects and who are wellprepared for higher education, or who areready to contribute in the work forceFurther, these graduates should havesufficiently strong learning skills to be ableto educate themselves, and reeducawthemselves if need be, throughout theirlifetimes in this technologically changingworld If graduates of my program are notable to do this, then I am responsible I

may not be solely responsible for theirsuccess or failure, but that is the attitudewith which I anroach my work Thequdents and their parents arc also respon-sible We must hold these parties theteachers, the parents, and also the schooladministration 100% accountable forthe product, good or had, that comes outof our schook We can do better than weare doing today

Hard Work

Students who enter the Escalante MathProgram must sign a contract which bindsthem to participation in the summerprograms held at ELAC, strict completionof daily homework, and attendance atSaturday morning and after-school studysessions The students' parents are alsorequired to sign the contract I sign it aswell, obligating myself to bring piaasevery day and to do everything possibleto help the student succeed

The key to my success with minorityyoungsters is a very simple time-honoredtradition hard work, and lots of it, forteacher and student alike To avoidmerely stating a cliche and having itsrelation to my success overlooked, I willprovide some examples

One can find many of my students stillworking in my classroom (a convertedmusic hall) at 4 00, 5 00, or even 6 00p m each weekday and as early as 7 00a m in the morning No student with aquestion or a confusion is allowed to gohome with it unresolved "Come afterschool and see me at 3 00 p m ," is theanswer for the student who is fallingbehind, who did not do his or her home-work, r who is having difficulty with thatday's assignment Because I am willing toput in the time, my students, -ne by one,develop a similar willingness :to' on, theylearn to rnjoy the subject of mathematicsand happily volunteer to devote their freetime to more practice

The movie Stand and Delierr broughthome several important points first, noone expected severely disadvantagedbarrio students to achieve academicexcellence The movie also revealed thatsome educators hold the false and racistidea that Hispanic students are not assniart as some others, and that they shyaway from courses that require hard workIt also showed how an even more insidiousprejudice leads to a prevailing opinionthat requiring academic excellence frompoverty.,evel students presents a graverisk to their "fragile" self-esteem Such a

demand, according to the nay.sayers,would be one stresFor too many for younglives already bowed under crushingpoverty, inequities, and hopelessnessHow could they be expected to cope,

I am happy to say that our program hasproved that logic to be faults, Whenstudents of any race, ethnicity, or eco-nomic status are expected to work hard,they will usually rise the occasion,devote themselves to the task, and do thework If we expect kids to be losers theywill be losers, if we expect them to bewinners they will he winners They rise,or fall, to the level of the expectations ofthose around them, especially theirparents and their teachers

I am adamant about the importance ofmath in the developing lives of theseyoung men and women ahe maiooty of

my students are female) Not only do Idemonstrate a passion for the subiect, I

also preach its significance in their futuresWhere is the money'," I ask my studentsit is in physics, computers, biology,chemistry, and electronics What is thelanguage for all of these subjects^ Thelanguage is mathematics and if youknow the language you can do anythingI further tell them, "Ill make a deal withyou you sign the contract and I will teachyou math You can go to college and sitin the first row, because you're going toknow more than anybody

I admit that 1 am iealous of my students'time and the distractions which competewith my math program I discourag: themfrom filling their schedules with TV,sports, or other forms of "goofing off I

chide them for the headsets which pipestrains of "heavy metal" guitars into theirears when they should be working onmath I play good "defense" for myprogram, too When I have to tackleaspiring athletes who want to drop cal-culus so that they can go to football ormarching band practice, my argument issimple in the 16 years that I have beenat Garfield, not o le graduate has gone on

to make a living playing football, basket-ball, or baseball Of course, if I were at aschool renowned for turning out top

professional prospects. I might have tomoderate my views, even though in suchschools the percentage of students whogo on to pros is still very small Fromwhere I sit, however, I know that takingAP Calculus has a lot more to do with mystudents' future success than any ball orbaton a student will ever pick up

Demand

I do not give up on my students and Iexpect them not to give up I do not allowthem to be losers I demand that mystudents perform their assigned tasks andI accept no excuses why those tasks cannotbe done If a student continuously fails toperform, I roll up my sleeves and find outwhat is behind that failure At times thecause lies outside of the classroom In such

cases when it is obvious that the child isreally willing, and when there is no waythat he or she can overcome the obstaclealone, help may involve working with thefamily, the family's minister or priest, orother assistance agencies

Love

I exhibit deep love and caring for mystudents I have no exclusive claim tothese attnbutes, they are as natural asbreathing to most parents and teachersThe power of love and concern in chang-ing young lives should not be overlooked

A few months ago I surveyed a largenumber of students in each of my sixclasses I asked them, What do you wantfrom your parents" There was a varietyof answers, but those that appeared mostoften really surprised me and made methink twice They wereII) unconditional love, that is, with nostrings attached,(2) peace at home,3) to be understood,

14) trust, and the freedom of choice thatsuch trust implies

I bdieve that unconditional love mustbe extended to each student This happenswhen a teacher loves to motivate and

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teach the difficult students as well as thegood ones I make sure that my studentsknow that I believe in them I know thatthe strong intention I communicate tothem to succeed must he great enough toovercome the combined negativity oftheir previous failures, the prejudices ofothers who predict their likely futurefailures, and the lack of preparation irmathematics with which they are bur-dened after nine years in our educationsystem

I am extremely critical of the teacherwho lifelessly copies assignments takenperfunctorily from the teacher's edition ofthe textbook onto the board each daySuch a teacher is letting the students downby failing to bring life to the classroomKids get so bored with this kind of teacher'hat they soon come to view school asmerely a jail sentence with kctures

Similarly, a teacher must be a livelylistener and work to understand what thestudents are thinking and saying Thisrequires a genuine interest in the studentsand a willingness to listen As parents andteachers, we must make the extra effortto extend ourselves, teenagers can makethemselves very difficult to reach at timesYou would be surprised how much onelearns in this way about their language,music, problems, embarrassments, andaspirations

I had a student last year who was doingpoorly and who was frequently nauseous,exhausted, and apathetic in class I hadno idea what was wrong and, even worse,he would not share with me what wasbothering him I refused to simply shrugit off with "I don't have time" and give upon him One day after school I decidedto follow him and see what was up I foundthat the student had a secret part-time jobworking in a fur cleaning establishmentEvery day, without knowing what he wasdoing, this 16-year-old boy was mbbingtoxic solvents used in the cleaning processinto his hands This was the source of his

malaiseI threatened to report the owner of thc

cleaners to the authorities, yet nothingchanged Finally. 1 called the Occupa-

tional Safety and Health inspectors andthe place was shut down However,without his part-time job the kid was flatbroke so we made him a tutor and gavehirn a little stipend. He graduated fromhigh school and is going to college today

The communication of love to one'sstudents gots further than just caring andlistening It also means that I must bcwlling to repeat ati idea, concept, or termas many times as needed for the studentto understand it I have to make sure thatevery kid is listening to me and watchingme when I teach, so that they do not missa thing There is no perfect approach thatworks for every student, so I am continu-ally developing new ways of conveyingideas That is one reason why I spend somuch time at the job to ensure that whatI have said to the group is actually under-stood by each individual, I fed obliged tocommunic:te !,) each kid personally I am

always looking for ways to make thingseasier for them to understand and lookingfor gimmicks or toys to motivate or todemonstrate an idea I can't kst the kidsbe bored with or disinterested in mathe-matics too many other things in lifeare dull I find out what bugs students andwhat switches on their learning lightlearn their dreams, and I believe that I amhere to assist each of them to realize thesedreams

Parental involvementThe school alone cannot he expected

to educate the children Parents musthelp This is more difficult now whenboth parents work to ;upport the family,one or more parents is missing from thehome, or the parents do not have apersonal belief in the value of educationfor their children However. I have hadgreat fortune in mobilizing the majorityof parents in my community toward thecommon purpose of helping their chil-dren Parents must sign the same contractthat their son or daughter signs, pledgingthat they will uphold their part of the dealAt the first sign of any trouble with astudent, I am on the phone ic die parents

.1sking for their help At night or on theweekends I often visit Parents to enlisttheir support for the unusual schedulingrequirements of my program

To succeed, a program as intense asmine must have MO% support from theparents While most parents are thrilledto have a teacher show so much interestand welcome the opportunity to doanything for their children, sometimes myefforts to help the student succeed takeme beyond the usual parent-teacherrelationship One time I even scolded aparent who was drinking too much and

harassing his child "You cannot do that,"I told him "It is interfering with yourdaughter's math class She is unpreparedand does not do her homework Mathcomes first as long as she studies with me,so you will have to stop drinking " Morethan once, this startling communicationof priorities has had a salutary effect on adomestic problem that, left unhandkd,would have threatened the student'sability to concentrate and learn Whenthe local press reported recently that Imight be lezving Garfield, partly due towhat I felt was a disappointing lack ofsupport for academics on the part of someparents, I was surprised but gratified tosee scores of parents, along with formerand current students and other membersof the community, come to the school todemonstrate their support for me tocontinue

Respect and Values:

In the inner city, the decision to makethe school a safe haven of learning mustbe renewed each year by teachers,parents, and administrators alike Onlythus can we achieve drug-free schoolswhose mission is solely to teach thestudents The failure to do this wasepitomized by the situation at Garfieldwhen I first arrived Graffiti, crime, teenpregnancy, and drugs were prevalentDrug dealers and gangs haunted the hallsIn an effort to promote understanding,and as a sign of trust, the principal at the

time even gave the gang leaders keys tohis office! Later, a new, hard-nosedprincipal, Henry Gradillas, decided tostandup He drove off the gangs, and thedealers, and cleaned up the graffiti

I often have said that I am trying to givemy students two things "mots and wingsI feel a great responsibility to teach mystudents respect for values that will sus;aintheir family: their school, their community, their race, their culture and theircountry, to a large extent, studentsdiscover their cultural heritage in theclassroom !often have the class salute theAmerican flag I teach the kids mannersif they lack them As teachers, I believethat we must ask ourselves who is goingto show these children right from wrongit we do nor I don't merely teach math,/ teach respect for American democraticvalues and instituuons such as the rightand duty to vote

We owe it to our succeeding genera-tions to ensure that the students learnthese things and become full participatorycitizens of our country With these "roots"firmly in place, they are more likely todevPlop "wings" to success, even great-ness

Nuo-itionProper nutriti,An is very important

Proper daily nutrition is a proven, com-mon-sense practice which must be culti-vated as part of any successful educationalprogram I believe that if more attentionwas paid to what kids eat and to ensuringthat they were properly nourished beforeand during class each day, we wo'ild seereal dividends in student performanceeverywhere If I find that my students arenot eating well due to poverty at home,bad dietary habits, ignorance, or laziness,I try to remedy the situation I have raised

money from private, corporate, andfederal sources to ensure that my studentseat properly I give students lunch couponsor money for food; if necessary, I call theirparents During the summer I spot-checklunch trays to ensure my students areeating wholeseome foods and not justjunk

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Preventing Drug Use

Drug use is a barrier to classroomperformance which deserves the attentiorof administrators, parents, anti teachersI do not condone the use of dtugs of anykind by my or other students includingcigarettes, alcohol, or school-Amink-tered Ritahn, as well as marijuana. IS!),and cocaine Our schools need to workharder to educate our children on thedangers of abusing themselves with thesesubstances Education on the harmfulphysical, mental, and spiritual effects ofdnigs will go a long way to bolster stu-dents' determination to stay away fromthem

PSYCHOLOGY ANDTHE SCHOOLS"Adjusting" to Failure

The children of the barrio have enor-mous obstacles to overcome in order toget an education Most of the families ofthe children I teach at Garfield haveincomes below the poverty line Themajority of the parents have not been tocollege frequently, Mom and Dad havenever even been to high school andthey may or may not fully appreciate thelong-term value of education Many donot know how to provide a supportiveatmosphere for serious study, and oftenthey may require the child to get a job tohelp support the family Teen pregnancy,drugs, and the stresses upon single-parenthomes are all terribly real problems forthese students Gangs operate openly intheir neighborhoods

Are my students affected by thesebarriers' Of course Are my students thevicums of these barriers' No None otthem The educational process begins atthis point A woulu-be teacher whocannot get to this starting point in thefield of education should perhaps entersome other field The future of ourchildren is too important to he entrustedto someone who already agrees with thenotion that the world is bigger than the

1

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man or woman, that students will hit aninsurmountable barrier, that the road tosuccess is engineered by fate and pavedwith lucky charms.

Students, by definition, can learn toovercome any barrier they will ever face

By definition "Ganas is all I need" is themotto I give my students I tell them thatonce they itave ganas, learning is easy"Calculus need not be made easy," saysthe sign in my classroom "It is easy "also have a sign Inderneath the classroomclock (because my students have a ten-dency to look at the clock) That signreads: "DETERMINATION + HARDWORK + DISCIPLINE = THE WAYTO SUCCESS Whenever I catch astudent gazing at the clock. I ask gently,"What does it say" Invariably the studentwill insist, "I was reading the sign, sir, notkioking at the clock" at which pointrespond with, "Oh, isee " Then I will askthem again, indulgently, "What does itsay'"

So what does all this have to do withpsychology' Although I have neverstudied the subject of psychology inten-sively, in my experience, two majoreffects of the influenc: of psychology ineducation have beer., (1) to weaken thecertainty of students that they can over-come the barriers they face and (21 toobscure and skew, by the introduction ofuncertain data and purposes, the subjectof education itself In Bolivia, teacherswere not trained in this subject InAmerica, where I was required to takesome psychology courses in order to gaina teaching credential, I could never seethe relationship between what was taughtin these classes and the purpose or activityof teaehing, tTly.:re was and still is a classcalled "Magic Circle" based on apsychological approach to communica-tion which I never understood, and to thisday do not ) Due to my unfamiliarity, I

may speak imprecisely about this subject,however, having had some success nurtur-ing more than one problem child, I cansay with equal parts humility and resolvethat I am disturbed by what I see as atendency to view schools as "clinics "The

children are in school to learn, and theycan learn quite well if teachers and coun-selors attend solely to that purpose

Too often, however, I find that ourschool counselors and psychologists, in amisguided attempt to help, accept thevery real disadvantages faced by poorminority students as excuses for theirfailures They rush to help them "adjust"(that is, accept their limitations"), or theyget them so preoccupied with personalprobkms that the learning objectivesbecome even more inaccessible The"psychological" approach has been tomake fewer demands on disadvantaged orminority students This practice is actuallyquite cynical, and can be a death blow totheir dignity and chinas

For example, I once asked a student,"Where's your homework?" He said, "Ididn't do it I had a bad dream I replied,in Escalantese, "I don't care You have gotto do your homework or else you don'thave a ticket to see the show" (whichmeant that because he did not have hisdaily homework assignment to deposit inthe homework basket, he could not evengain admittance to my classroom) Thestudent came back later with a note froma school counselor, who I am sure thoughthe was acting humanely and in the stu-dent's best interests The note said"lohnny did not do his homework becausehe had a bad dream I told the kid in nouncertain terms, "You do the homeworkor else you get an F Period. Miraculously,the kid and :he homework appeared thenext day and he went through the programnot with a residue of resentment, but with

a sense of accomplishmentTwo years ago our class was surprised

fora few minutes by an earthquake WhileI am as afraid of earthquakes as the nextperson, common sense tells me that it isunwise to scurry around in their aftermathfrightening impressionable young peopleby asking if they are still worried aboutthem Thus, I refused to allow a solicitouspsychologist, who was part of a team sentin to lecture our students on "post-trau-matic stress syndrome," to speak to mykids I imagined the lesson" which chit-

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dren lectured on "post-traumatic stress"would take away from such incidentsWhat a hopeless state of mind it mustengender in a child; if memories ofearthquakes and bad dreams are suchformidable opponents, what depths ofapathy must engulf a child confronted bythe constant specter of drug abuse, gangs,crime, poverty, illiteracy, broken homes,

and racial prejudice?Children dealt with in such an indulgent

fashion soon learn that it is impossible tochange or improve in the face of so manyenormous obstacles that are out of theircontrol I believe that the recuperativepower of young people is great if they aregiven a little boost in the right directionSo I devised a more workable (and less

expensive) remedy an educationalremedy After the quake I gave my stu-dents extra homework and doubled theirquiz load Soon "earthquake stress" was

no more than a faint remembrance andmy students were moving toward theirgoal, far too preoccupied with the chal-lenge of math to find time to dive intocomplexes OT other exalseS

Yes, the baffiers disadvantaged orminority students face are substantial, butit is the very possibility of their remainingtrapped by them for an entire lifetimewhich requires that such students be urgedto succeed in their academic studies Itmay be their only way out If studentshave not been taught that they are the"victims" of their environment and thatthey must, therefore, adjust to it, thenteachers can gain their full willingnessand strength to overcome whateverobstacles they face Admittedly, there arethose extremely rare children with such

severe problems that they are unable tobecome successful students, hut givenadmiration, discipline, and encourage-ment, even "impossible" children willsometimes surprise everyone and 'miracu-lously" begin to perform at higher levels

A Questionable Mix?

It is not at all clear to me that the fieldsof psychology and education mix well

Teachers teach They provide studentswith the understanding and the ability todo something, to achieve a goal And this

teaching --- is something most peoplecan learn to do well In my opin.on,psychology as applied in education is stillin the experimental stage We havemystified the !earning process (forteachers as well as students) by acceptingpsychological theories into the field ofeducation While we know more today,are we teaching better in the last 100 years,sMce psychology undertook to clarify thesubject of learning? I think not Teachingis a noble profession and it has been forcenturies It can be improved, it shouldnot be alloyed

In mathematics we study the fantasticaccomplishments of ancient cultures andclassic applications of mathematics andphysics The incredible achievements ofthe ancients suggest that their teachersunderstood teaching well Perhaps weshould devote more time to identifyingand implementing teaching methodswhich get results We should teachteachers workable methods of teachingand allow them to use any methods whichresult in competent, happy students whoare rapidly acquiring the knowledge andskills they need to succeed

A teacher is a teacher when he or sheidentifies a student's strengths and acti-vates the student's potential to learnLater, if teachers want to study variouspsychological theories regarding learningand behavior, then that is their preroga-tive, hut first we should prepare teacherswho can teach

CONCLUSION

Even though I believe that it is reallyvery easy to teach math to young children,many of my students have a great deal ofdistance to make up because their firstyears of training in mathematics are veryweak Many are well below grade level inmath when they first enter high school Ido not know why this is so, sometimesfeel that educator% and parents think that

ir

they would be hurting these students ifthey demanded more of them at an earlyage Also, the idea that higher math isjust too tough is one that is widely sharedby adults as well as children However,even in the first grade, students could belearning much more math, and they wouldenjoy it if someone really wanted to teachthem and took the time to do it

For years I have envisioned an educa-tional "pipeline" for children in East L A ,a program of mathematics training runningfrom kindergarten right through to thecompletion of college Last summer wewitnessed that dream taking shapeToday, kindergarten children in thiscommunity can become part of a high-ach ievement math program that graduatesup through the school levels, with supportlinkage at each successive school transi-tion

The Escalante Math Program has hadan impact on the entire student body atGarfield There were no more than sixAlgebra I classes when I arrived at theschool in 1974; today there are more than25 There were then 10 Geometry andAlgebra II classes and now there arc nearly30 Certainly, the pipeline at Garfieldtoday is much wider, its students areuniformly studying more math, regardlessof whether they happen to participate inmy program or not As my program has

expanded and become well knownthroughout the educational community,its success has filtered down to the threeiunior high schools that feed new tenthgraders to Garfield Increasingly, enrol-ling students have had some exposure toalgebra before the tenth grade This is asign of academic improvement in our localjunior high school%

I have described the elements of myprogram I believe that they can beduplicated elsewhere with ease The key,for the teacher as well as for the student,is hard work Hard work makes the futureWher; hard work is combined with hwe,humor, and a recognition of the ganasthe desire to learn, the ability to sacrifice,the wish to get ahead that bums in ouryoung people, the stereotypes and the

bathers begin to crumble.While I have been blessed with hard-

working students, there are many teacherswith abilities far greater than mine, whowork as hard as I do but have not yet beengranted th recognition they deserve. Itis time they received the full support oftheir schools and their communities. Oursociety depends on these peopk tocuhivlte the young men and women whowill shatv: our future, and they deserveevery possible assistance

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hnally, my thanks go to my presentand former students, their parents, ARCOand its ARCO Foundation, East LosAngeles College, my fellow mathteachers, and the administrators at Gar-

field High School who have supported myefforts Each of the above has contributedto my success I would not have been ableto manage 500 inner-city students success-

fully through the Advanced Placement(AP) Calculus test in the last 10 yearswithout the help of this team

S

July 1990

FUTURES is available for Instructional broadcast lease from the PBS Ehinentary/Secondary Service, i 2ti Brade lock

Platt Alexandria, VA 22314, (703) 73Q-5402 (Educators should contact thr Learning Senikes I)irtctor at theirlocal PBS station to determine if they arc airing the series If not, schools, school districts, and education aaencitSwith satellite dishes may lease the series from PBSIESS for instructwnal broadcast useAudievisuallnembroadcast videotapes of FUTLIRES may he purchased from l'fiS Video, i i2o Braddock Place,

Alexandria, VA 22314, (MI) 424-7961FUTURES is accompanied by an extensive teacher's awde for classroom use

'This reprint was made possible, in part, by a generous grant from the Mt Kesson Foundation, Inc

1 9

This article first appeared in the Journal of Negro Education, Volume 59, Number

3 (Summer 1990), published by the Bureau of Educational Research, Howard

University

neaNational Education Association

1201 Sixteenth Street, NWWashington, DC 20036

4"404" 14

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