The sign of a great
teacher is the effects that they have on a student’s life. Sure they can teach them all about math and
science, history and politics (which are all useful for getting into college),
but what is the real value of that knowledge. Anyone could stand in front of
some students and shove knowledge down their intellectual throats, the greatest
teachers however play a vital role in thier lives beyond that. The most important role a teacher could play
is that of a liberator. To illustrate
this point let me tell you of two teachers that I think exemplify this role,
Mr. Escalante and Mr. Keeting.
Before we get into
the effect that Mr. Escalante and Mr. Keeting had on their students, let’s talk
about what a liberator is. This is a
very fluid role that can take many different paths. The main goal however is to break the
societal controls on students and imbue creativity and desire. Let’s face it, our entire country, not just
the education system, is ran by the few.
They have created a system in which men and women are, as Freire says,
“adaptable, manageable beings.” The
education system is where the molding begins.
Freire, an influential theorist of critical pedagogy, believes that the
system is set up in such a way that “the more students work at storing the
deposits entrusted to them, the less they develop the critical consciousness
that would result from their intervention in the world” (1). This statement is referring to the banking
method of teaching that Freire espouses, in which students memorize the
knowledge without understanding it.
Freire, as well as the other two teachers, could be considered a
liberator because they all wish to break the students away from the chains of
societal expectations and show them that they are capable of thinking for
themselves (i.e. they liberate them).
When
I first saw Mr. Escalante it was as he drove to his new job at Garfield
Highschool. The neichorhood he drove
through was seedy, broken down, and graffiti was abundant. The school was a reflection of the
neighborhood with a little bit of theft and fecal matter thrown in. the staff were worried about losing their
accredidation due to funding issues. The
students looked like a group of dilinquents and did nothing to dissuade this
fact as they were quite unruly and disrespectful. Mr. Escalante was not swayed by their
behavior and answered in kind by insulting the tough kids who subsequently
left.
The
next day Mr. Escalante showed up in what appeared to be butchers attire with
some apples which he used to teach the kids about fractions. This unorthodox method was the start of Mr.
Escalante’s role as a liberator. In fact
he tells them that “There will be no free rides, no excuses. You already have
two strikes against you: your name and your complexion”. I believe this is where he layed the
foundation by telling them where they stood and where he wanted to take them. of
course it didn’t help that the rest of the faculty agreed with that outlook
which was demonstrated by a conversation Mr. Escalante had with another teacher
in which he told him “It's not that they're stupid, it's just that they don't
know anything, Senor Molina”.
Mr.
Escalante may have started with fractions but that’s not where it ends. He eventually gets the students up to the
level of calculus. He was able to do
this because he gave the kids what he
called “Ganas” which is basically desire. He took them all to some sort of
scientific research company and he even intervened in their private lives when
they strayed which all led up to them being able to take the AP calculus
test. “students will rise to the level
of expectations”, That is what Mr. Escalante said and that is exactly the reason
I think of him as a liborator. Those students would have been stuck in the almost
caste like status that society had put them in if not for Mr. Escalante
liberating them from it.
Mr.
Keeting is even more of a liberator than Mr. Escalante was. His tale is one that is purely about rebelling
from the social expectations that are placed on certain portions of
society. unlike garfeild
highschool, Weston Prep (?) is a school
for the privaliged few. It is an all
male school with high levels of expectations.
Almost all of the students that attend the school are basically leading
the lives that their parents want for them.
they show us the desire to do something else but the control that their
parents have is too much to even consider not doing as told. Mr. Keeting changed all that.
He
started out small by taking the class out of the classroom, which by the looks
of the students is simply unheard of. He
took them to a trophy room with pictures of past students and proceeded to tell
the current students that life will one day end. He then started to dramatically whisper carpe
diem, carpe diem, sieze the day boys. This
is the beginning of a journey of epic proportions.
Soon
after that scene Mr. Keeting demonstrated what he stands for by simply standing
on his desk. Following which he invited
his students to do the same and said “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”. This statement is the defining
words of Mr. Keeting’s messege. The action to match those words however is not
standing on a desk. The action takes place in the courtyard where he tells his
students to march to the sound of their own drum. No matter what others may
think.
Similar
to Mr. Escalante’s experience, the faculty at Weston Prep is not exactly in
line with Mr. Keeting’s views. After Mr.
Keeting told his students to rip out the intro to a book of poetry, which
reduces poetry to impassionate math by the way, the headmaster displayed
displeasure in the direction of Mr keeting’s teaching. He responded to a conversation with the headmaster
with “We're not talking artists, George, we're talking freethinkers”.
Mr. K does it like this
here are the quotes that i might use
Mr. E to his students.
Mr. E to Students will rise to the level of
expectations.
It's not that they're stupid, it's just that they
don't know anything, Senor Molina
Keating:
We're not talking artists, George, we're talking
freethinkers
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! break out now is the time!
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