What do you think?
Rate this book
Escalante: The Best Teacher in America
Chronicles the remarkable life and work of man who, himself and immigrant, coached and inspired underpriviledged Hispanic students thought to be "hopeless" to excel to unprecedented standards in mathematics
322 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1988
6 people are currently reading
217 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 9, 2025
“INTELLIGENCE OF LATIN PEOPLE SUPRISES U.S.” – a headline in a Puerto Rican newspaper (about the success of the Calculus AP program at Garfield High in Los Angeles under Jaime Escalante)—reported on page 232
Published in 1988, this is a comprehensive look at how Jaime Escalante got into teaching and the first few years of his time teaching at Garfield High School, during which the school, which was in a low socioeconomic area and which was attended by students whose families experienced many struggles, became one of the highest-achieving AP Calculus schools in the nation, even outperforming some elite private schools that students have to test into). It reads like a case study. There are a lot of details, including brief profiles of some of Escalante’s students and fellow teachers and staff members (including Henry Gradillas, the principal, who later wrote a book about turning around Garfield, called Stading and Delivering). I first saw the movie based on Escalante, Stand and Deliver, as a preteen, and it has influenced my career as a teacher (I still get chills just thinking about the last scene), so it was interesting for me to read the true story. The biggest differences between real life and the movie: 1) The movie compresses the timeline. The program was built over several years. He did not take students who didn’t know math facts and get them to pass the Calculus AP exam the next year. 2) There was a non-racist reason that the 1982 tests were investigated. Several students had the exact same wrong figuring and answer in a problem; the error was statistically very unlikely to happen by chance. Some of the students admitted passing a note but later took back their admissions. (See pages 174-179.) In any case, they all had the ability to pass, as was evidenced by the fact that they passed the retest, which was given at a later time under very strict testing conditions. It really is a phenomenal story—especially the fact that the success lasted for many of these students. They went on to high-ranking colleges and became successful scientists, some even working for NASA.
Here is a 2002 article that tells what happened at Garfield after this book was published: Stand and Deliver Revisited - Reason.com
127: [Gradillas] “took the job eagerly, providing the last essential ingredient for a mix of personalities and talents which would, unexpectedly, coalesce into an academic marvel.”
138: “If he wants to teach us that bad, we can learn.” Luis Cervantes, microbiologist nd Garfield Class of 1982 graduate when Escalante came back to the classroom after a major medical event
193: Delia Mora, class of 1983: “I’m not going to class because I want to. But when you see all the effort he puts into the class, you begin to want to put out just as much.”
188: “Escalante’s classes already accounted for one out of every four Mexican Americans taking AP calculus IN THE WHOLE COUNTRY.”
203: Gradillas tells a counselor that Escalante “has his own school of psychology”.
210 [re: the ELAC program]: “Eventually the federal funding ended altogether, just as Escalante and Jimenez had soured to an unprecedented level of success. Washington’s money went not necessarily to programs that worked to programs that fit into the legislative and regulatory definitions.”
218: “Garfield teachers had to inspire trust because their students had so little faith in themselves.”
237: “Escalante called all students of Asian descent his ‘Kung fus’.”—also called heavier kids Gordo and Gordita—called kids Burros--had problems with fellow staff—told kids to drop band, etc.—kids failed other classes because of so much Calculus homework
249: motivational speech by Escalante to his students--“The only thing you got to do over here, you go to work with ganas. You don’t have to have a high IQ, not like the ones that have one twenty, one forty IQ. Myself, I have a negative IQ. So the only thing I require of you is the ganas.”
286: lesson for teachers—“Demand more than they think they have to give. Spend every available moment convincing them they can do it if they simply make an effort.”
Published in 1988, this is a comprehensive look at how Jaime Escalante got into teaching and the first few years of his time teaching at Garfield High School, during which the school, which was in a low socioeconomic area and which was attended by students whose families experienced many struggles, became one of the highest-achieving AP Calculus schools in the nation, even outperforming some elite private schools that students have to test into). It reads like a case study. There are a lot of details, including brief profiles of some of Escalante’s students and fellow teachers and staff members (including Henry Gradillas, the principal, who later wrote a book about turning around Garfield, called Stading and Delivering). I first saw the movie based on Escalante, Stand and Deliver, as a preteen, and it has influenced my career as a teacher (I still get chills just thinking about the last scene), so it was interesting for me to read the true story. The biggest differences between real life and the movie: 1) The movie compresses the timeline. The program was built over several years. He did not take students who didn’t know math facts and get them to pass the Calculus AP exam the next year. 2) There was a non-racist reason that the 1982 tests were investigated. Several students had the exact same wrong figuring and answer in a problem; the error was statistically very unlikely to happen by chance. Some of the students admitted passing a note but later took back their admissions. (See pages 174-179.) In any case, they all had the ability to pass, as was evidenced by the fact that they passed the retest, which was given at a later time under very strict testing conditions. It really is a phenomenal story—especially the fact that the success lasted for many of these students. They went on to high-ranking colleges and became successful scientists, some even working for NASA.
Here is a 2002 article that tells what happened at Garfield after this book was published: Stand and Deliver Revisited - Reason.com
127: [Gradillas] “took the job eagerly, providing the last essential ingredient for a mix of personalities and talents which would, unexpectedly, coalesce into an academic marvel.”
138: “If he wants to teach us that bad, we can learn.” Luis Cervantes, microbiologist nd Garfield Class of 1982 graduate when Escalante came back to the classroom after a major medical event
193: Delia Mora, class of 1983: “I’m not going to class because I want to. But when you see all the effort he puts into the class, you begin to want to put out just as much.”
188: “Escalante’s classes already accounted for one out of every four Mexican Americans taking AP calculus IN THE WHOLE COUNTRY.”
203: Gradillas tells a counselor that Escalante “has his own school of psychology”.
210 [re: the ELAC program]: “Eventually the federal funding ended altogether, just as Escalante and Jimenez had soured to an unprecedented level of success. Washington’s money went not necessarily to programs that worked to programs that fit into the legislative and regulatory definitions.”
218: “Garfield teachers had to inspire trust because their students had so little faith in themselves.”
237: “Escalante called all students of Asian descent his ‘Kung fus’.”—also called heavier kids Gordo and Gordita—called kids Burros--had problems with fellow staff—told kids to drop band, etc.—kids failed other classes because of so much Calculus homework
249: motivational speech by Escalante to his students--“The only thing you got to do over here, you go to work with ganas. You don’t have to have a high IQ, not like the ones that have one twenty, one forty IQ. Myself, I have a negative IQ. So the only thing I require of you is the ganas.”
286: lesson for teachers—“Demand more than they think they have to give. Spend every available moment convincing them they can do it if they simply make an effort.”
May 11, 2018
If you've seen the movie "Stand and Deliver," you have a grip on what this book is about. It's the life story of Jaime Escalante who became famous for taking a failing school in East Los Angeles and churning out a high number of students who could pass the Advanced Placement Calculus exam.
It really boils down to him being a master teacher.
While his profile hit the national (international, really) spotlight when some of his students were accused of cheating during this exam, the part that dumbfounded people were the students themselves who were taking it. These were not students expected to perform at such an advanced level.
How did he do it?
Reading his life story and the techniques he used are still inspiring to this day. While we have better tools than what was available to him in the early 80s, the core of how he got his students on board are timeless, universal principles:
Build rapport with your students, show them you care and set high expectations.
I still remember the advice my aunt gave to me as a beginning teacher. She was a person who was well loved by students and staff alike, some of which were my own friends who hated school and everything about it... except her class. When I prompted her for the secrets to her success, she had this to say:
"Just get the students on board with you. Once that happens, you can take them anywhere."
Getting them on board with you, however, requires an incredible amount of effort, which is often overlooked by a generation of people looking for shortcuts. This is what makes this book refreshing — it shows that no single tool or lesson plan will get students performing at a high level. That task still belongs to the teacher and more specifically, the teacher at heart.
It really boils down to him being a master teacher.
While his profile hit the national (international, really) spotlight when some of his students were accused of cheating during this exam, the part that dumbfounded people were the students themselves who were taking it. These were not students expected to perform at such an advanced level.
How did he do it?
Reading his life story and the techniques he used are still inspiring to this day. While we have better tools than what was available to him in the early 80s, the core of how he got his students on board are timeless, universal principles:
Build rapport with your students, show them you care and set high expectations.
I still remember the advice my aunt gave to me as a beginning teacher. She was a person who was well loved by students and staff alike, some of which were my own friends who hated school and everything about it... except her class. When I prompted her for the secrets to her success, she had this to say:
"Just get the students on board with you. Once that happens, you can take them anywhere."
Getting them on board with you, however, requires an incredible amount of effort, which is often overlooked by a generation of people looking for shortcuts. This is what makes this book refreshing — it shows that no single tool or lesson plan will get students performing at a high level. That task still belongs to the teacher and more specifically, the teacher at heart.
October 21, 2022
This book describes how Jaime Escalante prepared underprivileged students in East Los Angeles to take the AP Calculus Exam in the 1970s and 80s. Escalante’s unique approach to this task yielded amazing (and unprecedented) results. I don’t know if his techniques would work forty years later, but this is a great book for anyone interested in teaching and in the value of standardized tests. It's also a great advertisement for the AP program, which continues to this day. Readers might also benefit from its sketch of how public schools operated in LA during those decades. They faced challenges then, and they face challenges now.
June 10, 2019
Grabbed this from an old book giveaway pile because it reminded me of my high school calculus teacher’s obsession with the movie. Was fun to learn more about the story, but I lost interest after that section (and book started to get pretty disjointed too).
October 26, 2021
Please I like to read this book. I love this history. And it's imposible to obtain this book for me. I love maths and this history is an inspiración for me. Thanks. Eduardo from Argentina
June 18, 2016
The first half of the book was both interesting and relevant. If it had stopped there, I could have given it at least four stars, if not five. Escelante's teaching methods are often relevant(with sound tactics that can help to instruct a neophyte) though sometimes controversial. From a biographical point of view it was certainly informative. The second half seemed to drag on and felt almost pointless. Read parts 1 and 2 without 3 (I think that was the cutoff) and you'll be good to go.
December 4, 2010
If you are a teacher you should have read this book. If not READ IT!! Against all odds Excalante takes a band of Hispanic students from LA that were cast offs and creates a math kings and queens... Very insirational!!!
October 2, 2010
Excruciatingly inspiring. A must read for teachers.
May 29, 2016
Great biography of an amazing teacher.
December 26, 2015
Inspiring but time line(s) in story are not arranged clearly.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews