Taking aim at what he called the "ingratitude" of fellow teachers and at parents who do not value academic achievement, celebrated calculus instructor Jaime Escalante said Wednesday that he will resign from the Garfield High School faculty.
Escalante, 59, whose unorthodox methods brought national acclaim to his faltering East Los Angeles high school, said he may leave Garfield as early as June. He said he may seek employment in another school district--perhaps in San Diego, Ventura or San Francisco--or return to the private sector to design computers. An engineer before switching to teaching, he has taught in the Los Angeles Unified School District for 16 years.
The Bolivian-born educator, whose success in teaching calculus to inner-city Latino youngsters was the subject of the 1988 movie "Stand and Deliver," said the "No. 1" reason for his unhappiness is a handful of letters he received recently from parents who said their children want to drop advanced mathematics classes. In some cases, Escalante said, the letters indicated that students preferred sports over advanced math.
The requests "hurt me more than anything else," Escalante said in his office, which adjoins a classroom plastered with colorful movie posters from "Stand and Deliver" and unique motivational slogans. "They (parents) don't see education as the way to succeed in this country."
Escalante said he has received anonymous phone calls, both at school and at his home, from people threatening to do him bodily harm. The calls are worrying his wife and two sons, he said.
Escalante also cited what he perceived as the "ingratitude" of fellow faculty members, particularly in Garfield's math department, as well as a lack of district administrative support, as major reasons for his decision to leave.
However, some teachers at the school speculated that Escalante may be grandstanding for more resources for the calculus program.
Teachers and students also said they believe that Garfield's calculus program would do well under teacher Ben Jimenez if Escalante leaves. Jimenez is an Escalante protege who won a $25,000 California Educator Award from the state Department of Education last year.
Escalante said he has neither received nor sought job offers from private companies or school districts, but he believes that finding another position "is not going to be a problem."
