Title: Jaime Escalante | Encyclopedia.com
Headings: Escalante, Jaime: 1930—: Educator
Escalante, Jaime: 1930—: Educator
Jaime Escalante: 1930 —: Educator
Early Teaching Experience
At a Glance . . .
Immigrated to the United States
Challenged Students to Excel
Became a National Hero
Joined English for Children Initiative
Sources
Books
Periodicals
On-line
Jaime Escalante
Jaime Escalante
Public Acclaim
Program Continues
Further Reading

Content: National Teachers Hall of Fame, 1999. When he graduated in 1954 he had three jobs lined up. In the mornings he taught at the prestigious San Calixto, in the afternoons he worked at National Bol í var High School, and in the evenings he taught at Commercial High School. It was through a lot of experience that Escalante developed his unique and effective teaching style. In the Bolivian educational system, students were tested by teachers from different schools, eliminating the subjectivity of a teacher testing his or her own students. In this way, "Escalante and his students became part of the same team, fighting a common foe, rather than adversaries in a war in which the teacher always had the upper hand and the students often contemplated revolt or desertion," according to Jay Mathews in Escalante: The Best Teacher in America. While at Normal Superior, Escalante met Fabiola Tapia, and the couple married on November 25, 1954. A year later they had their first son, Jaime Jr. Fabiola's brothers went to college in California and she wanted her young family to join them there. She believed that America offered better economic opportunities and more stability for her family.