Jaime Escalante

Jaime Escalante, the iconic math teacher who inspired the movie "Stand and Deliver," died yesterday. He was only 79.


Mr. Escalante lived not far from me. Many times, I've seen him shopping at Trader Joe's. He seemed like such an unassuming, humble man, striding purposefully, bent toward his destination as though walking against a strong headwind.

I never spoke to him directly, and that is something I now regret. I should have asked him if I could buy him a cup coffee, because I would have so enjoyed listening to him talk. But I never asked, and we never spoke, and now this loving, intelligent, tenacious and charming man is gone.

Jaime Escalante
1930 - 2010
R.I.P.

"You can do anything you want to, it is easy.
The hardest part is that you have to believe you can do it.
The rest is a piece of cake."


'Stand And Deliver' Teacher Dies - KCRA.com
Jaime Escalante - Wikipedia

1 comment:

Steam Me Up, Kid said...

WHAT? I hadn't heard this. Maybe it's time for me to get off blogger and read some real news. Jeez.

That's really sad.