Teachers play important roles in the lives of their students. Wearing many hats, they do far more than present a lesson plan. Over the course of the day a teacher may play the role of educator, ally, confidante, disciplinarian, protector, health expert, counselor or advocate. This type of personal interaction, plus a teachers own positive attitude, develops a rapport between teacher and student setting the stage for a successful learning environment allowing them to guide or mentor their students. It is the role of mentor that is the most important and Mr. Escalante and Ms. Watson are two of two teachers who are great mentors.
Both Mr. Escalante and Ms. Watson have a passion for teaching. Though we are not explicitly told why Mr. Escalante chose to teach, we can assume that it was a choice that he made because he had desire to do so. We watch him drive a long way from a middle class to lower class neighborhood and through a conversation that he has with his neighbor we learn that he has held a good job; it is unclear if he has had any precious teaching experience. At the beginning of Mona Lisa Smile we are told that Ms. Watson came to Wellesley to make a difference. Both teachers are making deliberate choices to teach in the schools where they work. Their positive attitudes reflect his choice and their passion for what they do.
more to come
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