Finders Keepers (1984)

Stand and Deliver is an inspirational classic from 1988 starring Edward James Olmos as Jaime Escalante, and his class of rag tag students in East Los Angeles. It’s the story of how a new teacher shows a motley group of students in the inner city with backgrounds as gang members, dishwashers, and mechanics — the power of self-determination. He teaches teenagers to believe in themselves through algebra and calculus.

Stand and Deliver movie review

Math is the great equalizer… When you go for a job, the person giving you that job will not want to hear your problems; ergo, neither do I. You’re going to work harder here than you’ve ever worked anywhere else. And the only thing I ask from you is ganas. Desire.

It was very moving how the teacher Jaime Escalante connected with the low-income students who had low hopes for themselves. He related to the students through both culture and mathematics. He started off early in the course conveying a sense of history and destiny to the students.