Zer wrote:
Are you like that super teacher who brought/taught
calculus to inner-city students? What is his name? He
fought to teach them. They profited from his zeal and
their ability to meet his expectations.

i write:
Jaime Escalante! Oh, thank you for recalling him, Zer! The title of
that movie about him ... STAND AND DELIVER ... it's only my mantra,
my maxim, my psychic rallying cry! It's only what i say to myself
when life, as it so often does, knocks me down, throws me for a loop,
leaves me dizzy and nauseous and panting. STAND AND DELIVER. Just,
STAND AND DELIVER! It's the best that anyone can do, i think.

i continue:
Of course, the reality wasn't as neat and compact as the movie made
it seem; the ending wasn't as happy. Apparently, a change of
leadership at Escalante's school led to the loss of administrative
support for his calculus program, which led to the math department's
loss of Escalante, which led to the students' loss, which led ...
leads ... to society's loss. Same old, same old. You said it:
education systems suspect passion. Any bureaucracy abhors exceptional
accomplishment. But it doesn't make Escalante's story any less
inspiring for me. i aspire to be another Escalante ... another
Escalante the Excellent.


Zer wrote: You must post more!

i write: To commit to even anonymous correspondence provokes panic,
but i will post what i, with racing pulse, can post. But what
happened that i cannot find our previous exchange among the
posted? 'Tis a puzzlement. 8-}

asparagus_lost