in class activity question #3 and #4

3. Sir Ken Robinsons criteria for a good teacher was hard to pull from his lecture at first. His lecture stated the importance of creativity, the lack of nurturing this creativity, and some examples of times and places where it has been overlooked. For example when he talks about the woman Jillian who made Cats the musical, he refers to her young self. As a child the teachers thought she had some kind of disability, like she wasn't doing well in a school setting. She was brought to see a doctor and the doctor left her in the room after interviewing her. He left the music on and she began to dance. This doctor recommended that Jillian be put in dance school, where Jillian found many other students who were indeed, like her. She went on to become a very famous millionaire. This story reflects the main idea for his whole lecture. To pull from this what I believe Ken Robinson's criteria for a good teacher was not as easy as it wasn't stated out right. He says that teachers and the education system should help children to identify their talents through creative thoughts that have meaning . He would like to see teachers who recognize these talents to begin with. Since so much of our time in school is focused solely on Math, Science, English (or languages), and the "academics" of eduction, we tend to "begin focusing on our heads". Children become adults and become educated out of creativity, losing their ability to take chances, and basically losing the creativity because it is not at all focused on. For example, the little girl he mentions who says that she is drawing a picture of God, only to be told by her teacher, "no one knows what god looks like". She hadn't been intrigued by her class or seen doing much participation. She proves her creativity by involving herself in the drawing activity and responding with " well they will in a minute".

4. How would Robinson rate Mr Escalante?
Since Mr Escalante is focused on Math in the movie, I think Robinson would have to narrow down his expectations to a "math level" Instead of looking at creativity in the large aspects of life, he would have to see if Mr Escalante was creative in his department.  The kids in "Stand and Deliver" are older and only in Mr Escalantes class for a short period each day.  Yet I do think that Robinson would find Mr Escalante to meet many of his criteria for a good teacher. For example, Mr Escalante is creative himself. He finds ways to teach his students based upon their interests.  Which is a quality valued by Robinson. Robinson says, "children should be taught dance like they are taught math" I do not know if he and Mr Escalante would agree on this because instead you see Mr Escalante personifying Robinsons idea that "in public schools we are teaching future college professors".You do not see a direct cooralation between being allowed a creative mind and learning calculus. But Mr Escalante drives in this quality in the way he gets through to the students, whether it is to get through to them on a personal level so they will challenge themselves, or get them to want to do the work.