I decided to watch the movies Stand and Deliver and The Ron Clark Story, featuring Jaime Escalante and Ron Clark as high school math and middle school teachers, respectively. They both have very different styles, but they are both considered very effective (both are true stories). The two student bodies are vastly different as well--Clark teaches in Harlem, while Escalante teaches in intercity L.A.
Escalante holds his students to a very high standard. In fact, the big theme of the movie is his challenge for the school to carry an A.P. Calculus class. He wasn't necessarily polite, but the students knew he put his heart and soul into the class.
Ron Clark was about giving students hope. He had fun with his students and praised them a lot, contrary to Escalante who, even when his students succeeded, did not show any public support. He believed in his students and while he had high expectations, he did not push them as hard as Escalante did.
Both, however, pushed themselves to the max. Both showed scenes of having to go to the hospital because they worked too hard.
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