Define the roles

Mr. Escalante- Plays the role of a disciplinarian and mentor. He keeps his class in line and doesn't let his students ignore his authority. He teaches the students the importance of being disciplined. We see this in the film when the class starts to put in extra hours at school, working hard to prepare for the AP calculus exam. Mr. Escalante was a mentor to the students; He changed students minds into understanding how education can change the outcome of their lives; giving them more options in their future.

Ms. Watson- Right now in the film Ms. Watson's students question her methods, I think once they began to trust her more they will become friends. She does play a bit of a therapist role, as she is starting to become aware of her students lives outside of school and she play an impact on the outcome of some of the relationships. I think later on in the film we will see more evidence of this.

Jack MacFarland- Defines the role of a friend and mentor. He realizes Mike Rose struggles in class and helps him succeed in class, convincing him that he has what it takes to go to college. They had a mentor and mentee relationship. Mike Rose looked up to Jack as a role model, "...I worked very hard, for MacFarland hooked me. He tapped my old interest in reading and creating stories," says rose. They built a friendly relationship as well, hanging out at MacFarland's apartment "consuming my English teacher's library," says rose.

Sister MPH- Plays the role of a disciplinarian. She had a very strict set of rules and was very hard on the first grade students. It almost seemed that all Sister MPH cared about was punishing her students for not obeying the long list of rules. She was described as a someone who either didn't like teaching or hated children.