is Mr. Escalante a good teacher?

Yes. He's a wonderful teacher that's why there is a movie about him! There are a number of good aspects to his teaching. He starts out at an underprivileged school doing his first year of teaching. He quits his old money making job to be a teacher. He gets a class of students that aren't encouraged to be disciplined in school. He gives them mentoring and hope and pushes them to believe they can accomplish something academically in their lives. Through his pushy and sarcastic attitude he gets an entire class of students to agree to take a summer course to complete an AP Calculus class and take the AP test. throughout all the trials the students go through he takes a special liking to many of them. He volunteers his entire summer, before and after classes, and weekends to teach these kids math. He is a very inspirational teacher. He uses a smart ass sense of humor to connect with the kids and at the same time to assert dominance. He works very hard for his students and gets them to put forth the same effort he is. He believes in them and shows them support when no other teachers in the school do.