Rafe Esquith
Encyclopedia
Rafe Esquith is an innovative, multiple-award-winning American
teacher at Hobart Boulevard Elementary School, in Los Angeles
, California
, where he has taught since 1984. Many of his students, who are all from a community of poor and immigrant families, start class very early, leave late, and typically achieve high scores in standardized tests. Esquith has authored books about teaching, and a documentary film has been made about his annual class Shakespeare productions.
His teaching honors include the 1992 Disney National Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award, a Sigma Beta Delta Fellowship from Johns Hopkins University
, Oprah Winfrey
’s $100,000 "Use Your Life Award", Parents Magazine’s "As You Grow Award", National Medal of Arts
, and Esquith was made an honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire
.
A 1981 graduate of UCLA, Esquith began teaching in 1982 at Ivanhoe Elementary School. Two years later, he moved to Hobart, the second-largest elementary school in the United States
. Most of the school's 2,000 students come from immigrant Central American and Korea
n families. According to a 2005 report on National Public Radio, 90 percent of his students were living below the poverty level, and all were from immigrant families, with none speaking English as a first language
.
Esquith's fifth-grade students consistently score in the top 5 to 10 percent of the country in standardized tests. Many of Esquith's students voluntarily start class at 6:30 each morning, two hours before the rest of the school's students. They volunteer to come early, work through recess, stay as late as 6:00 pm, and come to class during vacations and holidays.
Each April the Hobart Shakespeareans
, as Esquith’s students are known, perform one of Shakespeare's plays. They have opened for the Royal Shakespeare Company
, and appeared at the Globe Theater in London
. They also were hired by Sir Peter Hall to perform A Midsummer Night's Dream
at the Ahmanson Theatre
in Los Angeles.
Not only do his students have long school days, they also come in on holidays and are given reading assignments considered well beyond the typical fifth grader's reading level, although Esquith says they are no brighter than typical students.
He also varies teaching methods within individual classrooms to reflect differences in learning styles among students. Esquith also has high expectations of his students. Expecting his fifth graders, who are generally from families whose primary language is not English, to study and understand Shakespeare, for example.
Former students continue to help Esquith with current classes. Some come back to discuss their experiences. In a 2007 interview, Esquith said: "A lot of times a young teacher has a vision of what they want their children to be, but the children who grow up in bad neighborhoods [...] can't have that vision. They've never seen it — they don't know what it looks like. But when former students of mine come back and talk to them about coming back from Princeton
or U.S.C.
or U.C.L.A. or anywhere, the children realize, 'Hey, this could be me.' They really start to see how what they do now affects their life later." The involvement of former students who have done well helps to counter the lack of involvement from parents who are often poor and sometimes illegal immigrants without much education themselves and who aren't able to stimulate their children's intellectual and educational interests and motivate them because of lack of time or knowledge, according to Esquith.
Esquith has said he advises young teachers never to fight with administrators: "Always agree with them. Tell them that, 'You know, I understand where you're coming from', and try to quietly work around the system. I rarely fight with anybody in my school because that doesn't help the children."
Teachers control only one aspect of a child's education, which is also influenced by the involvement of parents, school administrators, teachers unions, testing services and textbook publishers, according to Esquith.
"I've been a teacher now for 27 years," Esquith said in a 2007 interview. "I have still not been to one staff meeting where character was discussed, honestly discussed — how we get children to behave themselves, not because they're afraid of punishment but because they really adopt a code of civil behavior."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
teacher at Hobart Boulevard Elementary School, in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where he has taught since 1984. Many of his students, who are all from a community of poor and immigrant families, start class very early, leave late, and typically achieve high scores in standardized tests. Esquith has authored books about teaching, and a documentary film has been made about his annual class Shakespeare productions.
His teaching honors include the 1992 Disney National Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award, a Sigma Beta Delta Fellowship from Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
, Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
’s $100,000 "Use Your Life Award", Parents Magazine’s "As You Grow Award", National Medal of Arts
National Medal of Arts
The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and patrons of the arts. It is the highest honor conferred to an individual artist on behalf of the people. Honorees are selected by the National Endowment for the...
, and Esquith was made an honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
.
A 1981 graduate of UCLA, Esquith began teaching in 1982 at Ivanhoe Elementary School. Two years later, he moved to Hobart, the second-largest elementary school in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Most of the school's 2,000 students come from immigrant Central American and Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
n families. According to a 2005 report on National Public Radio, 90 percent of his students were living below the poverty level, and all were from immigrant families, with none speaking English as a first language
English language learning and teaching
English as a second language , English for speakers of other languages and English as a foreign language all refer to the use or study of English by speakers with different native languages. The precise usage, including the different use of the terms ESL and ESOL in different countries, is...
.
Esquith's fifth-grade students consistently score in the top 5 to 10 percent of the country in standardized tests. Many of Esquith's students voluntarily start class at 6:30 each morning, two hours before the rest of the school's students. They volunteer to come early, work through recess, stay as late as 6:00 pm, and come to class during vacations and holidays.
Each April the Hobart Shakespeareans
The Hobart Shakespeareans
The Hobart Shakespeareans of Hobart Boulevard Elementary School is a 2005 documentary film that tells the story of the inspirational inner-city Los Angeles school teacher Rafe Esquith whose rigorous fifth-grade curriculum includes English, mathematics, geography, and literature...
, as Esquith’s students are known, perform one of Shakespeare's plays. They have opened for the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
, and appeared at the Globe Theater in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. They also were hired by Sir Peter Hall to perform A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
at the Ahmanson Theatre
Ahmanson Theatre
The Ahmanson Theatre is one of the four main venues that comprise the Los Angeles Music Center.Through the generosity of philanthropist Robert H. Ahmanson, construction began on March 9, 1962. The theatre opened on April 12, 1967 with a production of More Stately Mansions starring Ingrid Bergman,...
in Los Angeles.
Teaching methods and philosophy
Esquith has a much longer work day than is typical for teachers, starting at 6:30 a.m. and not ending until 5 or 6 p.m., and he has said that can't be expected of other teachers. His longer period of time with the students helps him to both cover material that will be on standardized tests and teach topics that he himself is passionate about — Shakespeare, Mark Twain, and baseball (used both to help with physical fitness and mathematics). "The best teachers I know all put themselves in the classroom," he said in a 2007 interview. "If you're a great cook, spend part of your day cooking with the children, and if you love the Chronicles of Narnia, then read that with your children even if it isn't part of the prescribed reading text of your school."Not only do his students have long school days, they also come in on holidays and are given reading assignments considered well beyond the typical fifth grader's reading level, although Esquith says they are no brighter than typical students.
He also varies teaching methods within individual classrooms to reflect differences in learning styles among students. Esquith also has high expectations of his students. Expecting his fifth graders, who are generally from families whose primary language is not English, to study and understand Shakespeare, for example.
Former students continue to help Esquith with current classes. Some come back to discuss their experiences. In a 2007 interview, Esquith said: "A lot of times a young teacher has a vision of what they want their children to be, but the children who grow up in bad neighborhoods [...] can't have that vision. They've never seen it — they don't know what it looks like. But when former students of mine come back and talk to them about coming back from Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
or U.S.C.
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
or U.C.L.A. or anywhere, the children realize, 'Hey, this could be me.' They really start to see how what they do now affects their life later." The involvement of former students who have done well helps to counter the lack of involvement from parents who are often poor and sometimes illegal immigrants without much education themselves and who aren't able to stimulate their children's intellectual and educational interests and motivate them because of lack of time or knowledge, according to Esquith.
Esquith has said he advises young teachers never to fight with administrators: "Always agree with them. Tell them that, 'You know, I understand where you're coming from', and try to quietly work around the system. I rarely fight with anybody in my school because that doesn't help the children."
Teachers control only one aspect of a child's education, which is also influenced by the involvement of parents, school administrators, teachers unions, testing services and textbook publishers, according to Esquith.
"I've been a teacher now for 27 years," Esquith said in a 2007 interview. "I have still not been to one staff meeting where character was discussed, honestly discussed — how we get children to behave themselves, not because they're afraid of punishment but because they really adopt a code of civil behavior."
Books
- There Are No Shortcuts (2003) ISBN 0-375-42202-1 – published in 2003, this book is a required reading for EDCI 205 (Exploring Teaching as a Career) at Purdue UniversityPurdue UniversityPurdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
. - Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire (2007) ISBN 0-670-038156
- Lighting Their Fires: Raising Extraordinary Children in a Mixed-up, Muddled-up, Shook-up World (2009; ISBN 0-670-021083) – a slim (208-page) book is addressed to parents but organized around a class trip to Dodger StadiumDodger StadiumDodger Stadium, also sometimes called Chavez Ravine, is a stadium in Los Angeles. Located adjacent to Downtown Los Angeles, Dodger Stadium has been the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers team since 1962...
, with sections revolving around concepts including Punctuality, Focus, Decision Making, Taking Pride in What You Do, Selflessness, Humility, Patience, and Teaching Kids to Grow.
External links
- The Hobart Shakespeareans Official Website
- Rafe Esquith, Alumnus and Teacher / UCLA Spotlight
- PBS Documentary The Hobart Shakespeareans
- Google Video preview of PBS documentary
- Penguin Books entry for "Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire"
- Random House (Anchor Books) entry for "There Are No Shortcuts" (excerpt)
News Articles
- Washington Post "Better Teachers, Not Tinier Classes, Should Be Goal" 2Mar2009
- CBS Evening News "Teacher Inspires Kids To Love Learning" 31Jan2007
- NPR "Rafe Esquith Offers His Fiery Teaching Methods" 22Jan2007
- NPR "Inner-City Teacher Takes No Shortcuts to Success" 26Apr2005
Interviews and Podcasts
- Diane Rehm "There are no shortcuts." 29Dec2003
- Penguin Books "Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire" podcast