|
|
 |
|
|
|
Home > Features > Julian Dias: Extraordinary Dedication
|
Julian Dias: Extraordinary Dedication
|
|
| |
by Judy Broadwin
The College Board
New York, New York
|
|
| | Changing Students' Expectations
Although there hasn't been a movie made about him yet, Julian Dias's career closely parallels that of Jaime Escalante, the teacher who inspired the film Stand and Deliver. Julian was a math teacher in Sri Lanka before he and his wife, Christobel, came to the United States in 1984 with their oldest son, Jonathan. While teaching computer science at a parochial school, Julian earned a master's degree in mathematics education at DePaul University, which led to a new position in 1988 as a teacher in one of Chicago's public high schools. Assigned primarily to teach pre-algebra classes, Julian had many students who had difficulty learning. To better reach these students, Julian completed a second master's degree in special education at Chicago State University.
Julian taught more advanced classes over the next few years and joined the faculty of Morgan Park High School in 1991. There he observed that the students seemed to be defeated by their lack of self-confidence and had little expectation of success in mathematics. Although there was an AP Calculus class at the school, the students enrolled in the class had no expectation that they would succeed in the course and pass the exam.
Julian began teaching the AP Calculus course in 1994, and he made changing his students' expectations of themselves his first goal. He made himself available before school, after school, during every preparation period, and even at the library on Saturday mornings. During vacation periods, Julian assigned problems to solve from previous AP Exams, then he called each student individually to check on their progress and offer assistance. The students quickly realized that Mr. Dias was a teacher who cared about each and every one of them.
Ikechukwu Okoro, currently a freshman computer science major at the University of Illinois at Champaign Urbana, says of his former teacher, "Mr. Dias really wanted his students to learn. He believed in us. He believed that we had the ability to learn. We sensed this from the moment that we entered his class. He would go over a concept again and again until we mastered it. He gave us every opportunity to show him that we knew the material. He never accepted defeat from any of us."
National Recognition
Recognizing Julian's extraordinary dedication to his students and to his discipline, the Siemens Foundation presented Julian with its 2001 award for excellence in teaching AP mathematics. Julian currently teaches AP Calculus, the International Baccalaureate (IB) Math Methods course, and college algebra at Morgan Park High School. More than 85 percent of the students at Morgan Park are minority students, and 46 percent come from low-income families where there is little or no academic encouragement. His students are therefore hesitant to take AP Calculus, but Julian encourages all of his college algebra students to take the course. His students have consistently earned grades in AP Calculus above the national average.
Julian says, "Many of my students have had very little academic support from their parents or guardians. They fear and lack the confidence to venture into academically challenging subjects like calculus and are often compelled to work after school because of economic necessity. Teachers like me who work in urban public schools must develop special strategies so that students develop the self-confidence and motivation to succeed. The students' success in AP courses will pave the path for a bright future in both college and career."
Julian has taught many students through his long career, and they remember him with great affection and respect. Yazmin Morales was his student through three years of high school mathematics. After graduating from Morgan Park High School in 1996, Yazmin entered the University of Chicago. Julian received a letter that year from the mathematics department of the university commending Yazmin's extraordinary achievement in mathematics. Yazmin, a third-year medical student today, was so influenced by Julian that she, too, wants to be a teacher. Yazmin says about Julian, "He loved to teach and he loved his students. He gave all his time to his students -- even on Saturdays -- and they knew that he always cared about them."
Julian is also a dedicated AP consultant for the Midwest Region of the College Board, has been an enthusiastic AP Calculus Reader for the past three years, and was recently appointed as a regional leader for Pre-AP Building Success. He is also an item writer for the Chicago Academic Standards Examination. Julian has already submitted a proposal to speak at the second annual AP National Conference in Los Angeles in July 2003. His topic is "Preparing Urban Public School Minority Students for the AP Calculus Examination."
All in the Family
Christobel Dias, like her husband, is a teacher. She has earned two master's degrees, an M.S. in education and an M.S. in media and library science, since she came to the United States. She teaches at the preschool level but is an enthusiastic supporter, with Julian, of College Board programs. Julian and Christobel have two sons: Jonathan, an MBA graduate of DePaul University, is a CPA and works as a controller for the Quaker Oats/Pepsi Company plant in Columbia, Missouri; Julian Jr. is a freshman at the University of Indiana in Bloomington. Julian Sr. is proud and happy to report that Julian just received a certificate from the College Board naming him an AP Scholar with Distinction. His AP Exam grades earned Julian Jr. 22 credits at the University of Indiana. These credits have saved his parents a great deal of money and also will enable Julian Jr. to be a candidate for admission to the Honors Program of the Kelly School of Business at the University of Indiana.
The successes of Julian's sons inspire him to do even more. He says, "My mission at Morgan Park High School is to promote the Advanced Placement Program in many subjects so that all students will have all the privileges and opportunities for advancement in college and career that my sons have had."
Judy Broadwin is a consultant for the College Board in the New York office. She taught AP Calculus at Jericho High School in New York for 29 years. She has been a Reader, Table Leader, and BC Exam leader for the AP Calculus Exams, and was a member of the Development Committee from 1987 to 1991. Co-author of the AP Solutions book, she has presented AP Calculus workshops and summer institutes since 1975. She is a winner of the Presidential Award and a Tandy Technology Scholar.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Course Home Pages