Garfield High vs. Wellsley, Mr. Escalante vs. Ms. Watson

The students at first seem very different; one class seems ignorant and unwilling to learn, while the other class is eager to learn. Neither student body seemed to desire to further their education; both Escalante and Watson sought to motivate students into achieving their potential. Both student bodies needed to have their minds opened and each teacher used alternative methods to reach those minds. The teachers face a similar problem, a student body with an attitude problem and fellow staff members that do not respect or understand their curriculum. Through all the opposition their teaching styles did not waiver just because someone did not agree with their methods.  Both teachers eventually in their own ways give in under the pressure, one with a heart attack, the other with an emotional breakdown.

Garfield High and Wellesley are worlds apart: Garfield is informal, while Wellesley is very formal. One is a school for what is considered the lower ring of society, while the other is for high society. Garfield sat in the middle of the slums of a big city, filled with students from mixed backgrounds and poor educations. Wellesley is beautiful brick school, walls lined with mahogany wainscoting, an all-girls school with high society girls with poor attitudes, high expectations, and an inflated sense of self. Wellesley is very traditional, and much alike to Garfield High the students are being forced to fill a specific role in life. In outward appearance it would seem that the Wellesley girls desired to learn as much as possible, but ultimately their goals were to marry the best man possible and become housewives of the rich. So in all actuality they are quite similar to the Garfield High students, tradition was holding both student bodies back from truly achieving their fullest potential.