Teachers 'O Plenty

Mr. MacFarland and Mr. Escalante have two big things in common. One, they're both teachers, and two, they both have hair. Excellent. What I've just explained here is a perfect picture of the finest teacher you could ever have, ever. On a serious note, Mr. MacFarland is very much catering to his students like Mr. Empanada. He grazes over his subject with detail, clarity, and thoroughness that leaves the class stamping their foreheads with respect for him. Another very important similarity is the fact that he believes in his students.
Mr. Escalante believed in all of his students, even when their families or even the kids themselves didn't; enough to the point that he sought out the stray students that wandered away from the core goals of the class. One specific example of personal ministering, singling out a student to help him/her succeed is when the brightest girl in Mr. Escalante's Calculus class was deciding not to go to college. He went to her father and through some tribulation, managed to persuade him to admit her to college. The same situation happened with Rose and his mentor Mr. MacFarland. Mike's parents wanted him to go to college, but it wasn't a real option to them financially or academically. MacFarland pulled some strings for him, got him into a college with a well written recommendation letter, and was the father and mentor to Rose when no one else believed.