Jacobs was born in North Hollywood and while in high school "realized that he wanted to become a teacher.
"[1] The 1939-born educator began "in the late 1960s" what became his first book, originally published in 1970, as an attempt to address the needs of "those students who had not done well in mathematics.
"[3] His works helped inspire other educators to extend areas such as "inquiry-based learning.
[1] The three books were published by W. H. Freeman and Company, and "overhead transparencies for" classroom use were subsequently developed.
[15] The Elementary Algebra text has attracted interest by homeschoolers, particularly when used in conjunction with an independently produced set of DVDs offering 36 hours of educational instruction.