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IN THIS ISSUE Life Down Under Word Power Doggone Helpful Greetings from Costa Rica Taking Technology into Account(ing) Lucky Fall CurricuNet Chancellor's Column Development News Factoids Newsmakers Accomplishments
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Lucky Fall In his time, Thomas Underwood has stumbled. And that’s OK. “I usually fall into something I like,” says the Mesa College Disabled Students Programs & Services professor, referring to his penchant for unexpectedly finding new challenges, challenges he also enjoys. “I like serving as a learning specialist,” said Underwood, known to friends and colleagues as Lon. “I’ve been involved as a learning specialist for 27 years, but it really is a career I stumbled into. I was a science and philosophy major. I began teaching in Los Angeles because they needed teachers. I found out I loved working with kids, and saw so many bright kids who didn’t read well. I wanted to understand why.” Underwood grew up in the South Bay area of San Diego, and except for his stint in the Los Angeles schools, has dedicated his talents to San Diego students, first for more than two decades in the k-12 system, and for the past six years at Mesa College. “The tools for helping these students have really changed, especially in the last 10 years,” he said. “There are so many innovations now, things that can be done with technology,” he said. “I work with adult students now, different in that college students have much less time to concentrate on their learning issues. I’ve had students with double master’s degrees come in, people who want to teach, but who still have problems with lower division writing skills. These are brilliant students who need the time to learn, and the guidance, and we are here to provide that.” Underwood’s work in the field last year earned him the Teacher of the Year Award from the California Association for Postsecondary Education and Disability, citing his innovative instructional techniques. The organization also noted Underwood’s role in establishing teacher recruitment and development programs in California community colleges throughout the state. That leads to another area Underwood stumbled into, his role in establishing teacher education at Mesa. The program aims to boost the number of college students selecting teaching as their future career by letting them explore what it means to be a teacher, from firsthand classroom experiences to discussions of practical aspects of teaching careers in San Diego public schools. “There had been a desire to start a teacher education course, but it was getting nowhere,” Underwood said. “I was attending an international reading conference with k-12 specialists, and they had a presentation with ideas for improving teachers. I asked where the community colleges fit in, and they said they had no idea, but it was a good question.” A
formal articulation group was set up, a program was established and it
became a statewide model. Underwood already had a k-12 background, so he was able to offer real-world ideas, and ties with San Diego State University and Cal State San Marcos were established and remain. “I’m now the webmaster and an unofficial consultant,” he said. “The people who should get credit for how strong the program is now are those working in it now, people like the director, Danene Soares, and teachers such as Karen Evans and Laurie Lorence. The beauty of our program is that it introduces critical thinking and available technologies much earlier. Advancements continue to take place, and our program is on top of them.” What’s next for Lon? Who knows —it’s hard to predict what he’ll stumble into. “I’ll stop teaching when it stops being fun, or the variety ends,” he said. “I’m still in the right place at the right time for now.”
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