Math may be the language of science, but for Bruce Underhill spirituality is the language of life. Underhill, part-time adjunct instructor at Southwestern College, said he tries to create a comfortable environment for his students because people cannot learn when they are not at ease.
"You're a different person when you're frantic, uptight and nervous," said Underhill.
He said he tries to show students that he wants to help them and make them comfortable by asking them how they are and behaving in a friendly manner. His prep includes meditating to calm himself before teaching his classes. His students report that it works.
"When Underhill teaches he makes his class interesting," said Jesus Lopez, 21, a mechanical engineering major.
Class usually opens with something that has nothing to do with math. Lopez said that he likes how Underhill encourages students to ask any questions they want. He said Underhill is willing to take the time to help any student.
"I have never seen him in a bad mood," said Lopez.
In the 1960s Underhill was working for Crown Zellerbach. At the time Eastern-style meditation made its way to the west thanks to the Beatles' encounter with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. He stopped working and spent two years in San Francisco studying meditation. Underhill found a teaching position at San Diego High School after earning an engineering degree from the University of Buffalo in 1968.
In 1988, Underhill began teaching at SWC. He said he chose math because that was what he had the credentials for and because it is an important subject for college students. Underhill said math can be intimidating to students and cause them to lose their confidence. By overcoming math, people can get over high walls, he said.
"The most exciting thing is to see someone intimidated by math, then move up," he said.
Elizabeth Kozel, 43, Tutorial Center coordinator, said that even though Underhill is a part-time adjunct instructor, he still helps students in the Academic Center. Sometimes he brings in guitars to help the students learn formulas with rhymes.
As a musician he uses that tool to balance the overwhelming power of math.
"He presents math visually verbally and kinesthetically," said Kozel.
Underhill said there is more to life than numbers, polynomials and equations. He is active in humanitarian causes around the world and has a special place in his heart for the working poor in India and South Asia. He is also concerned about the environment and health issues.
This all adds up for Underhill's students. A little TLC in the equation can help everything come out right.
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