Teacher of the Year!
Photo of Mr. Underwood
December 20, 2022
Millikan’s very own Lee Underwood was named Teacher of the Year by the Long Beach Unified School District. Underwood was also one of 66 teachers countywide, recognized as Teacher of the Year by the Los Angeles County Office of Education on Sept. 23.
Mr. Underwood is the AP English Literature teacher who has been teaching at Millikan for almost 17 years.
Photo of Mr. Underwood teaching his AP English Literature class
Unfortunately, he does not know who nominated him for this award, but he has his own beliefs as to why.
“I’d like to think it’s because of my amazing Dad jokes and impeccable fashion sense,” said Underwood. Though he said this jokingly, his students do appreciate his humor and his style of teaching.
“He always finds a way to make jokes in all of his lessons, even the more difficult ones,” says PEACE senior, Kenzy Becerra.
Becerra enjoys his way of teaching and the classroom connections that he creates as well as how his lectures about the materials provide the students with deeper understandings by framing them in a way that is easy to grasp.
The appreciation goes both ways.
“It’s all about my students,” says Underwood. “They drive everything I do, from how I design my lessons, to how I set up my classroom, to how I engage with them.”
He looks at his relationship with his students, as they are the bosses, and he works for them.
“I see it as my responsibility to provide them the best education I can give them, every single day,” says Underwood.
As well as all his students, Mr. Underwood also shares this achievement with all the teachers who work hard every day, often in challenging situations.
“I know others out there deserve this as well, so this is also for them,” says Underwood.
But of course, the students and their opinions shape the teacher.
“I think Mr. Underwood is an excellent teacher,” said Becerra, “He is hands-on, caring, and passionate about teaching.”
Mr. Underwood appreciates his students for everything and credits them with making him the teacher and person he is. “My students are a constant source of pride, of humor, of awe, and provide for me moments to reflect on my own life too!”
lexia • Apr 18, 2023 at 1:15 pm
Well deserved! Underwood’s class is awesome
Levi DIniakos • Feb 1, 2023 at 1:41 pm
February 1, 2023
Dear Corydon Editor,
On December 20, Alma Perez wrote an article titled “Teacher of the Year!” The article mentions how Millikan High School’s Lee Underwood was named teacher of the year by the Long Beach Unified School District. Mr. Underwood teaches AP English Literature and has been at Millikan for almost seventeen years. Before I read this article, I was nervous for senior year because I didn’t know if my teachers would be fun and supportive, or if my classes would be dull and boring. Now I know from the article that I do not need to be nervous about taking Mr. Underwood’s class next year. All of his students say that he always makes his lessons fun, he is caring, and he is passionate about teaching. I think Perez does a great job of using multiple sources and quotes to support her claim on how Mr. Underwood was nominated for teacher of the year. I would like to know, is his class easy or hard? Does he assign a lot of homework? Is his class stressful? Does he prepare all of his students well for the AP exam? Thank you for assuring me that Mr. Underwood’s class is nothing to be nervous about.
Sincerely,
Levi Diniakos, Grade 11
Alissey Fang • Feb 1, 2023 at 1:17 pm
On December 20th, Alma Perez wrote an article titled “Teacher of the year”. Perez wrote about Mr. Underwood the AP Lit teacher at Millikan, she interviewed him as well as one of his students to get their perspective on the class and the award. This article was extremely informative given that I will be taking his class next year, I wanted to know what all the hype was about, and this really helped me understand. I really liked how Perez uses what she got from both interviews and forms her own understanding of a class she hasn’t taken, she is able to clearly depict how it might feel to be taught by underwood. Although this article was amazing, I would love to get more perspective on his teaching style, the student interview was great, but I’m almost positive that not all students feel the same way. Continuing with that idea, Underwood mentions that he knows several other teachers that deserve the award just as much as he did so maybe next time a teacher interview could be included just to get a feel for how they reacted to the news for who the award was going to. All around, the article was extremely well written and very informative, I am now that much more excited to be in his class my senior year.
Ethan Marasigan • Feb 1, 2023 at 9:45 am
On December 20, Alma Perez wrote an article titled, “Teacher of the Year!” The article iterates upon the remarkable accomplishment of Millikan’s Lee Underwood. It was said that he was named the Teacher of the Year by the Long Beach Unified School District and was one of 66 recognized teachers nationwide by the Los Angeles County Office of Education. She then quoted a student that added credibility to Mr. Underwood’s award as well as Underwood’s gratitude for his students and fellow teachers. I feel like this gives me reassurance that taking AP English Literature is a good idea as several students have a strong liking to his teaching style and the district even recognized it to win him the Teacher of the Year award. I found it very interesting how engaging a teacher could actually be in a subject that many students are not exactly fond of. Not to mention, I find it very heartening that he has a constant source of pride, of humor, and of awe that multiple students can be thankful for. I thought you did a great job covering Mr. Underwood’s achievement and recognizing his passion for teaching and making sure students have the best education possible.
Maya Ng • Feb 1, 2023 at 9:29 am
On December 20, 2022, Alma Perez wrote the article titled, “Teacher of the Year!”. This article gives a glimpse at a Millikan AP Lit teacher and why he was recognized as Teacher of the Year out of 66 teachers in the country. Mr. Underwood is seen as passionate in his teaching and makes his lessons engaging. He always adds humor and makes his students his priority. This is what all students want from a teacher. This article is great in giving appreciation to a well admired teacher and also informs those who consider taking his class. I’m planning on taking his class next year and everything I’ve heard about Mr. Underwood is praise. People claim that his class has changed their life or perspective on things, and they gain something out of each lesson whether it be for themselves or about other ideas. I’ve heard the class is intensive in reading and writing, but gives good preparation before college. Even though senior year seems bombarded with college applications and other activities, I think his class may be worth it. There are a lot of other great teachers out there, so I think it was a good comment to add that he also uses this award to acknowledge the hard work of all teachers. Great article!
Kurt Buss • Jan 31, 2023 at 11:17 am
On December 20, Alma Perez published an article entitled, “Teacher of the Year!”. This article was super interesting to read. Being able to hear the opinions of some of his students was a nice touch and it was cool how you included a picture of him teaching in his classroom. Another great part of the article was how you included personal quotes from Mr. Underwood himself because it helped me understand the things that he did to get this award. These quotes also showed some of the humor that he has and how he uses that in the classroom. This article also taught me some new things as I was unaware that he was also selected as Teacher of the Year by the Los Angeles Office of Education. I will have Mr. Underwood next year so reading this article has provided me with a nice preview of how he will be for me. Learning about his teaching strategies was an important part of this article as well. These strategies are probably the number one reason he got selected for Teach of the Year. After reading, I’m still left wondering who nominated him for this award and how they were able to do so.
Eva Goddard • Dec 20, 2022 at 12:01 pm
Well deserved! Underwood’s class is awesome