When Tommy Dickey received his recent appointment as a Secretary of the Navy/Chief of Naval Operations Chair of Oceanographic Sciences, it precluded his ability to teach Geography 3A this quarter. However, Staff Assistant José Saleta, who has an MA in Physical Geography from UCSB and 5 years of teaching experience in Geography at the Public University of Navarra in Spain, came to the rescue by volunteering to teach the class, “Oceans and Atmosphere.” As José put it, “The opportunity of teaching a class in the department was something I’ve always wished for, but I was fully aware that crossing the line between the staff and teaching personnel is something that rarely happens.”
The department’s Chair interviewed José and gave him his blessing. José is now, literally and figuratively, a maestro de la geografía—at least insofar as “maestro” means both master and teacher in Spanish. Thanks to having access to Tommy Dickey’s previous Geog 3A material, as well as advice and material from grad student Elisa Frank (who was a TA for the class the last 3 years), José has “mastered” the course, though he admits that “the first two weeks were a rollercoaster, ranging from panic about my new responsibility to joy at being given the chance to teach once again.”
Musing on the cliché “be careful what you wish for,” José commented that “It’s been a great – and intense – experience so far, probably the kind of experience that you enjoy more in hindsight than while you are having to struggle with it the first time, dealing with the particular problems of some of the 140 students registered in the class at this point, organizing three TAs that have never taught this course before, and trying to dust off the rust after not having taught for more than 8 years.” Olé to José for his “yes, we can” spirit!
Article by Bill Norrington
