Document text
Former dropout shines in teaching role Photo by Meg Sullivan, USC News Service Hard work and determination led Tom Cantwell Jr. from an Ashland High School dropout in 1984 to Outstanding Teaching Assistant of the Year for 2000 at University of Southern California. Tom Cantwell Jr. receives teaching award at USC By JOHN DARLING A bored Tom Cantwell Jr. dropped out of Ashland High School in 1984 and worked for years in a dead-end insurance job, where he absorbed a big lesson: "The system works for people who understand it and use it." Cantwell decided to not just use the system, but to master it. He earned his high school general equivalency diploma and entered Southern Oregon University, where he graduated summa cum laude (a perfect 4.0 grade point average) in 1997. Cantwell was accepted to graduate work in history at University of Southern California and became a graduate teaching assistant. This week, by popular student vote, Cantwell was honored as USC's Outstanding Teaching Assistant of the Year for 2000. The 10th annual award, which carries a $1,000 prize, was given to Cantwell Tuesday at the annual Academic Honors Convocation, said USC Media Director Meg Sullivan. Cantwell is the son of Tom Cantwell Sr., owner of Cantwell's Market in Ashland. Cantwell Jr. plans to enter law school this fall and later to get a doctorate in history, he said, with the goal of becoming a professor teaching history to law students. He already has been accepted by USC, Stanford and Yale law schools. Why teach to lawyers? "Because lawyers have their hands on the levers of power. They run the country," Cantwell said in a phone interview from Southern California. "I learned from working in insurance that a lot of people don't know their rights and what they're entitled to. The system works for people who understand it and use it. So, to help form the minds of future lawyers is to make them more sensitive to people who feel alienated and powerless before the system." That Cantwell won the award is remarkable, Sullivan said, because the award almost always goes to science and math teaching assistants with spotless academic backgrounds. In addition, recipients have usually received about half a dozen kudo letters from students. Cantwell, however, is the first history teaching assistant and the only high school dropout ever to win the honor. And he received 12 "very detailed" letters from his former students. Some excerpts, supplied by USC, include: "He was always there for me. He really made a difference;" "He must be just this side of perfect. He rules;" "I can't imagine a better teacher, honestly;" "Give him a whole classroom and see what he can do;" "Enthusiastic, thorough, accessible to students, organized, knowledgeable -- he was the best." Cantwell learned all students' names, a rarity among even full professors, Sullivan said, and exploited the latest communications technology to shape his "Emergence of Modern Europe" class into a thriving cybertribe. All students have his cell phone number and are encouraged to call him at any time. He requires an e-mailed paragraph on each week's reading assignment. And he uses IM -- two-way, real-time Internet messaging -- to discuss what students are learning. "It's three extra hours of work for me, and it pays off," Cantwell said. "Most students aren't brave enough to raise their hand in class. They're afraid of being stupid or wrong. But because I know personally how they think, I can validate them in class. I'll say, `Rudy, you said something interesting in your e-mail. Why don't you tell the class what it was?"' An "extremely proud" Tom Cantwell Sr. characterized his son as a bored and understimulated high school student who learned the realities and limitations of being a dropout while working in insurance. "The experience motivated him to work hard. He takes his goal very seriously now." Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA