Gravity, forces, and all that!

“Physics is so important, I think I can talk about physics for hours,” exclaimed new physics teacher, Monika Batra. 

This year a new freshman physics teacher has been introduced to the Clark staff, Monika Batra. Even though Batra is a new teacher to Clark this is not her first year teaching. This is her twelfth year teaching physics. “I can’t believe that I have been teaching for 12 years,” Batra said. 

Her love for physics came from a young age. She was inspired by one of her physics teachers and wanted to teach just like her. “My physics teacher was so well educated and so professional, I never saw her using notes or reading from books,” Batra said. “She would always know each topic so well and I admired her for that. I wanted to be able to teach like that too.” 

Even though Batra is currently a physics teacher, she has taught a variety of subjects besides physics and mainly to high school students. Batra has taught subjects like regular physics, honors chemistry, and math. “I have also taught IB physics. I used to teach at an IB school. It was the IB International Baccalaureate Physics, but for the past two years I have been teaching only Physics in the Universe to freshmen at Blair IB High School,” Batra said.

Batra not only has a physics background but other STEM backgrounds too. “I have a bachelor’s degree in physics, chemistry, and math. I got my teaching credentials from Cal Poly Pomona and UCLA,” Batra said.

Dance is amongst her favorite hobbies. “One of my favorite hobbies is dancing. I love choreographing dance whether it’s for my friends or just for myself, it’s just an interesting hobby of mine,” Batra said. Besides dance, she also loves to cook and try new recipes. She often likes to test her new recipes on her family members. 

“My experience of Clark has been great so far, I have been getting lots of support from my colleagues and the administration,” Batra said. Also, the kids are very hardworking and respectful.”

Freshman Julia Ayrapetyan enjoys having Batra as a physics teacher. “From the way she explains the lessons to how she interacts with students I can tell that she is passionate about physics and teaching,” Ayrapetyan said. “She puts in so much effort to make sure that her students understand the material being presented.”

Despite the challenges of distance learning she wants to try to make physics as fun and enjoyable as possible. “I really want my kids to learn from and for me to able to share my knowledge and expertise with them,” Batra said  “Especially the girls. I want them to pursue a career in physics because it’s a male-dominated area. I really want to see them come forward and pursue a career in this field.”