Darren Clas is both an English and science teacher here at Rice, instructing both Physics and AP Seminar courses. He enjoys finding common ground between both the worlds of physics and the English language. This is reflected in his hands-on approach to teaching; utilizing real world tangible examples, such as pickleball or riding a bike, to help his students understand complex concepts in fun ways.

Outside of school, Clas pursues his passion for writing through his screenplay, spends time with his beloved cats Jenny and Fran, and works his second job at Misery Loves Company. He particularly loves traveling, especially to the beach, and enjoys listening to live music and going for walks around town. Clas explores his journey as a teacher so far, highlighting his passion for his work and his favorite memories at Rice.

What inspired you to start teaching? Why did you decide to start teaching physics and AP sem?

“My high school physics teacher was like my favorite teacher, you know, him and my calculus teacher. And I was like, “Well, I really like this.” I knew I kind of wanted to definitely be in education.

I had written my screenplay, I have a persuasive blog that I was writing about movies and film reviews and stuff like that and I just have this sort of a background that’s kind of all over the place which is ideal for SEM. I’m not pigeonholed into anything. So they asked me to do it and I said sure and it’s been a pretty creative process for me each year. It’s like bringing a lab class to English and that’s exactly what I do. So I’m kind of like ‘let’s go play pickleball and then read an article about pickleball and talk about can pickleball save America?’”

Why do you think the subjects you teach are important to study?

“I think physics is the base of all the other sciences. And I might be a little biased, but everything, you know, physics is the universe. And it’s really fun because it’s super hands-on. You can see it, you feel it when you get in your car. And then SEM I think it’s the basis for all communication. Same like the language arts in general. I think giving them the opportunity to make arguments, to defend them, to acknowledge arguments and limitations to their arguments, and reason and logic. And that’s the same thing we do in AP Physics is claim, evidence, and reasoning. It’s just through formulas instead of the language.”

What is the hardest part of your job?

“There’s a lot of extra work. You know, to be good, you have to work 12 hours a day. And then 10 hours on the weekends. It’s fast-paced. It’s exciting. It is hard though. And so then you get behind on grading. Grading is tough. I would say that’s my least favorite part. But if I put together a cool test, because I write all my tests, you know, it’s fun and the kids really respond, and that’s fun grading.”

Who are some of your biggest inspirations?

“Ms. Johnson and Dana Holcomb, my calc teacher and my physics teacher in high school. And then my parents, you know, and my brother, because my brother is like an all-American and he’s just a really cool dude and a really great person to look up to. And Mrs. Boardman, you know what I mean? She was a really important mentor. She was in the hiring process for me and was always there.”

What is your favorite memory so far at Rice?

“The first time I organized the actual physics-wide bike ride was three years ago, and I was blown away by how much the kids had fun. We got to ride and we went and got bagels down on Pine street. That sort of just general, I guess, excitement that they had. It was awesome. It’s just that sort of celebration of physics with the most basics. Everybody is like ‘it’s just like riding a bike’ but it turns out that riding a bike is really complicated. I just love when we pull out of here and we roll down together and everybody’s just happy.”

Do you have any advice for the graduating class?

“You can do whatever you want. Like literally. I always wanted to be a writer, and so I wrote a blog, and then I wrote a screenplay because I wanted to be in that world. I didn’t want to just be critical. I wanted to put my work out there. And now I’m here in this cool situation where I might get a film produced that I wrote. And there was no track for that. So I guess don’t pigeonhole yourself, enjoy everything about college, or wherever you’re going. You’re never gonna have a time like it, you know? Take every class you can, don’t rush, enjoy it, meet your best friend, you know what I mean?”