Dr. Bharat Sharma is one of the many new teachers at Oakdale this year. Sharma has been studying and exploring chemistry for over 30 years. Since he’s mostly done college instruction, high school teaching is new to him. 

Sharma has previously taught at Frederick Community College and Hood College. Although the atmosphere at Oakdale is very different than in college, Sharma has found it easy to adjust. His reasoning being that the staff is very inclusive and helpful when needed.

While he was in high school, Sharma took many chemistry based courses and tried to express his interest whenever he could. He has been looking for jobs in the field ever since. He expressed, “I remained a student of Chemistry throughout my life, whenever I find a Chemistry job I do not hesitate to apply.”

After spending so much time in the field of chemistry, Sharma can’t think of any other job he’d rather have. He took classes in high school and college as well as taught for many years. Sharma has spent 30 years learning and teaching chemistry and it is truly his passion when it comes to his career.

As a teacher Sharma has many goals. He wants to inspire students to explore and express interest in chemistry. He mentioned that he wants to help his students understand chemistry and he tries his best to make lessons engaging.

Sharma enjoys being a teacher. He wants to make an impact on his students. He elaborated, “[As a teacher,] you interact with new faces and contribute to something in their lives.” He wants to help his students succeed in his class and in their lives.

When teaching, Sharma tries to relate the course to real life situations that students can understand. He tries to explain the topics and go over assignments so his students understand the work. Sharma encourages students to try their best and appreciates their efforts.

Sharma described the atmosphere, here at Oakdale, as: “Highly supportive and [there is] total freedom to devise methods for the betterment of your teaching.” Sharma is always trying to improve his relationships with his students and figure out how to help them the most.

Sharma has a passion for chemistry and helping students learn and explore the field. He enjoys helping his students understand the material and be able to succeed in his class. Sharma is one of many amazing new teachers this year and a welcome addition to the staff here at Oakdale.