Introducing the AP Physics Teacher: Mr. Eaton

Roller coasters, basketball shots, and car crashes all follow the laws of physics. This year, the new AP Physics teacher Mr. Eaton is here to help students understand why. Teaching in the basement of Walls, he creates an engaging environment where students don’t have to be intimidated by the infamous AP Physics class.

Although this is his first year teaching at Walls, he has an extensive background in both physics and education. In college, he says, “I was a mechanical engineering major.” Shortly after that, he started getting involved in teaching. “I was a teacher's assistant for physics for six semesters, and I really liked it.” From then on, he realized that teaching was the career for him.

In the past 5 years, Mr. Eaton has taught at many different schools in the DMV. He started at an all girls school in Baltimore before moving to Montgomery County, where he taught at Springbrook High School. Now, for his sixth year, he decided to start teaching at Walls, bringing with him both his experience and passion. 

Outside of teaching, Mr. Eaton has lots of hobbies, including hiking and backpacking. Annually, he does “one big, usually national park trip, over spring break.” In addition to his longer trips, he also enjoys exploring close to home. “I usually do weekend bike rides with friends,” he shared.

AP Physics 1 is one of the most rigorous courses offered at Walls – College Board reported a 72% pass rate in 2025. For students who are struggling, Mr. Eaton hopes to make sure they know they don’t have to figure out everything on their own.

When asked how he thinks he’ll help students thrive in the course, he says, “understanding where they’re struggling, and then helping them understand which resources they need to reach for.” He believes that since Walls students are so eager to learn, they need plentiful resources to support that. 

When asked what he likes about physics, he answered “Physics is something that can be easier or more accessible than the other sciences, because it is so based [on] the world around us, and things that you can physically observe.” Rather than viewing physics as a difficult subject filled with complicated questions, he encourages students to relate things they see in their everyday lives to what they learn. 

Ricardo Anspach (‘28) finds that he was intimidated by the courseload and how he has to learn entirely new concepts for the class. With Mr. Eaton’s help, it’s no problem. “When Mr. Eaton teaches,” Anspach notes, “instructing one-on-one or in a smaller group, I really understand.” This individualized approach has helped students make the course more manageable.

Mr. Eaton also makes the class very engaging. Camille Meltzler (‘28) states that “I think the class is really interesting. I’ve enjoyed the experiments we’ve done so far.” For her, the hands-on activities have made the concepts feel more tangible and have given the class a break from working through problems on a paper. When she does struggle, Mr. Eaton “always answers our questions because we have a lot.” 

As Mr. Eaton settles into his first year at Walls, his goal is not only to prepare students for the AP exam, but to change the way they think about physics. By connecting complicated concepts to everyday experiences, he aims to make physics something that students don’t have to fear.