Monica Bennett, PhD

Of the many books I read as a child at our local library, one of the first I remember was The Big Dipper and You. I still get a little shiver remembering the wonder of learning how the constellations’ shapes and even the position of the North Star would shift over thousands of years. That wonder is still present when I learn something new, and to help inspire it in someone else is one of the best feelings I know.

In search of new books and things to learn, I attended the University of Dallas and majored in physics, with a heavy liberal arts core curriculum that appealed to my love of every academic subject. From there, I headed to Vanderbilt University, where I enjoyed the music, food, and ridiculous thunderstorms of Nashville while earning my Ph.D. in physics. (For those interested: my research was on the biophysics of fruit fly development in embryonic and larval stages. Ask me and I can tell you way too much about it!) For the last ten years, I’ve lived in Oregon with my husband (affectionately referred to in class as “Mr. Dr. Bennett”) and our dog Baldr (affectionately referred to in class as “Baldr”). 

I’ve been teaching for The Well-Trained Mind Academy since 2017, with a yearlong sabbatical following the birth of our son in March 2025. Like all babies and toddlers, he’s a scientist at heart and is giving us many fascinating opportunities to observe processes of biology and physics in action! In my free time, I love being outdoors, reading, writing, singing, learning and using languages, traveling, tabletop gaming, and the occasional contra dance.

On teaching: In my experience, people learn best when motivated by something more than a transcript requirement. (Though that is a great reason to show up in class!) My goal is to help every student find that motivation for themselves, whether it be a dream job or profession, an entertaining class environment, or just that one animal they always wanted to know more about. On any given day in class, students can expect a mix of direct instruction, frequent polls and discussion to test understanding, and group work to solve problems and expand on topics. A consistent structure of daily and weekly assignments helps students keep up with the material and I provide students with as much support as possible in the form of class slides and notes, study guides, problem solutions, and many (many, many) extra resources for further fun learning.