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A new year is a chance to start again. This is my twenty-eighth chance to start again, and I’m hoping for many more yet to come.

If you are reading this, you are most likely one of my students or the parent of one of my students. Or maybe you wound up here by accident, blown here by the trade winds of the Internet. Whatever the case may be, welcome. On this site, you’ll find links to the classes I teach, with useful resources for both courses. You’ll also find a page where you can download software, all of it open-source or freeware with no strings attached. I also have a page for my club, the RHS Secular Student Alliance. Feel free to browse everything, take anything useful, and learn what you can.

So, students, welcome to my class. The coffee is brewed and waiting. Let’s work together to make 2012 effective, engaging, and worthy of good memories. Remember -- it’s a partnership. We’re all in this together, so let’s make it great!

We have a new schedule. For the first time in years, I don’t have any mythology classes. Changes are clearly upon us. Welcome to 2012!

Get ready to read great books, analyze and discuss them in depth, and write rich, insightful essays. All our work will come to fruition on Thursday, May 9, 2013, when you will take the Advanced Placement Literature and Composition exam. Pass it and you get college credit!

In TOK, we consider the nature of knowledge itself. We critically examine knowledge claims, consider the nature of knowledge in all areas of human understanding, and think about the ways in which we come to know what we know. Theory of Knowledge is an arena of ideas where divergent and convergent points of view all matter!

Why pay for quality software when there are tons of free and open-source programs? From entire operating systems to great games, freeware and open-source software make it possible to do anything you want on your computer without spending one dime on software. You can download and enjoy many of the best of these programs from the software page on this website!

I love to read, and I hope you do too. Reading is a great way to escape from your day, make yourself smarter, increase your vocabulary, and so many other benefits that it would fill this column space to name them. As George R. R. Martin, the author of the Game of Thrones series once said, “A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.” A friend of mine who was retiring and who realized he would have more time for pleasure reading once asked me for a list of my favorite books. I warned him that this would not be a short list. I love mysteries, science fiction, contemporary fiction, science, history, historical fiction, fantasy, graphic novels, and humor, but I’ll read pretty much anything that draws my interest. I worked on the list he’d requested, and kept working, and before long it had grown to some length. When I gave it to him, his eyes grew large and he asked me, “Just how much time do you think I have? I’m not sure I’ll even live this long.” The good news is he’s still alive, though I have no word on whether he’s read all the books yet. So for those who might like to see it, here is my list. Just keep in mind: these are just my favorites!