Former Latin teacher James Buchanan has made the leap over to IB where he is Teaching theory of Knowledge (TOK).

Buchanan has transitioned to TOK with ease due to his experience teaching different subjects at universities while simultaneously teaching at Robinson. Along with teaching Latin, Buchanan has also taught philosophy at Robinson. He plans to incorporate teaching strategies from this course into his new curriculum.

“It [TOK] is sort of a cleaned-up version or more accessible name for a philosophical study of knowledge…throwing in the humanities as a framework to introduce a lot of concepts,” Buchanan said.

Students appreciate the relaxing environment that Buchanan creates in his classroom, and use it to wind down.

“My favorite thing about Mr. Buchanan’s class is the fact that it’s very chill and honestly kind of a stress reliever compared to my other classes,” Sara Gainer (’23) said.

Buchanan also strives to make his classroom a comfortable place for students to be vulnerable and comfortable asking for help.

“Buchanan is the best, always helpful with essays regardless of the class they were written for. He never gets mad at random questions and it’s easy to ask him about anything.” Naomi Sullins (’23) said.

Although his journey with teaching has traveled from Tenn. to Mich. to Brandon Fla., Buchanan keeps finding himself back at the R with his career here approaching 11 years.

“I love Robinson, I’ve had many opportunities to go elsewhere, and I keep wanting to come back here… when you have a good thing you tend to hang on to it,” Buchanan said.

Buchanan sponsors Robinson’s Latin club and attends the annual state-wide Latin forums with them in Orlando Fla, though this is, unfortunately, his last year sponsoring.

“This is my last year sponsoring the school’s Latin club, so for all the kids who have taken Latin before…we are out! This [year] is the big shebang.”

Buchanan often finds himself exploring music, specifically progressive rock and synthwave, as a result of this, he tries to incorporate this into his teaching often.

“I love music, so a lot of times I’ll bring it into how lessons unfold,” Buchanan said.

Buchanan’s favorite part about teaching is the relationships that he’s built with students and collogues and values dearly. He hopes to be a grounding source for his students in their hectic lives.

“I have students who graduated 18-19 years ago who I now consider really good friends, having these relationships and valuing what I’ve they’ve been able to give me through the years is important to me.” Buchanan expressed.

If students were to leave his classroom at the end of the year with just one message, Buchanan hopes they remember the importance of good relationships.

“The greatest lesson I could part is that even though the world is ready to consume you, there is always love and friendship if you know where to find it,” Buchanan said.