It's barely 8 a.m., a time when many high school students are sleepy.

	Darrell Sapp, Post-Gazette Quaker Valley teacher Steve Moxie works to get all of his students involved in his international relations class. Click photo for larger image. Listen In Quaker Valley teacher Steve Moxie talks about what he expects students to learn in his class. Mr. Moxie talks about what he enjoys most about teaching.

But one student after another in the international relations class at Quaker Valley High School is coming up with what teacher Steve Moxie tells them are "really cool questions."

"Ask me a question," Mr. Moxie says to each student as he goes around the room as the class reviews an outline of the last two centuries of world history from a liberal point of view, one of four theories studied in the class.

The students want to know about economic cooperation when Great Britain was the dominant power in the 19th century, the meaning of imperialism, how World War I drained Britain's economy, how the Great Depression affected the world, the effect of World War II on the economy and other issues.

He illustrates his answers by pulling out money from his wallet or using a water bottle and a coffee cup on students' desks. On other days, he's been known to throw tennis balls to illustrate a concept.

The theory behind this questioning exercise, Mr. Moxie explained later, is "the formation of the questions would be an intellectual act of discovery."

By the end of the one-hour period, the class has made a list of 12 ideas they'd learned.

None of the students had to be there; they could have taken another course instead.

But as senior Bobby Buckley of Sewickley, who also has taken mythology and world history from Mr. Moxie, said, "You look forward to his class. You get up and think, 'I have Moxie today.'''

Senior Kenny Goff of Bell Acres, who is in his first Moxie class, said, "You learn so much. People who had taken his classes were like, you had to do this before you graduate."

Mr. Moxie sometimes teaches the standard courses, such as world history and politics, but in the last few years he has developed several courses based on his passions: international relations, Civil War history and mythology. While not offered every term, each course lasts one trimester, or as the day-by-day outline explains, 60 days.

"I'm extremely attracted to subjects where there are various interpretations. Civil War history is racked with varying interpretations of everything and so is international relations," he said. "I like everything about mythology. It's the first love. It goes back to when I was 6 years old and my mother bought me a classic comic book illustrating 'The Iliad.' I like the imaginative telling of the deep questions of human life."

His favorite day in the international relations course comes near the end when students vote on which of the four theories they most agree with.

"It's a little abstract, but what I hope they'll do is then when they go through various political developments, they'll be able to do more than just listen to politicians and experts on cable channels. They'll be able to call on some of the things they've learned in this class."

Or, as Bobby Buckley, described his classes, "He's teaching you to how to think for yourself."

Bobby said Mr. Moxie got him thinking so much in world cultures -- his first course with him in 10th grade -- that it carried over to other classes and his grades improved.

"He sees what you're saying when maybe you don't see it," he said.

Mr. Moxie, 54, who grew up in Masontown, Fayette County, didn't start out to be a high school teacher.

He earned an undergraduate degree in liberal arts at St. Vincent College and a master's in American studies from Ohio University. But when it looked as if too many wanted to get doctorates and go into college teaching, he went back to St. Vincent to earn his secondary school education credentials.

Now in his 30th year of teaching, he taught the first year at Gateway Junior High and has been at Quaker Valley ever since. He is married to Marlene, a now retired Quaker Valley home economics and elementary teacher.

Quaker Valley High School principal Andrew Surloff said students frequently say Mr. Moxie is their favorite teacher.

He has the "rare ability to present material in a way that engages every single person in the lesson from the moment he starts to the moment the class ends. ...

"It's obvious that he really genuinely cares about whether or not the students are learning in his class and the students feel that. That relationship between student and teacher is part of why kids want to be there and he's successful."

Despite his experience and his reputation, Mr. Moxie still worries about keeping it fresh. He revamped a diplomacy game he developed for international relations, and he expressed disappointment that some students had difficulty coming up with a statement about what they'd learned when the class came up with 12 ideas.

"It's always a constant worry," he said. "If you've done something too many times, you have to find a way. You have to realize that this is the first time they've ever had it."