Obama meets Harper Lee

Once again, I find myself teaching good ol' To Kill A Mockingbird. Scout, Jem, and Dill are up to their usual capers. I worked up the courage to teach my students the benign definition of "hermaphrodite" (Ch. 8) if only because it meets California standard Reading 1.3: Identify Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology and use the knowledge to understand the origin and meaning of new words (e.g., the word narcissistic drawn from the myth of Narcissus and Echo). (Maybe it's not exactly what the good folks in Sacramento had in mind.)

Best of all, I'm heartened to teach this novel at a time when the second African-American candidate for President just announced his campaign. Let's leave the Scottsboro boys deep in the past.