Submitted by: Kathleen Schanbacher
Generally, what inspires you to read?
I love to go places I've never been, meet people I will otherwise never meet, and have experiences that thrill, teach and inform me in ways that will impact my life and the lives of others.
When did you first read To Kill a Mockingbird?
I first read the book in high school during the late 1960's when race relations were strained, at best, in my school district. Students were being bused up to an hour away to integrate schools in the city. I had never experienced the feelings which dominated the lives of some of the students I met, and I could identify with Scout's family and the way the children didn't understand prejudice.
How did you come to read this book?
It was assigned by my high school English teacher.
Why has this book inspired you the most?
So many of the themes are still issues today.
In reading this book, how has your life been influenced or changed?
There are themes on many levels that have inspired me. As a mother, I thought of how carefully and tenderly Atticus shared adult issues with his children. I too have had to discuss today's adult issues with my children, from the tragedy of 9-11, to child abuse and molestation, to drugs and alcohol, to race and religious relations. I was touched by the way handicapped individuals, like Boo Radley, were treated then, and how differently I treat those children mainstreamed in my classroom today. I've thought about how in school today we differentiate and write Individualized Educational Plans (IEP's) to accommodate children of different ability levels. Scout, in the novel, was not allowed to read in school, because the teacher hadn't taught it yet. The book continues to make me reflect on how far we have come, and how far we have yet to go.
