It’s okay that today’s…

It's okay that today's survey of Am. Lit. Emerson lesson got totally sidetracked into a discussion of Scalia's passing and the American government system, right? I casually asked the students how many branches of government there were, and a bunch of them immediately said, "Two!" I pretty much wailed in despair right there. And then I told them to go back to their high school history teachers and let them know that they had failed them.

We *were* discussing The Federalist Papers last week, so I like to think my immediate segue from shouting, "Three! Three!" straight into the balancing of powers, the situation we're in right now with eight justices, the question of what happens if Obama can't get through a ninth justice confirmation, and my extra side trip into what happens when we finish the primary process and both candidates start racing towards the center (and yes, I may have put the hot dog problem and the gas station problem on the board to illustrate that) was at least somewhat on topic.

Or perhaps it all got a bit away from me.

I like to think Emerson would understand. We'll come back to him on Wed. when we do Thoreau, and I will STAY ON TARGET, I swear.

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