Family member of “To Kill a Mockingbird” actor visits English classroom

Christopher Peck, whose grandfather Gregory Peck played Atticus Finch in “To Kill a Mockingbird,” visited English teacher Kenny Park and his students to talk about himself and the book.

Park’s freshmen students have been reading “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Having just finished the book,  Park wanted his good friend Peck to come and teach the students what his life is like being the grandson of a large celebrity.

“I learned that [Peck] is an assistant principal and he likes to educate and connect with others,” freshman Andy Triamarid said. “I think it’s cool how [Peck] is friends with Mr. Park and that he’s a really good, humble person.”

Peck’s visit gave the students insight on his relationship with the other actors in the movie such as Jeremy Finch or Scout Finch. The students were also given the opportunity to ask Peck questions about the book.

“I learned that [Peck] takes a lot of pride in other people, not himself, even though his grandfather was such a huge figure,” freshman Zander Majors said. “This presentation was insightful because it shows that people can have emotional attachments to certain characters. It was also pretty cool because we did this thing where we tried to stump him with test questions.”

As the guest speaker and descendant of Gregory Peck, Peck told the class about what it is like to have such a famous grandfather.

“[Gregory Peck] is just my grandfather, but he [is] this person who a lot of people think of like the father they wish they had. It’s interesting to see what their expectations of him were versus what my personal experiences with him were,” Peck said. “I think as I’ve gotten older, I’ve actually really loved being able to develop a new relationship past his death and being able to come and speak about him.”