I find myself sitting in my study, thumbing through some of the great works of Sojourner Truth, a fabulous author whom I highly recommend. I have been giving much thought to the Word of the Week and before I divulge to you your weekly vocabulary, first I must address some of the emaI find myself sitting in my study, thumbing through some of the great works of Sojourner Truth, a fabulous author whom I highly recommend. I have been giving much thought to the Word of the Week and before I divulge to you your weekly vocabulary, first I must address some of the e-mails that I have been receiving.

Mr. Rex Norris from Opelousas, La., (yes, it does exist; consult an atlas if you must) has stood out as an exemplary student. It has come to my attention that Rex and his cohorts use the words I teach each week on their classmates and teachers.

I hereby decree that Rex Norris has won a prize from the teacher. All you have to do, young Rexford, is reply in an electronic mail and tell me what you desire as your prize.

Your choices are: An authentic Matt Striker necktie, a calculator, an autographed Matt Striker 8x10 glossy photo (and yes, I AM smiling in the picture) or something else of your choosing, within reason.

Yay for Rex! As for the rest of you, you may learn a thing or two from Mr. Norris. Any relation to Ahmed Johnson?

Moving on to the much anticipated Word of the Week:

Barack Obama

While not necessarily a word as much as it is a proper name, I feel this week's lesson is most pertinent.

Let us analyze, shall we? The word Barack can sometimes be misconstrued as a military term for sleeping quarters, and the word Obama immediately brings to mind images of Osama Bin Laden.

So with that said and those images fresh in our heads, let's discuss the man named Barack Obama and his attempts at the presidency of our great nation. (Try not to laugh; you and I know he doesn't stand a chance, but let's humor some people, shall we?)

He belongs to the Democratic party (no one is perfect), Obama has studied law at Harvard University, where he became the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review. In keeping with Black History Month, I choose Barack Obama as our Word of the Week.

He will be appearing on your idiot box (television) in the weeks and months to come alongside another presidential hopeful. No, this is not a remake of The Magic Garden with the two alternative lifestyle hippie women playing in the chuckle patch; it is indeed real life happenings.

Obama, which can be misinterpreted as a Scottish person saying "Oh, bummer" or a Cajun man saying "Go 'Bama," is a young Senator from... anyone? Anyone? Illinois (which sounds curiously like the word "annoy").

He has set his sights on the unenviable task of filling the shoes of the greatest president in the last 20 years, your hero and mine, President George W. Bush.

So while you research Barack Obama and wipe the tears of laughter from your eyes as you read some of his aspirations, here is your assignment:

Tell me where Obama is from, where he received his early education before Harvard and why you believe this man should or should not be president of the United States.

Please be original; do not copy from your neighbor. I await your assignments in a tidy and expeditious manner.

Until next time, I am Matt Striker, I am a registered Conservative Republican and I am… your teacher.

Contact the Extreme Educator now.