With schools serving as a microcosm of adult society ruled by fickle-minded children, safe spaces within them have always sprouted in unique ways, since even before the term safe space entered the cultural lexicon. When looking for a safe space amid the temperamental chaos, kids often gravitate toward stability, with teachers being the most stable adult presence during the school day. So many of us have stories about the Cool Teacher in our life — I remember spending a good portion of my lunch periods in the art room, nibbling on snacks and cracking jokes with my teacher, just happy to be in the presence of someone who gets it.
The Cool Teacher media trope has gifted us numerous fictional personifications of our favorite educators who made our school days more bearable. They range from popular to quirky, from sarcastic to relatable. We have our Mr. Keatings, Ms. Frizzles, Mr. Schuesters, and whoever else holds a place in their students’ hearts for being the one who truly sees them. Usually, the stereotypical Cool Teacher that comes to mind is one with effortless charisma or a student-approved level of nonchalance; these teachers tend to step up to the plate because it’s their obvious natural place in the school ecosystem. So it comes to everyone’s surprise when Gregory, who couldn’t be bothered to decorate his classroom two seasons ago, is crowned the newest Cool Teacher at Abbott Elementary.
What began as an afterthought for a group of older boys looking for somewhere to hang out during lunch (after being unceremoniously kicked out of Mr. Morton’s classroom) becomes a routine when they pick Gregory’s room as the new spot to eat lunch. They sit across from Gregory as he silently munches on his salad, and they antagonize him in an endearingly Black boy way, asking him if eating vegetables will “help get the ladies” while laughing and dapping each other up between farts. It’s like a junior scene from a barbershop (heavy usage of the word female included), which is the opposite of the energy Gregory wants to create for his classroom — especially during his free periods. He asks Jacob to tell his students to stay out, but Jacob revels in the fact that the kids are voluntarily choosing to spend their time with Gregory, as this means, in the eyes of the students, he is cool, which is a descriptor Gregory pleads for Jacob to take back.
The next time we see Gregory with his lunch crew, despite ironically reading a book titled Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, Gregory chimes in during the conversation. Da’von, one of the more outspoken kids, slyly proclaims to the group what he’s gifting his girlfriend, Farrah, a new chain … for himself. His logic is that having a boyfriend with a new chain is a gift in itself, and status is “the world’s greatest currency.” When Da’von asks Gregory to back him up, Gregory interjects, telling him that it would be a gift for him, not for his girlfriend. Another one of the boys urges Da’von to listen to Gregory because his “roster is strong,” a fact Gregory disputes before giving them honest advice to focus on school, not attention from girls. They take in his words of wisdom, and it seems like Gregory is on his way to fulfilling the mentorship required with being the Cool Teacher — that is until his advice contradicts the work that the OG Cool Teacher at Abbott has been putting in for months.
Gregory’s classroom may have become the latest hot spot for the older boys, but Melissa has been a fixture at Abbott since before Jeremy Allen Black waltzed through the door. After being confronted by a tearful Farrah, Gregory finds out that Melissa and Farrah have been conspiring for months to get Da’von to buy that chain, finally leading him to believe it was his own idea (I, too, am a sucker for a cute boyfriend with an iced-out chain. I get you, Farrah!). Instead, Gregory’s advice resulted in Da’von breaking up with her. Fed up, Gregory puts a “Do Not Disturb” sign on his door, keeping the boys out but not deterring Mr. Johnson and Melissa, who make him question if he’s turning his back on his duty as a teacher. He decides to rise to the occasion and, the following day, lays down some ground rules for the kids, including zero talk about relationships and a ban on the word females. Moving forward, they can still hang out and, if necessary, fart, as long as they’re respectful and productive, helping Gregory out in the garden.
Watching the birth of Gregory’s Garden Goofballs, along with the episode’s other story lines, is chuckle-worthy and wholesome, which is what Abbott Elementary is known for. Still, it doesn’t trigger the same uproarious laughter as previous installments; alternatively, it hinges on the earnestness that makes for such a pleasant viewing experience. As Clint Worthington wrote in their review, “One of Abbott’s struggles is that, for a sitcom, it’s a lot more interested in warming the heart than busting the gut.” This earnestness doesn’t personally bother me too much — with so many episodes in a season, we can’t expect them all to be filled to the brim with jokes — but compared to other episodes, tonight’s falls short in the laughs department.
The show’s comedy works best as an ensemble, and with Janine separated from the school during her fellowship, the chemistry is fractured, with the cast finding its footing in smaller group scenes and new actors easing their way into the Abbott Universe. Quinta Brunson (and the viewers) is testing the waters with the actors who play her new co-workers — particularly Josh Segarra, who plays Manny — as her character learns the ropes at the district. Janine goes full Leslie Knope as she pitches her first big passion project as a fellow: getting an ASL interpreter for Jacob’s deaf student, Imani. She’s given the green light to move forward but is met with enough bureaucracy to create a metaphorical brick wall that seems impossible to penetrate. Janine jumps through hoop after hoop (including being referred back to her own office) before nearly surrendering to the beast of paperwork the government forces us to battle when we want a fundamental human right. She feels even more pressure to follow through when Ava suddenly becomes invested in Imani having an interpreter because she hates Imani’s delayed laughter at her jokes due to her hearing aid.
Manny swoops in, replacing Gregory in the role of the cute co-worker who inspires Janine to be her best self. He suggests trying to scale the wall by bending the rules instead of running headfirst into it. She goes over everyone’s heads and initiates a plan where Imani’s family would gently threaten to invoke the district’s worst nightmare: bad press. With the fear of a condemning story about their lack of accessibility, the district speeds up the process, successfully pairing Imani with a qualified ASL interpreter. It’s a gold star for Janine, and there were a couple of fun jokes along the way, but again, it’s more heartwarming than sharply comedic, and Quinta is clearly still building that chemistry with her new co-stars. But I see an attempt to inject comedy into the series as everyone settles into the new story lines and new actors with the ingenious move to bring in a familiar face.
Tariq makes his first appearance of the season in his third reincarnation on the show. He’s no longer Janine’s boyfriend or an anti-drug rapper; he’s now the self-proclaimed stepfather to the son of the woman he’s been dating for seven weeks. Her son, Nick, happens to be in Barbara’s class, which, in Tariq’s eyes, makes Barbara his “stepteacher.” So, for as long as this relationship lasts — and knowing both Zach Fox and his character, it could last anywhere from two episodes to the duration of the series — Tariq will hopefully continue to be a recurring character on the show, since he has relieved his girlfriend of school-pickup duty while she’s at work making money for the household. He dives into “common law” fatherhood headfirst, calling the boy Tariq Jr. and trying to get him to watch Set It Off. When Tariq confides in Barbara about his failed attempts at bonding, she tells him to try to get to know Nick as his own person to create an authentic relationship. When Tariq returns to pick Nick up from school, he actually uses the correct name, changing his own name to Nick Sr., obviously. He even suggests creating a PTA (Parent-Tariq Alliance) and runs into his “childless ex,” Janine, who immediately warns Ava against the idea. Tariq fits right in at Abbott!
Teacher’s Notes
• Although this is the lowest rating I have given an episode thus far, I still enjoyed it. I wish I could award another half-star. Part of the fun of sitcoms with long seasons is having simple, palate-cleansing episodes; sometimes, it’s okay just to be well-made, feel-good TV.
• Mr. Johnson is an excellent wild-card character because he can deliver some of the funniest jokes with the fewest words. The Holy Mop water moment was incredible. William Stanford Davis is such a critical element of the show.
Finally, here are my fave quotes:
• Jacob, when Gregory says the students are loitering in his class: “Loiter? That feels racially charged.”
• A student after Gregory denies having a roster of women: “As a grown man? Sorry to hear about that.”
• Barbara: “They say it takes a village, and, sometimes, there’s a Tariq in that village.”
Ile-Ife Okantah , 2024-02-15 02:32:28
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