Abbott Elementary has been compared to Modern Family for obvious reasons. Abbott took over Modern Family’s prized Wednesday 9 p.m. slot over at ABC, and Abbott gave ABC its strongest comedy ratings since the Modern Family series finale aired. The biggest difference between the two shows, for me, and the reason Abbott is closer to my heart than its predecessor, is Abbott’s relatability. There were relatable moments in Modern Family, of course, but it was still very much centered on upper-middle-class white people. Abbott feels more like a slice of life from my own world, a world that doesn’t always get the care and attention it deserves. For example, Greg’s realization that his philosophies surrounding discipline and tough love have contributed to his own generational trauma is a very specific and nuanced lesson within the Black community.
Not to say that other communities don’t deal with issues surrounding their approaches to discipline, but Black people have a unique relationship with obedience and the repercussions of what happens when you aren’t on your best behavior. One of Greg’s students, Micah, has developed a habit of interrupting the class with outbursts and quips from his favorite show, Bluey. Jacob suggests that Greg send Micah to Ava’s office, something he’s done with students who disrupt his class. So, the next time Micah distracts the class with an Australian-accented one-liner, Greg has him collect his things and go to the principal’s office. When Greg asks Janine to keep an eye on his class while he escorts Micah to Ava, Janine is appalled at the idea of sending a first-grader to the principal, saying it’s harsh for a kid of his age. Greg disagrees, as witnessing Micah get in trouble whipped the rest of the kids into shape.
Their good behavior lasts approximately two seconds, because when Micah returns to Greg’s class, it’s clear that his trip to Ava’s office was but a brief reprieve that ended in his receiving a new toy and a lollipop, making the principal’s office a desired destination. Appalled, Greg vents to the break room about Ava not disciplining Micah, but no one is surprised because Ava is going to be … Ava. Greg then begs Barbara to convince Ava to do her job. He’s determined to do something about Micah because he can’t fathom a world where children aren’t scared of authority figures. He says, “Discipline is an incredibly important part of a child’s development. When I was a kid, if I did anything childlike — yell, run around, just generally have a zest for life — I would be put on time-out, and I would have to reckon with the fact that I had committed a failure of character.†He argues that this parenting mentality is how he became a “well-adjusted man.†(The same man who is so disciplined he puts three single grains of sugar in his coffee.)
After Ava finds out Greg has been complaining about her, she calls for him over the loudspeaker to come down to her office. The whole school hears Greg being summoned and his walk of shame is accompanied by taunting “oooos†and stares from everyone. In Ava’s office, Greg says that she is doing students a disservice by not commanding authority through fear and that calling him to the office in such a way was embarrassing. Ava tells him to think about how a 6-year-old would feel doing the walk of shame that embarrassed him so much. To have to punish a student after they’re emotionally distraught is too much for Ava, who doesn’t want to tune out a sobbing child while watching Below Deck. She sends Greg back to his class with instructions to handle Micah on his own.
Left to his own devices, first Greg goes to Mr. Johnson to learn how to put some bass in his “dad voice,†preparing to put his proverbial foot down in his classroom. Abbott’s resident fairy godmother Barbara pops her head in to check on Greg’s process. She asks him if his dad’s dad voice worked on him and urges him to reflect on his position as a Black man of authority at a predominantly Black elementary school — he’s at a crossroads where he has to make a decision to either continue the cycle or pave a new way. She says, “Your students can either fear you or they can respect you. You can’t have both.†This makes Greg reframe how he was raised, admitting that perhaps he forgot how the harsh discipline made him feel as a child. He ponders out loud to the cameras whether he grew into the man he’s proud of because of the discipline or in spite of it. So he changes his approach, this time incorporating the thing that was distracting Micah the most: Bluey. He adds illustrations of the Australian cartoon dog to his lesson plan, this time fully engaging Micah and getting him to participate.
Through Micah’s story line, Abbott skillfully and effortlessly tackles the way Black children, especially boys, are often viewed as unruly and out of control when really they’re passionate and full of energy. It also opens up a conversation about the history of harshness and tough love in the Black community. A lot of us were disciplined hard in our homes in the hopes that the world wouldn’t tear us down first; perceived misbehavior for a Black person can be the difference between life and death. This threat of violence robs us of our childhood more often than not and leaves us shell-shocked. But the world is changing, and it’s okay to admit that those tactics may have come from a place of love, but they’ve done harm to our community and there are other ways to raise strong and fulfilled adults.
Melissa and Janine are also combating generational cycles when Melissa invites Janine over to teach her how to cook after witnessing her make a jail-inspired ramen-noodle recipe. Since Tariq used to do most of the cooking and her mom never taught her, Janine is pretty helpless when it comes to making her meals. Jacob overhears the invitation and invites himself over too. At home, dressed in a chambray shirt as an amazing reference to her iconic role in The Parent Trap, Melissa is free to be as foul-mouthed as ever as she teaches Janine how to make spaghetti. Janine is so clueless about cooking that she grabs a shallot instead of a red onion, reminding Melissa of her estranged sister Kristin Marie, who works at the charter school. She made their nana’s signature gnocchi dish with the wrong kind of potato … and brought it to their nana’s wake. They haven’t spoken since. Janine, who isn’t close with her own sister who lives across the country, presses Melissa to reconnect with Kristin Marie and make up for the lost time. Melissa isn’t convinced, and says the only way she’d be open to making amends is if Kristin Marie came to her herself.
Janine, unable to ever mind her business or let something go, concocts a plan to reunite the two sisters. She makes their nana’s signature gnocchi recipe and delivers it to Kristin Marie with a note that reads, “For my sister.†It backfires. Kristin Marie, always on her toes like Melissa, assumes that the mangled Janine-made version of the gnocchi was meant to poison her. There’s no reconciliation; Melissa kicks everyone out and then tells her sister her roots are showing. The next morning, Janine apologizes to Melissa for getting into her business and admits that she is projecting. Melissa opens up more about her beef with her sister; Kristin Marie was absent a lot when their nana got sick because she couldn’t handle it, creating a mountain of resentment between the two. But she understands how complicated family can be and invites Janine over for another cooking lesson — minus Jacob.
At the end of the day, Greg goes to drop off a discipline report in Ava’s office. He takes the opportunity to sit in her chair, imagining what it would feel like to be principal, as that was his original career goal. As he’s sitting, he gets a call from his dad, first answering, “What up, pops?†but then correcting himself with an, “I’m sorry, Lt. Colonel Father Sir,†whipping him back into his childhood dynamic with his father, a reminder of why Greg is the way he is. To close out the episode, Melissa gives us a hilarious red-wine-induced tour of some of her old pictures with Kristin Marie, which, like Greg’s phone call with his dad, shows us just how complicated tough love can be.
Teacher’s Notes
• Is anyone convinced that it wasn’t Barbara in the opening scene but Sheryl Lee Ralph just being herself? That is exactly how I imagine she would sing “Happy Birthday,†runs and all. “Hit that high note!â€
• I am so here for Greg and Janine’s little bickering; it’s very cute and a glimpse into what they’ll look like as a couple, hehe. We’re all waiting!
• Call me greedy, I know we’re getting like double the episodes this season, but I would love little webisodes of some of the jokes mentioned. A five-minute skit of Ava getting kicked out of a “Charles Entertainment Cheese†would be Emmy-worthy.
• Here is my weekly roundup of the lines that made me laugh the hardest:
Jacob: “This is a 2021 white. And this $10 dandy has hints of … meta.â€
Erin, answering Greg’s question: “Ice, brrrrr.â€
Janine: “I’ve been talking about my ex too much … Jacob tells me I sound like a lesbian.â€
Ava: “Are you so bad at reading body language because yours is so small?â€
Mr. Johnson, jangling his keys at Greg as he walks from Ava’s office: “SHAME!â€