Is Our Education System Doomed?
With the second season of Hulu's Abbott Elementary kicking off, there's no better time to look at the state of education in the world. The Emmy Award-winning sitcom created by Quinta Brunson features brilliant comedy, brewing romance, and powerful friendships, but what's most impactful is the depiction of teachers' dedication to students and learning.
Abbott Elementary is catchy and sarcastic with documentary-style filming and perfectly timed fourth-wall breaks. The workplace comedy captures its audience while bringing to light major issues that occur every day in the world of education.
What Abbott Elementary does incredibly well is represent a diverse student body on-screen and emphasize the needs of individual students. Many schools fail to do this, and students fall through the system's cracks. Barbara Howard (Sheryl Lee Ralph) made endless calls to get a wheelchair-accessible desk for a student. Janine Teagues (Quinta Brunson) accommodated a gifted student who wasn't academically challenged enough. Jacob Hill (Chris Perfetti) learned sign language over the summer. These passionate actions showed us just how dedicated teachers must be to provide the best learning environment possible.
The new season's first episode brings us along to experience all that happens before the first day of school, on "Development Day." The episode lightly touches on the teacher shortage that is going on in districts across the nation as the school year starts. There are around 36,000 unfilled full-time teaching positions nationally and even more underqualified educators who are present in schools. Still, there is a shortage of teaching staff in every state.
Classrooms in underprivileged districts, like West Philadelphia's Abbott Elementary, suffer from budgets that make it a challenge to make ends meet. Teachers in the show, and in reality, can't afford comfortable carpets for kids to learn on and are responsible for purchasing their own supplies. On top of this, educators are often not paid for the weight their value holds, and schools like the fictional Abbott Elementary suffer the same fate. Driving a beat-up sedan, falling behind on bills, and experiencing debt should not be the lifestyle of our essential educators, but it often is.
The future of education is in the hands of the many teachers across the nation, making countless sacrifices that, frankly, they shouldn't have to. But seeing the sheer tenacity of our teachers makes it clear that our education system is not "doomed." Despite a lack of monetary funding, universal support, and necessary materials, the common philosophy for many educators is and has always been to do whatever they can with what they have.
Strike Out,
Matilda Pollard
Boca Raton
Matilda Pollard is a Content Writer for Strike Magazine Boca. She is a proud Pisces who loves all things creative. Her hobbies include trying new foods and watching classic rom-coms. You can reach her at mpollard280@gmail.com