"Abbott Elementary" has masterfully woven the thrill of weekly television viewing with the compelling long-form narratives that captivate and invest a vast audience. Scarcely a day passes without my stumbling upon at least one tweet about Ava's witty one-liners or the simmering romance between Gregory and Janine on Twitter. (Even now, nearly a month after the latest episode aired, conversations about Janine and Gregory's enchanting dance persist with undiminished enthusiasm.) The show also taps into a universal vulnerability: nostalgia for school days and the accompanying growing pains, an experience that transcends all demographic boundaries. It's nearly impossible for the average viewer not to find a reflection of themselves, even if just fleetingly, in one of the characters or storylines, with many perhaps seeing their own journey in Melissa and Mya's tale.
At Abbott Elementary, the annual Read-A-Thon is a school-wide competition where classrooms compete to read the most books. Though every participant is deemed a winner and rewarded with a pizza party, the victorious classroom earns the coveted bragging rights and the prestigious Read-A-Thon belt. Melissa has reigned supreme for two consecutive years, but Janine is dead set on ending her reign. She transforms her classroom into a reading haven after skillfully fitting in two math lessons within a week, allowing her students to concentrate solely on amassing as many books as possible. Witnessing Janine's relentless dedication, Melissa fires up her class, deploying her three most proficient readers to push them towards victory. She urges them to read at every opportunity, regardless of their location... even in the bathroom. This狂热 pursuit leads to her top readers contracting pink eye and being sent home, leaving her without her star performers whose reading prowess compensated for the lagging students, including Mya, the endearing little girl who struggles with reading but is eager to contribute to her classroom's triumph.
Motivated by Melissa's passionate encouragement, Mya begins to falsify her reading logs, claiming to have devoured 25 books in a single night. She asserts she's read ten "Berenstain Bears" books, but when Melissa quizzes her on one of the characters, Mya responds with "Beyoncé." Melissa summons Mya's parents to discuss her progress, but they refute the accusation of lying, insisting that Mya is an exceptional reader. Highlighting that no student could read that many books in a day, Melissa goes on to share that Mya has been displaying signs of difficulty with reading. She suggests having Mya tested for learning disabilities, a suggestion they vehemently decline, offended at the notion that there could be anything "wrong" with their child.
However, Melissa understands that conditions like dyslexia do not diminish one's intelligence or capacity to learn; they merely signify a different learning path. After the competition concludes, Melissa shares an intimate moment with Mya, proving just that. She asks Mya if reading can be challenging and admits that it can be tough for her too at times. As a token of encouragement, Melissa gifts Mya a book that once belonged to her when she was young, demonstrating how highlighting the first few letters of a word can prevent the text from turning into an incoherent jumble in one's mind.
I absolutely adored this episode, captivated not merely by the heartwrenching scene between Melissa and Mya that brought a lump to my throat, but by the unwavering commitment it displayed towards fostering literacy—a cause I'd readily lay down my life for. Sir Levar Burton's (I chuckled heartily at Janine's affectionate moniker for him) timeless wisdom echoed in my mind, "Imparting the gift of reading in at least one language to a child paves the way for lifelong learning. A lifelong learner is an individual whose quest for self-education knows no bounds." It feels as though I emerged from the womb clutching a library card, and this invaluable skill has propelled me to heights I never fathomed, enabling me to pen these very words at this very moment. Yet, this fervent love for reading seems to be dwindling into rarity. A 2021 Pew Research survey revealed that a staggering 25 percent of American adults admitted to not having engaged with a book, even partially, in the preceding year. This figure has nearly tripled since the 1970s. Coupled with the daunting number of students who fall through the cracks due to their minds not conforming to the rigid molds American education extols, it's hardly surprising that reading has lost its allure for many. Alarmingly, over half of American adults read below a sixth-grade level, and we daily grapple with the repercussions of this literacy crisis.
Jacob's podcast club stands as a prime illustration of the evolving media landscape, where individuals increasingly seek news and entertainment beyond the printed word. Envisioning an Ira Glass-inspired podcast that would "redefine journalistic storytelling," Jacob sets out to create a mark of his own. Motivated by the prospect of a salary boost for extracurricular involvement, Gregory lends a helping hand. Clarence and Raheem, two students, enroll in the club, setting the stage for an impending cultural collision. While Jacob draws inspiration from podcasts like 'This American Life,' 'Pod Save America,' and 'The Daily,' Clarence and Raheem are more entranced by Joe Budden and 'The Breakfast Club.' Jacob is so divorced from their cultural sphere that he mistakes Joe Budden for a mispronunciation of Joe Biden, and his students perceive Ira Glass as an inanimate entity (their priceless reactions to Jacob's mention of 'pregnant pauses' were spot-on).
For their inaugural episode titled "Cafeteria Blues," the students emulate the familiar pattern they witness in popular podcasts: casual bashing and gossiping under a microphone's gaze. Jacob is horrified and urges them to tone it down, but they dismiss his podcast suggestions as akin to "listening to school." Determined to shape the audio into an episode befitting his vision, Jacob edits it according to his standards, leading the students to accuse him of censorship—a term that strikes a chord of offense in the proudly leftist Jacob. Consequently, they abandon the project in protest.
Ava emerges as the unanticipated beacon of rationality this season, her insight piercing through the veil of routine. When Jacob seeks her counsel regarding the club's status, she poses a poignant question: Is he presenting them with something fresh and exhilarating, or merely imposing his will upon them? He heeds her words deeply and proceeds to record a revitalized episode with the club. This narrative thread resonates profoundly with the challenges I confront as an instructor at the college level, where I helm the "Media, Power, and Culture" course within the journalism department. The proliferation of podcasts and blogs as ostensibly trustworthy news outlets stirs numerous contemplations within me. Given that the majority of the populace possesses a sixth-grade reading level, how can we fathom imparting media literacy to them? My relentless endeavor is to captivate my students through engaging methodologies while equipping them with the prowess to distinguish gossip from fact. Furthermore, I endeavor to illuminate how numerous "thought leaders," Joe Budden amongst them, often propagate their detrimental conscious and unconscious biases, devoid of genuine journalistic training. In essence, while I empathize with Jacob's dilemma, I side with Ava. It is imperative to adapt our pedagogical approaches to this nascent era, rather than compelling students to embrace the unfamiliar. A harmonious equilibrium is attainable, albeit when truths must be unveiled, they shall undeniably see the light.
For the subsequent podcast episode, Janine is the featured guest, her penalty for losing the Read-A-Thon to Melissa. Initially, it seemed Janine had triumphed; however, Melissa meticulously reread the rules and discerned that the victor is determined by the aggregate number of books read within a single classroom. Combining the scores of her second and third graders, she emerged victorious over Janine. Consequently, Janine finds herself seated with the podcast club for an interrogation, with Clarence and Raheem wasting no moment to probe. Evidently, Clarence's mother had witnessed Janine and Gregory dancing at the club, prompting them to inquisitively seek clarification. They even assert that Clarence's mother saw them depart together, a revelation that prompts Janine to clarify she was conversing with Gregory's friend Maurice outside—news that astounds Gregory. He attempts to halt the recording, yet Jacob, driven by journalistic curiosity, insists on hearing more for "journalistic purposes." I wholeheartedly agree: a proficient journalist relentlessly pursues follow-up questions, regardless of the podcast's context.
