LAUGH
Teaching during a pandemic isn’t easy, that’s for sure. We educators have all learned new skills, routines and procedures, and in many cases we’re still kind of wondering what the heck is going on. Since most of what’s happened over the past year feels like it could only happen on a TV show, that got us to thinking how some of our favorite TV teachers would handle today’s school environment.
Here’s our best guess as to how some of our favorite TV teachers would be doing this year.
1. Señor Chang
After a few months of teaching under COVID protocols, it’s hard to tell if Señor Chang from Community would become more like us, or if we’d all start becoming more like him. Rest assured if Señor Chang was in charge, any student not following those COVID protocols would be instantly booted out of his class, and be forced to write a 5-page paper on the importance of contact tracing en Espanol, por favor.
2. Jocelyn Schitt
No one knows how to roll with the punches quite like Schitt’s Creekeducator Jocelyn Schitt. She puts up with a lot of “Schitt” both at home and in the classroom. In fact, Jocelyn might be the best equipped to handle new rules and regulations. After a few years of dealing with Moira and Alexis, you’d have to think she could handle just about anything.
3. Mr. Garvey
Sure, he was only a substitute teacher, but no one commands the attention of his class quite like the Key and Peele phenomenon Mr. Garvey. Unconventional? Absolutely. A little crazed at times? Hey, who amongst us isn’t these days? But you can be sure that if anyone so much as attempted to get out of their seat, he would put a stop to that before any germs could get spread.
4. Ross Geller
He may be a little high-strung, but no one was better at thinking on his feet and coming up with some brilliantly devised plan completely off the cuff than Ross from Friends. As students entered his room they would likely be bombarded with numerous sprays of hand sanitizer (not unlike Ross’s unfortunate experience in the tanning booth).
5. Walter White
It’s hard to say just how Breaking Bad‘s iconic lead Walter White would handle teaching during a pandemic like this one. He might put his amazing science skills to good use and help to create the vaccine himself. He could also become a fantastic source of good, sound scientific information for his students. Then again, he might also get so fed up with the new rules and regulations that he’d quit teaching altogether and fall back on his…um…side hustle.
6. Miss Frizzle
Is there any teacher better equipped to handle a pandemic than Miss Frizzle? She has a MAGIC FREAKING SCHOOL BUS! If COVID came calling, she’d just throw her kids on the bus and teach on the moon, or maybe shrink down and teach her class in an ant hill. I know we all wish we had a magic school bus these days.
7. Jessica Day
If any of our TV teachers could make the transition to virtual teaching, it would have to be New Girl‘s lead character, Jessica Day. No one is more creative in finding a way to make something out of nothing. She would absolutely be the teacher to convert her shower into a whiteboard and have a million Bitmojis for every circumstance.
8. Lily Aldrin
Lily, the kindergarten teacher in How I Met Your Mother, would definitely have her work cut out for her as a teacher in COVID times. Trying to wrangle her students during a normal day would be hard enough, but getting them to wash their hands and socially distance would be a real challenge. Thankfully, no one has the “teacher look” down quite like Mrs. Aldrin.
Who are your favorite TV teachers? Come let us know who we missed in the #teacherlife community!
