As Abbott Elementary, a very good show, continues to receive accolades for its breakout first season that locked down an impressive 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, creator Quinta Brunson has been making the interview rounds to talk about the smash sitcom and about teachers getting the job done despite the struggles of teaching at an inner-city Philadelphia school.
While talking to The Wrap (prior to the Uvalde shooting), Brunson had nothing but love and respect for how teachers everywhere “just have to teach these kids.” As Brunson explains, “they just have to” despite everything that’s going on from underfunded school districts to the bleak and depressing realities of the world:
And I think in my life, I was getting a little exhausted of having the time and the space and the energy to talk about politics 24/7. My teachers don’t have that time. They are affected by the political decisions that are made, but at the end of the day, they have to do that job. They have to go home, they have to do that job. That’s it. End of story. And I think that it is fascinating. I value it very much, not because I think it should be the case, but because it is the case.
Finding comedy and “humanity” in those tough moments is what Abbott Elementary is all about. “Other shows or movies might show them as, ‘Woe is me’ in the school, but that’s not how many people are,” Brunson said. “They find their joy, they find their fun, they find their funny. You would think nobody ever laughs in a hospital, but you’ll go in there and see people, and that’s the kind of weird beauty and sickness of humanity. But I find it to be really resilient.”
Of course, Brunson slipped into comedy mode by bluntly revealing why she could never be a teacher. “I always felt, which is horrible, ‘They don’t make enough money. I can’t be one. I’m not that virtuous or good or patient,’” Brunson said before quickly adding. “Which is why I think they should get paid more.”
(Via The Wrap)