The Tension Between Public and Charter in Abbott Elementary's Second Season

The Takeaway

WNYC and PRX

Politics, Wnyc, Daily News, Radio, Takeaway, National, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 716 Ratings

🗓️ 28 April 2023

⏱️ 18 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Original Air Date: April 26, 2023 The sitcom Abbott Elementary has become a weekly favorite among all ages in the world of streaming and binge-watching TV. The network series created by Quinta Brunson is a comedy at heart set at a predominantly Black elementary school in Philadelphia, but under the brilliant writing and jokes, is a political commentary about the challenges faced by under-funded public schools. In season 2 (spoiler alert!), the series introduces a new nemesis which is a charter school network – Legendary Charter Schools, along with the continuation of the artful slow burn of the “will-they-won’t-they” plot line between two young teachers. We recap the season with Jessica Winter, an editor at The New Yorker and also writes about family and education, and dive into the tension between public schools and charters.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Thanks for sticking with the takeaway. I'm Melissa Harris Perry, and we're about to take you to school.
0:06.1	Abbott Elementary School, that is.
0:11.3	Now, if you haven't heard about or seen ABC's Abbott Elementary yet, it's a brilliantly written,
0:16.9	hilarious, mockumentary-style sitcom set in a predominantly black public elementary school in Philadelphia.
0:24.0	And just fair warning, we're talking about the latest season, so there are spoilers ahead.
0:30.0	Throughout the past two seasons, we've watched along as the show skillfully underscores the challenges
0:35.5	of teaching in an under-resourced school system,
0:39.4	while still remaining a light-hearted comedy.
0:42.6	Hey, yo, what did it do, baby boobs?
0:45.4	What y'all think about this little film crew I brought in here?
0:47.6	Distracting, makes our jobs harder.
0:49.4	But exciting. We're about to be on TV.
0:51.3	Because they are covering underfunded, poorly managed public schools in America.
0:56.1	No press is bad press barb.
0:57.7	Look at Mel Gibson.
0:58.7	Still thriving.
1:00.3	Daddy's home too?
1:01.4	Hilarious!
1:03.1	And this season, we were introduced to a new nemesis.
1:07.2	The Charter School Network, legendary charter schools.
1:10.7	And the question of whether Abbott will be forced to go charter.
1:15.9	Item number seven of next week's school board meeting, a proposal to transition Abbott Elementary into a legendary charter school for the 2023, 24 school year.
	...

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