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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Wisconsin chapter.

Sit down and grab your snacks, Abbott Elementary is in Session

Like many professions around the world, teachers were hit especially hard during COVID-19. Long days, balancing work and personal life, trying to stay healthy in the classroom, and criticism from parents and the community all contributed to what many refer to as teacher burnout.

Teachers needed a release: a break from the chaos and a chance to laugh and forget about the tough times. Insert Abbott Elementary.

“Abbott Elementary” is a new hit TV show on ABC about life in a poverty-stricken school in Philadelphia. Starring a blackmailed superintendent, incompetent principal, and truly inspiring teachers, we see the realities of teaching at an impoverished public school that has priorities in the wrong places. The teachers have different backgrounds, but they all have one thing in common: a strong love for teaching and a desire to inspire their students. 

Between the relatable characters and scenarios, this show was exactly what teachers needed for some mental rest and relaxation.

The pilot starts out with a teacher being fired for kicking a student, the teachers begging for money for new carpets because the old ones are covered in pee, a cafeteria full of rats, and an extremely passionate teaching staff that do the best they can with what they have. 

There is something in this show for everyone, not just teachers. If you want to relive some of your own glory days of elementary school or find peace in the fact that maybe your situation isn’t as bad as you might think, then Abbott Elementary is the show for you. Although it’s about an incredibly serious topic, the show uses comedy to depict reality and shows the audience everything that goes into being a teacher, not just teaching and discipline. 

This show has won three Emmy Awards, among several other awards, including “Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series” (Quinta Brunson), “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series”(Sheryl Lee Ralph), and “Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series”. 

So sit down and grab your snacks, because Abbott Elementary is in session.

Sarah Sobecki

Wisconsin '23

Sarah is currently a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studying Psychology, Global Health, and Disability Rights and Services. This is her first time writing for Her Campus, but while not writing she enjoys listening to music, thrifting, reading, and going to Badger games!