TV Review: Abbott Elementary

Last year the show "Abbott Elementary" aired its first season to rave reviews. A friend recommended it to me, and I started watching it. I enjoyed the first season and like the second season so far, but something is keeping me from raving about it like most people are.

Created by and starring Quinta Brunson, the show follows the students and staff of Abbott Elementary as they navigate life in a Philadelphia public school.

I am not going to trash the show. Like I said before, I do enjoy the show. It can be hilarious, heartwarming and shines a positive light on my chosen profession. That said, I have a tough time watching it because the show hits too close to home for me. Most show fans love Ava (Janelle James), the principal of Abbott. I cannot stand her. It is nothing against the performance that James gives or anything like that. My problem is that Ava is so ineffectual as an administrator, and I have had multiple bosses who were/are as useless as Ava.

The show is just too close to my real life for me to love it as much as the general public does. I see teachers working incredibly hard for virtually no recognition just because it is best for the kids. I see new teachers, so full of hope and ideas, like Janine (Brunson). I see veteran teachers who are grizzled realists who know how the system works, like Barbara Howard (Sheryl Lee Ralph), my favorite character on the show. I see each of the archetypes that the characters represent as I walk through the halls of school daily. The struggles they have are the same ones I have. I want to love the show. I am too close to the subject matter to see what everyone else sees.