Abbott Elementary is a comedy that is not too cynical and just the right amount of heart-warming. It has the mockumentary feel of The Office and focuses on the struggles of  teachers in an underprivileged school system in Philadelphia. Just barely losing to Ted Lasso for best comedy of the year last week, Abbott Elementary took home two other emmys. This week, season 2 airs with a new school year of challenges ahead. But why is this show so popular? Why do so many people find this funny? A research study on human behavior argues that humans often find funniest what they believe to be true.

A researcher at Rutger University studied 59 undergraduate students where they were studied for implicit bias. The participants were videotaped and studied watching a white, stand-up comedian for 30 minutes. Ultimately, the researchers' results show that participants laughed the most at jokes that matched their implicit beliefs. In other words, the old saying, “It’s funny because it’s true” may lead us to a better understanding on why so many people are drawn to Abbott Elementary right now.

The show focuses on the part of the education system we all love - teachers - and how they are managing in the broken US education system. Some of them are trying to fight the system and others do their best to work around it. But the show doesn’t hesitate to point out that their political situation also is part of their plight. The principal when asked about getting the flickering light bulbs fixed states, 

“Girl, no. Do I look like the Kool-Aid man? I don’t have enough juice to manipulate the inner workings of City Hall.”

We laugh because we know how political the situation is in schools across the country right now. We laugh because the bribed superintendent and the incompetent administrator feel familiar. And we laugh because we know some really tough veteran teachers are making do with this broken system.

If asked, parents would probably choose teachers like these, but they probably wouldn’t choose a school like this one. A school where students who struggle to be challenged in the classroom, are just bumped up a grade, or a school where the budget is based on the emotions of the superintendent.

So, who does have the opportunity to manipulate the inner workings of City Hall? Voters. If you care about education policy, don’t just fund teachers' viral Tiktok videos like those who “care” on Abbott Elementary. 

Think strategically about your school board members. Think beyond education policy, and consider how neighborhoods play a role in the plight of urban schools. How could changing neighborhoods change schools like Abbott Elementary? Want to learn more about this type of change? Check out more on neighborhood influence on schools here.

Not sure how real it feels? Check out these reviews from teachers:

RESOURCES:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1090513809000683?via%3Dihub