dmmetler

I'm guessing most of the girls simply don't have enough classical training to be able to do what Torrey wants. Both of them trained elsewhere and came in later, and it shows. In a complete aside, I do wonder who picks the names for these teams. This past weekend, we passed both "Dancing Dolls" and "Purple Diamond"-"gentleman's clubs" just off the interstate. In the same region of the country as most of these teams!

I liked seeing JJ's sled hockey team, and the discussion over AAC. (I do think the show glossed over a bit that JJ needs assistance for more than speech. Even if he had an AAC board to talk for him, he'd still need Kenneth to manage personal care during his school day.) I hope we see more of the team and JJ has the chance to explore those relationships. I also loved seeing Ray and Maya at the country club.

I like that they brought in a formally trained dance instructor, and that the girls are auditioning for intensives. If they want a career in dance, even in commercial dance that's what is needed. And Tina, Kayla, who is one year past high school doesn't have the skills of a classically trained professional yet. Kayla is good at majorette, but that doesn't mean she can teach lyrical or contemporary.

I'd missed that it started, so pulled it up on demand. I liked the first challenge being a public concert. That is very different from rapping to your webcam, and I think it's a good one . Roscoe looks about 10, and seems just too young compared to the others. I do like his nerd vibe.

They may be 7-12 high schools, but compete at both the middle and high school levels separately. That's fairly common in smaller communities, or for charter schools.

Awesome! This show does such a great job of combining real-world situations with enough snarkiness to be funny. I had never really thought about Inspiration porn and the Magical Negro trope being the same thing, but Kenneth is right on the money. And I'd so buy an audio book with Kenneth narrating.

Gotta love that Lola has tarantulas and snakes :) (I have a girl who loves snakes).

I'm also excited because this will open up opportunities for JJ to interact with others with disabilities, and show those relationships.

I love that JJ realized that his classmates are patronizing him and not letting him compete before Kenneth did. I also loved fleshing out that Maya isn't the only one who wants to protect JJ and has trouble letting go. Jimmy's concerns about Sled Hockey ring true. Poor Ray. In a 2 bedroom house with five people, 6 with Kenneth, I can see where finding personal space would be tough.

The waiver thing makes sense to me because there was a piece of the No Child Left Behind Act that required that districts allow kids zoned into low performing schools or who failed assessments to transfer into higher performing schools. There is a boatload of restrictions, and most schools don't publicize it more than the legal minimum, but mostly it comes down to "is the parent willing to go to the school district offices and outwait them". Maya being zoned into a low performing school, and her mother (probably with support from Cory and Topanga-Cory would be in a place to know district rules and has the ear of the Superintenent, Topanga is a lawyer and school districts tend to cave when a lawyer is involved) being able to get that magic piece of paper, knowing it's one thing her daughter really wants and that she can't do much else rings true.

FWIW, my daughter has been in online classes since she was 7, and all of those online portals have social media features/profiles, etc. When kids are enrolled in a class, they are added to the discussion boards for that class under that profile, which lets teachers communicate with the kids and the kids communicate with each other. For example, DD can keep up with assignments and grades, and submit assignments to her instructor via that network. Some assignments require class discussion or contributions to a class project. The local community college has a similar system, even for physical classes. The idea of a school network with profiles for high school, doesn't seem unrealistic. What does seem unrealistic is that Riley was able to set up a fake profile, since the school sites are set up under student ID's.

Does Abby really think Sesame Street (at least, that's the only "I love Trash" I know of) is age appropriate for a 7 yr old? I just can't imagine a kid who has started kindergarten being OK with that.

I loved that (and I am part of a similar mom's group, although I can't drink, and it rarely goes beyond the first glass of wine for anyone ). JJ liking the girl, but understanding that girls don't see him that way rings true. (The person I eventually married has a brother with CP. That tends to be pretty common, in my experience-it often takes someone who has personal experience to be able to see beyond the disability. Just having been in an inclusive world isn't enough). Dad dealing with complaints makes sense as to why he's so bulletproof in a lot of ways. He has a lot of experience dealing with less than rational people and having to stay rational. I also loved the interactions with the parents, Ray, and Dylan-I like that the siblings are getting fleshed out more. Overall, I love this show more with each episode.

I admit that I wasn't nearly as confident as JJ as a teen. I think his dad's "bulletproof" attitude has rubbed off. I do hope that he wasn't on any medication that interacted with alcohol. I do like JJ and his friends going around Kenneth-teens are teens, after all. I do think Kenneth, having worked in a high school for years, would be concerned about there being alcohol there, period. But then, this is the high school that has the big bonfire where apparently alcohol and hookups are condoned. I also love the fact that the parents are trying to be serious, but are happy that their kid finally messed up in a normal teen way. That's a very real experience for parents of kids with special needs.

I know between Nia and Brynn the casting made sense, but just once, I'd like to see Nia be the pretty, feminine one in a duet or trio. The girl always gets stuck playing the strong, more masculine figure, and she really is a pretty girl-she's just not a tiny one. Kalani carries everything she's in.

I think this episode shows both that Kenneth isn't an experienced aide who and why, for the show, that's a good thing. Kenneth does things no aide would do, and in that role as JJ's friend, is able to make mistakes that illustrate great points-that by defining someone with disabilities as an "inspiration" it takes away their identity as an individual, and that's not right, either. The B plot was also excellent, because that's a real issue for families and siblings of kids with disabilities. And the Bathroom subplot was also right on. Accessibility is a real concern (and it's why last week's cluttered house rang false, because not only does JJ need wide paths to maneuver, but anything that isn't at the correct height is impossible for him to interact with. ) JJ's emotions and reactions ring very true. I'm sure it's because the young actor is basically playing himself-expressions are awesome. I loved him yelling at Kenneth :).

I really don't like the glittery bra tops on teen girls. It looks like they're on stage in their underwear, and makes me uncomfortable watching them. A dance costume for a kid shouldn't look like it came off the rack at Fredricks of Hollywood. If they'd given Kalani Kendall's dance, or even just Kendall's costume, she would have placed higher. I admit I found the "teen doesn't have a costume" to be a yawn because they did the same thing with Brooke years ago. Minecraft was big among kids here about 2-3 years ago. Pokémon is a lot more trendy right now.

I can't imagine parents would be OK with the bonfire as initially described as a school-sponsored activity. I could see it as an unofficial annual event that the school turns a blind eye to until Mama Bear Maya forces them to call attention to, but the liability of that being an official school event...just...no.

Brynn and Lilly's dance was good, but didn't read "dark" to me. It came off as not matching the music. JoJo and Eliana's was cringeworthy, but that was set up by the premise.

One thing I love is that JJ is a teenage boy, and that he's not adverse to using the school's response to him to get what he wants. I also love that Kenneth realizes that a teen boy with neurological disabilities is a teen boy. Maya is over the top-but having trouble letting go and recognizing that your child who still needs you is becoming an adult and doesn't necessarily want you is hard.

I'm finding this interesting because I suspect I'm a different generation than a lot of ya'll are. I was, quite literally, the first kid with neuromotor disabilities mainstreamed in my school district following PL 94-142. I'm classified as mild/moderate (basically, I can do all major life functions, but am considered impaired in all of them)-in my generation, a big part of being mainstreamed was being able to get by with limited assistance and without the school having to change too much. i think one reason why the show may ring truer to me than it seems to for some of ya'll is that while I've taught and worked in schools under full inclusion, JJ's position is very much like what mine was, and that fight for independence when your parent has spent your entire life fighting for you to have a seat at the table at all is very real. I hope the show sticks around enough for JJ to transition to college.

They mentioned in the first episode that they were moving because JJ would have an aide to be his voice-no more special Ed. I know it didn't sit right with many here (because since the 1970's, kids with physical disabilities were usually not placed in special Ed classes full-time, and the full inclusion movement of the 1990's made getting a child into full-time special Ed rather difficult even when that was what the parents wanted), but it was included. I do wish they'd made Kenneth another trained aide from the center-or even given a throwaway line like that he had been trained to care for a family member or in his previous job, as opposed to making him the school custodian. Not to mention that at least in my district, a building engineer/lead custodian (and Kenneth seemed to be in that role, as opposed to the people who come in to do cleaning) makes more than a 1-1 paraprofessional.

I really like the choreographer's challenge. I wonder if those are part of more competitions, but they've only shown them this last couple of shows. (I can understand not showing them when the Miami team was being brought in, because those kids would have probably mopped up the floor on such a challenge, since they were dance trained, not majorette trained). It seems a good way to both recognize individual effort and skill/training differences, and good preparation for future auditions. I was also glad to see Star recognized.

Those are some of the "so true, it's not really funny"points to me. Kenneth overall being a good, responsive, nice guy but also using dated, no longer acceptable language is something that happens-and that you have to really weigh which battles to fight. And the equating "I'm a minority, so I get it" is also a real world experience that really gets annoying. I'm sure it would if it were reversed, too. It also did a nice job of showing that while Maya had a reasonable point, it was definitely embarrassing to both of her sons. The classroom scene was a nice expansion. Again, good intentions, but obviously very upsetting to JJ, and unlike Maya, his ability to rebut is limited by what his aide is willing to say. (very common. Even if the kid has AAC technology, often "bad words" aren't programmed in-although trying to figure out how to get them to come out is definitely a challenge many take up, and they're even more likely to be left out of PECS or a speech board that uses icons.) The "Kevin is allowed, since his cousin is Deaf" comment...again, really true to life.

Rewatched-overall, I like it (and shows generally evolve after the pilot). I have cerebral palsy, although not to JJ's degree. And parents really can go overboard in advocacy. The characters come off as authentic to family roles, only exaggerated a little for humor. Having known parents who have moved to more expensive school districts to get better services, that premise rings true as well-and yes, it's hard on other family members. At the same time, it rings SO true that it's hard to laugh at it-because yes (for example) the over enthusiastic aide is funny, but that is the kind of thing that really happens. Same with the ramp being the loading dock on the back of the building. People trying too hard and not treating you like a person, but as a poster child for their commitment to inclusiveness and diversity. It's enough to definitely make you think the kinds of comments JJ says-so as far as I'm concerned, bring on the snarky, eye-rolling JJ!