dmmetler

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!

Moving a middle school teacher to high school is not a promotion (the pay scale is district-wide, barring bonuses for specific jobs-and high school history is not one that is usually hard to find someone who wants to teach) and it's not something that is done unilaterally by the superintendent. Usually principals hire for their own school, and that sort of lateral move would be initiated by a teacher applying for a posted open job. I knew they were going to move Cory on somehow, but as a teacher, I find it annoying.

I have a girl who loves biology and is basically the Farkle of her friend group. She's very popular when it comes to picking lab partners because they know that she'll do all the work, and they'll get a good grade. I don't think the problem is girls vs boys, but a class set up where it is possible for one person to do a lion's share of the work (as opposed to both doing the analysis, comparing notes, and then, together, drawing conclusions, and requiring that both sets of work be part of the final paper). I do see a place for a participation award when achievement is also recognized. That is, Ava might get an award for MVP or most goals scored or whatever, but if Augie is going and practicing and trying each week, I think it's reasonable to recognize that this is an achievement, too-especially for a child his age who is still learning the sport. I do think there's a place to recognize the kid who tries harder to get a C (and I really wish they'd show more of those kids on TV as opposed to always making them slacker underachievers who, in a VSE, are shown to have dyslexia) or who struggles to get on the team but is out practicing and working to improve (as opposed to Riley talking her way onto the cheer team without even a throwaway line about spending the last year taking tumbling classes to improve). Sometimes, it can be a lot harder to be a "participant" than to be an "MVP".

Honestly, Maya's relationship with Lucas reads like 'bratty little sister' to me :).

Not sure on NY, but in TN, middle school cheer can be quite competitive. You usually need to have at least a back handspring to be considered, and many of the girls will have been on cheer teams and taking tumbling classes for years. That RO-BHS-BT combo the girls were doing on day 2 really isn't uncommon here. Usually there are tryout instructions posted and they will explicitly say not to try out if you don't have X skills. That can narrow the field a lot. However, most schools will have a "spirit squad" which does a lot of the "cheering at games"-and is full of girls like Riley. There are also National Youth Athletics Association programs, like Champion Force, Young Champions, ActivStars and Champions in Motion, which are cheer programs for girls who want to cheer, but don't want to put in the time, which don't do nearly as much tumbling or stunting, but still allow that experience. Riley, who picks up on choreography, but simply doesn't have the cheer skills yet, would be an asset to such a team. Riley also could have made a Pom team, which does the dance parts and often can compete at a pretty high level, but doesn't tumble or stunt. Most middle schools have those. Heck, Riley doesn't qualify, but many all-star gyms and NYAA programs have teams just for kids with special needs, and such teams go all the way to Nationals and Worlds. I wish they'd shown Riley finding a way to be a cheerleader, while also acknowledging what the coach said in passing-that it's more than just wanting to do it-that girls who have back tucks and similar tumbling skills in middle school didn't start in middle school. They started much, much earlier.

What bothered me was that most parents of young teens I know do monitor their social media accounts and phones. And this is why. I can't see Cory and Topanga not doing so. It doesn't fit with their characters to be unaware this was happening, even more than stepping back and letting the kids handle it once they are (because Cory was staying pretty close and ready to step in as soon as the kids would let him).

I'm assuming the yearbook was done last year and was just delivered this fall. My DD used to go to a private school that did that, running the photos all the way to the last day of school.

That bothered me as well. I have dyspraxia of speech, and the /r/ sounds are something I still struggle with. For me, what Topanga was doing to that little boy brought back bad childhood memories.

Am I just out of touch, or is 12 way too young to be dating?

I think I'm going to decide to believed that the school actually a homeschool tutorial, and those four are the only kids taking Cory's "middle school social studies" class (and that Lucas's parents believe in "better late than early" and didn't start formal academics until about age 9) and everyone else signed up for something else. That also explains why Cory runs all the clubs/groups, because he's the one who is interested in doing so. Parents don't complain because they do their child's real education at home and just drop them off at the Tutorial a couple of days a week to get time with other kids. Maya is homeschooled with Riley the other days of the week, so her mom has time to work her day job and go to acting auditions, and that explains why Maya seems to basically live with them. Makes far more sense than a New York public school!

Just watched the Memphis vs Jackson. I kind of wish I'd seen the whole dances, but my mental impression was the DD creative didn't have much dance, which may have worked against them. Or, more likely, the script for the season called for a loss, and this was a way to have a Dolls loss in a set up for the show competition. And I do wonder if this aired intentionally when it did-we just had #901Day this week :). So, a 901 vs 601 competition seemed almost set up for that purpose, except that it has to have happened long enough ago to give them time to edit and air.

Did anyone but me want them to pick up Bobbi and Hunter when they were also picking up Elena and Joey? Or Deathlok, or a bunch of lanyard wielding clones? I mean, there ARE people Daisy would know who know of SHIELD and could help other than these two new Inhumans who we've known about 30 seconds! You're going against a super inhuman parasite monster who has your team. You don't rely on the JV, you pick up your all stars, even if they're officially retired!

I wonder if the graduation year played into it. I could see not giving a scholarship to a girl who is on the young side (isn't Chrystianna in 8th grade) compared to a high school senior. Or, for that matter, not giving a scholarship to a kid who's academic profile made it less likely they'd be accepted to that university. Usually scholarship applications, even performance ones, include such information. Tau Beta Sigma is the marching band sorority-sister to Kappa Kappa Psi. I thought it was neat to see Diana wearing the letters. (Hi, Sis!) At HBCUs, the band is often a big thing, and Dance line is definitely part of the marching band.

I also think she needs a non-foster kid senior project. In fairness, it's what she's proposed/set up-but the fact is that until she stops defining herself by just those experiences and starts finding other focuses, she's not going to move on. Having Lena tell her to get her stuff together and finish the project is a good mom line-but it kind of misses the point that Callie is struggling with her identity and can't get beyond "foster kid", and that's one reason why she can't finish a project.