S01.E09: Step Class

[kwnyc]

I went to college in Baltimore and can tell you that its pizza is NOT "crunchy and wet."

Also: my Polish Grammy used to serve boiled chicken. Who hurt Gregory?

I will also come out and say that I don't think peanut butter and chocolate belong together.

Who thinks Jacob's boyfriend is a POC?

[ribboninthesky1]

3 hours ago, kwnyc said:

I will also come out and say that I don't think peanut butter and chocolate belong together.

*clutches pearls*  

Pizzagate was entertaining.  I love pizza, but I'm picky about my toppings and crust. 

I nodded in agreement with Gregory on pie.  The only pies I'll eat are sweet potato and maybe sometimes pecan. Absolutely no to fruit pies or any cooked fruit for that matter. 

I don't think Gregory is rude, but he still comes off to me like teaching is just a gateway to administration.  That said, I get where the show is going with his arc.   

3 hours ago, kwnyc said:

Who thinks Jacob's boyfriend is a POC?

Yeah, I'm gonna be surprised if the boyfriend isn't black(ish). 

[Crashcourse]

I don't think Gregory is homophobic but I think he thinks that Jacob is crushing on him (I do, too) and that makes Gregory uncomfortable.

[peachmangosteen]

15 hours ago, ribboninthesky1 said:

I don't think Gregory is rude, but he still comes off to me like teaching is just a gateway to administration.

Yea, he's explicitly said that a few times. In the end though, he'll end up loving teaching and probably stick with it lol.

[SG429]

Of all the characters, Gregory seems the most delusional or just conceived poorly. He's a sub, with apparently no interest in his students, his classroom, his colleagues, teaching at all, while waiting to be anointed as a school principal? They made a whole plotline about how dense he was when he didn't recognize the hero worship of the kids' artwork, how it was so difficult to convince him to brighten up the classroom. He's stiff and cold and gives off more of a disdainful AP Bio Jack Griffin vibe than a career-oriented ed administrator.

[possibilities]

Gregory's character would make more sense if he became a teacher because it was expected of him, like how some families expect you to follow in the footsteps of whatever your parents did. But we've been told this is definitely not the case with him, so...?

It's also not a profession anyone gets into because of the money.

I have known teachers who didn't seem to enjoy teaching, but we've actually seen that he kind of does like it. He just doesn't have a clue until someone tells him. But he's a quick learner. So why didn't he learn before? 

[Enigma X]

I actually know many people who became "professional" (by chance) subs because they needed supplemental income or could not find work in their chosen profession. My brother-in-law was a sub for 20 years with constant work at the same school.

[DearEvette]

1 hour ago, SG429 said:

Of all the characters, Gregory seems the most delusional or just conceived poorly. He's a sub, with apparently no interest in his students, his classroom, his colleagues, teaching at all, while waiting to be anointed as a school principal?

I don't believe, as presented, Gregory is delusional.  In the first ep he said he got the job as the Abott principal but "something happened"  (of course we know that something was Ava blackmailing the Superintendent).   So he knows it is possible to get hired as a principal in the district with his current credentials. 

While getting a job as a principal without working up the ranks is unusual it is not 100% unheard of.  Depending on the state, municipality or district, there are pathways to administration without a full body of teaching.  Also depending on the population and hierarchy of your school the principal can have very little direct interaction with students.  If he got a M.Ed in Ed. Admin it could very well be based on the curriculum, he had no expectations of having to step foot in a classroom in an instructional capacity.  My brother in law was a school principal in our district for years and his job consisted mostly of teacher issues (the union, hiring, contracts, making sure the school is in compliance with state education regulations etc.) which given the way they are crafting Gregory's personality, he would seem very comfortable within the confines and strictures that come with how bureaucratic a public school system is. 

Which begs the question, how the heck did Ava qualify even beyond blackmailing the super?  Has there been any mention of Ava ever being a teacher?  I just can't see it.  If she were I would have thought something like a health ed teacher or at a stretch phys ed, but then she made that crack about gym teachers, so maybe not.

[qtpye]

On 2/22/2022 at 11:35 PM, Court said:

When Gregory picked up that pizza slice, I died. I told someone yesterday that I didn't really like pizza and he reacted much the same way everyone did on the show. I mean, I'll eat it but it just isn't my fave or something I ever crave. 

 

On 2/22/2022 at 11:40 PM, Enigma X said:

I also am not a fan of pizza or cooked fruit (pies, jams, etc.)

Small voice....I don't like pizza.

I have learned to keep this to myself.

I love this show. It better get some comedy Emmys for writing.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Sad to see the hatred of Gregory here.  I really like him.  I really like the actor too.  

[kathyk24]

2 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Sad to see the hatred of Gregory here.  I really like him.  I really like the actor too.  

I don't hate Gregory. I think he's reserved and doesn't feel like he's part of the faculty yet. He's probably used to always being the new kid in town and doesn't make friends easily.

[possibilities]

I don't hate him, either. I think his characterization is a bit challenging but I wouldn't at all say I hate him.

[Empress1]

On 2/24/2022 at 6:07 PM, Lethallyfab said:

I do have to give props to the article for pointing me in the direction of James’s episode of Netflix’s ‘The Stand-Ups,’ which I just watched and is hilarious.

I listen to a podcast by another comedian (Naomi Ekperigin, who also has an episode of The Stand-Ups that I recommend) and her partner called Couples Therapy and they had Janelle James on as a guest. I highly recommend that episode - she tells a great story about her prom and is generally really funny.

[Darian]

I like all the characters. Gregory I just feel is not socially awkward, but more introverted. And having lived 53 of my 60 years right on the coasts of Florida and Massachusetts (and the other seven years 45 minutes from the ocean in FL, disliking seafood is incomprehensible to some people. I get why he didn't want to say he didn't like pizza. Or a lot of things. He has his few and he likes those. I am sure he's been told, "But you have tried THIS kind" or whatever. I think Jacob just needs to give Gregory space. I don't think Gregory's any more reserved with him than he with anyone other that Janine (that look! I melted like mozzarell' on Phiily's best pizza, whatever it is). 

I don't think they're going to make Ava warm and fuzzy. This show knows how to use its characters and they're all flawed and layered and I feel hopeful but mostly confident Quinta Brunson knows exactly the lightning in a bottle they have in Ava with Janelle James playing her.  

[Lois Sandborne]

On 2/22/2022 at 8:51 PM, JeanJean said:

Ava's clueless selfishness worked well in contrast with Janine's earnestness.

I agree with those who think Ava will continue being her selfish self, even though we now know she loves her grandmother. However, I have been urging everybody who truly loves her character to get into South Side, another gem of a show. Officer Turner is hideous and hilarious in a very similar way to Ava, and she's pretty much irredeemable. The show's on Comedy Central and/or HBO Max.

Also, I have a cherry cobbler in the oven right now, so all y'all who doesn't like cooked fruit can send your pie over to me.

[Crashcourse]

13 hours ago, Lois Sandborne said:

Also, I have a cherry cobbler in the oven right now,

😋

[SmithW6079]

On 2/27/2022 at 12:14 AM, Ms Blue Jay said:

Sad to see the hatred of Gregory here.  I really like him.  I really like the actor too.  

Different characters resonate differently with different people.

I'm OK with pumpkin pie, but other than that, I don't like cooked fruit (especially apple).

[auntiemel]

I just wanted to say that that last shot of Ava and Janine facing each other with the sun shining through the window in between them was SO beautifully framed!

[Bookish Jen]

Watched the rerun of this episode last night. I've decided I want an Abbott Step t-shirt.

[Annber03]

On 2/24/2022 at 2:19 PM, Bookish Jen said:

Same here. I'm very much an introvert. And though I get along with most of my co-workers, I don't feel the need to be besties with them.

Echoing all of this. Even when I'm with my friends, I still need some time to myself after hanging out with them, because, as someone noted above, they're all very strong, outgoing personality types and I am very much...not...that. I relate very much to Gregory's need to just have some time for himself, to struggle to figure out how to fit in among everyone else. 

As for the pizza discussion, I love pizza...but I eat plain cheese pizza. So that alone is enough to make me weird in some circles :p (in fact, tying this back to the above comments about co-workers, a co-worker of mine actually snarked on my preference for cheese pizza one day when we were all discussing what kind of pizza to get for the staff). So even though Gregory and I may disagree on our taste for that particular food, I still get where he's coming from all the same there, too. 

"'Cause she's fun, and I'm...the mentals...that didn't sound right..." LOL. 

I enjoyed the step class. Would've much rather done that in school instead of line dancing (yes, we actually did line dancing in gym class when I was in high school. 'Cause that's what you do when you live in Iowa, I guess, or something). 

I also enjoyed everyone's conversation about what the sexiest day of the week is. I have to say, Ava's reasoning for why Thursday was the sexiest actually made sense. I'm not sure what that says about me :p. I also loved everyone's reactions to Janine's explanation for why she loved Mondays :D.