S02.E05: Juice

[DanaK]

Quote

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 19, 9:00-9:31 p.m.

Janine is thrilled to help introduce a new beverage to the cafeteria, but it ends up causing unexpected consequences for the students, teachers and school plumbing system. Elsewhere, Melissa clashes with her new aide, Ashley, who brings more disruption than help to the classroom. 

[Crashcourse]

Well, it was nice to see the cafeteria workers again.  

In the beginning, I thought Ava was kind of funny, but now I find her despicable.  I can't stand that teacher's aide either.

Janine is stupid.  

Edited October 20, 2022 by Crashcourse

[JeanJean]

The teacher's aide is kind of like Janine cranked up from 10 to 20, I think. I hope they don't cancel each other out.

[peridot]

I laughed so hard when Jacob tried to not say that his bike was stolen by a black guy.  Ava's reactions were hilarious.  Her purple outfit was really cute.

I liked seeing more of the cafeteria crew.  I loved the lean in to the camera when he was describing Janine.

I don't blame Barbara at the least.  I was really surprised that Gregory and Janine ignored her wishes like that.  The little girl with braids who broke both toilets was so adorable!

I just shake my head at Ava doing auctions in her office.  I laughed at "who's that white lady".  I don't like that the solution to Ashley was to "get to know her".  She ignored Melissa's to-do lists, she should have been fired. 

[choclatechip45]

I thought this was a really good episode. Janine was an idiot not to listen to Barbara. I like the new aide and can't wait for her and Janine to interact. 

Edited October 20, 2022 by choclatechip45

[Snapdragon]

I mean, didn't we just have an episode about Janine not respecting boundaries?  They need to have a few episodes where she's not the cause of the problem or her character is going to get old fast.

[Annber03]

"I need to go teach my class what happens when you give a moose a muffin."

"It does not end well."

LOL. 

Damn, do not get on Barbara's bad side. I almost felt like I was getting scolded when she was chewing out Gregory and Janine! She was right, though, yes. I'm not surprised that Janine snuck her kids through anyway, but Gregory joining in was a bit of a surprise. It was worth it, though, for the look on his face when Barbara came through with the bat XD.  And I too loved the running joke with the kid constantly announcing every bathroom was broken. 

Of course Ava and Ashley would bond. Why am I not even remotely surprised :p. I get Jacob's advice in theory, but I also agree that Ashley should rein it in a little more. I felt so bad for Melissa this episode. I love the way she teaches math, though. The bit with her trying to ask the students what would happen if she broke that stick in half out of anger was great :D. 

[Blakeston]

I didn't enjoy this episode very much, because I found it cringey and predictable.

We've been down the "Janine gets cocky and everything blows up in her face" road too many times before. And of course it was going to be a disaster when she and Gregory let the kids use Barbara's bathroom without permission. And of course Barbara was going to destroy the remaining bathroom once Janine described the situation.

I also don't like the idea that Barbara needs to "show her work." She showed her work just fine, by explaining from the get-go that messing with a system that ain't broke is a bad idea. She didn't necessarily know how the new juice would go wrong, but she shouldn't need to predict the specifics to get her point across.

On the plus side, I like that Jacob had good advice for Melissa.

[Phebemarie]

I know last season there were a few moments that struck me as unrealistic (Janine climbing the ladder to fix the light, blowing up the fuse box, the lengthy lunch breaks), but I had a hard time with the number of students who needed to use the restroom after an additional 2 ounces of juice….enough to break all the toilets in the school?  When I saw the preview, I thought the toilet problem was caused by something else.  
 

I loved last season, but something’s off for me this year.  

[kathyk24]

8 minutes ago, Phebemarie said:

I know last season there were a few moments that struck me as unrealistic (Janine climbing the ladder to fix the light, blowing up the fuse box, the lengthy lunch breaks), but I had a hard time with the number of students who needed to use the restroom after an additional 2 ounces of juice….enough to break all the toilets in the school?  When I saw the preview, I thought the toilet problem was caused by something else.  
 

I loved last season, but something’s off for me this year.  

I hated this episode there is nothing funny about making kids sick. I thought Ashley was acting like a student not an aide. She was too stupid to realize why she kept getting fired. This show is so inconsistent some episodes like Wrong Delivery and others like this one are terrible.

[kathyk24]

I meant to say that some episodes are great and some are terrible.

[kitkat343]

6 hours ago, peridot said:

I laughed so hard when Jacob tried to not say that his bike was stolen by a black guy.  Ava's reactions were hilarious.  Her purple outfit was really cute.

I liked seeing more of the cafeteria crew.  I loved the lean in to the camera when he was describing Janine.

I don't blame Barbara at the least.  I was really surprised that Gregory and Janine ignored her wishes like that.  The little girl with braids who broke both toilets was so adorable!

I just shake my head at Ava doing auctions in her office.  I laughed at "who's that white lady".  I don't like that the solution to Ashley was to "get to know her".  She ignored Melissa's to-do lists, she should have been fired. 

The teachers aide absolutely should have been fired, but unfortunately even before covid, it was near-impossible to find enough good people to work as aides so schools mostly just waited until the terrible ones quit on their own.   Hardworking, dedicated aides are wonderful but since they are earning near minimum wage in most districts it is incredibly hard to recruit and keep them.   There are lots of terrible aides in the schools who do absolutely nothing all day except keep the district from getting sued because legally they have to provide some students with disabilities an aide - and even the worst aide who spends all day on their phone can probably keep the district from getting sued or keep the district in compliance with a union contract that guarantees teachers aides under certain classroom conditions.  

The intro where Jacob tried to not describe the person who stole his bike as black was really funny, as was Ava's reaction to it.  But Janine is starting  her third as a teacher year this season (she was a second year teacher during the first season of this show).  Stunning incompetence on her part isn't funny anymore and its just tiresome to watch.  This show has so many other wonderful directions it can take (we'd all love to learn more about vacation Barbara losing her shoes on the cruise or see more of her family, we'd love to learn more about the lives any member of Melissa's family or underworld connections, or see Greg growing as a teacher and how he is resolving his conflict with his dad) that this show needs to stop wasting airtime on insipid stories about Janine trying too hard and failing. The actress is just too charismatic and likable for this to be the direction the audience would want to see this show go in.

[miasth]

I do not like this aide nor the direction they took with Melissa needing to get to know her. She was blatantly disrespectful. One basic thing she should know is to not interrupt the teacher.  There are 5 year olds that are better behaved.  

It was also so obvious Janine would be proven wrong but they did it in such an extra way that it felt forced. This episode and the previous episode has some trends that I hope do not continue for the remainder of the season.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

15 hours ago, peridot said:

I don't like that the solution to Ashley was to "get to know her".  She ignored Melissa's to-do lists, she should have been fired. 

More likely passed on to her 5th job in 4 months.

11 hours ago, Phebemarie said:

I know last season there were a few moments that struck me as unrealistic (Janine climbing the ladder to fix the light, blowing up the fuse box, the lengthy lunch breaks), but I had a hard time with the number of students who needed to use the restroom after an additional 2 ounces of juice….enough to break all the toilets in the school?  When I saw the preview, I thought the toilet problem was caused by something else.  

Me, too.  I guess multiple kids drank an extra juice because it was so tasty?  "Nature's juice" really would be a healthier choice.  Unless the juice is heavily fortified, they're probably not getting a lot of nutrition from it.

I think that teachers would have their own bathroom, even in a public school.  It would probably be in their lounge/lunch room.  I also wouldn't have been surprised if Ava had a private bathroom in her office.  I wonder how much of the grant went to building Ava's fancy restroom, and how it would have been possible to get that done without at least Mr. Johnson knowing it exists.

Edited October 20, 2022 by ItCouldBeWorse

[Harvey]

It's interesting that it's now a repeated occurence that the normal person has to accomodate the problematic person just to be able to do their job. Last week Gregory had to go the extra mile and come up with a whole character so the distruptive kid would pay attention in class, and now Melissa has to make the extra effort so the unprofessional teacher will actually do her job.

God forbid we ask people to behave themselves in a school.

Edited October 20, 2022 by Harvey

[mostlylurking]

Ava has shown moments of competence that I guess stop her from tipping into the completely useless category….Barbra said they worked together on the budget and she did stick up for her teachers at the board meeting last year.  She had a point about sending the kids to the principal's office as well.  I wouldn’t want to work for her, but again I couldn’t handle being a teacher period so there’s that.

I didn’t like the aide but I’m happy Melissa took advice from Jacob.  It shows how the whole group can learn things from each other.
 

Edited October 20, 2022 by mostlylurking

[JakeyJokes]

I enjoyed last week’s a lot more, but still howled at the reveal of Ava’s secret luxury bathroom complete with bidet! And also liked the dig at fast fashion with Ava reselling her Zara like it’s designer wear. 

I know it’s heightened for comedy, but Melissa’s situation is such a nightmare, with or without the unhelpful teacher’s aide. 

[Enigma X]

Janine is quickly becoming my least favorite character.

[BAForever]

Long time lower elem teacher here and I loved it. So much truth. Bathroom time is contagious with little ones. Loved Barbara taking out the one working toilet. Loved Melissa getting help from Jacob.  Loved Barbara seeing the light on mentoring newer teachers. Love Janine and her constant and unwavering optimism and to do right for her kids. Education NEEDS teachers like her. You knew Ava would have a bathroom palace.....

[Empress1]

Barbara with the bat - the whole thing, from knowing Melissa had one to Melissa casually telling her to wipe off her prints (Melissa has Barbara’s back!) to Janine and Gregory’s reactions when they saw her with it - had me on the floor. 

I noticed that Melissa threw in a “yous,” which is very South Philly. 

[meep.meep]

4 hours ago, Harvey said:

It's interesting that it's now a repeated occurence that the normal person has to accomodate the problematic person just to be able to do their job. Last week Jacob had to go the extra mile and come up with a whole character so the distruptive kid would pay attention in class, and now Melissa has to make the extra effort so the unprofessional teacher will actually do her job.

Based on my 40+ years in a workplace (not a school), it's the most realistic thing about the show.  Life is full of competent people bending over backwards to accommodate someone with a problem.  I'd be rich if I had a dollar for every training course I had to take because someone else screwed up.

Loved the little girl who broke the toilets, the little boy enthusiastically announcing that he'd pooped, and Barbara knocking back on Janine's expectations on how much mentoring time she'd get.  And of course:  "There is a period at the end of each of my sentences!"

[Seelouis]

I really appreciate that this is one of the only school based shows that really incorporates them teaching actual things that would be taught in these grades. I love how they show the creative lessons the teachers are using. 

Edited October 20, 2022 by Seelouis

[tennisgurl]

I really do like Janine, but I hope this show doesn't fall into the trap of her having to learn the same lessons over and over again like in a lot of sitcoms where people learn a lesson in one episode and then get amnesia so they have to learn it all over again in a few episodes. 

Ashley is a huge pain, but I can see how her energy could be channeled in a positive direction if Melissa reigned her in. I guess you cant really do much when your aid sucks, there are only so many to go around, but I admit that I wouldn't be mad if Melissa pulled that baseball bat out the next time Ashley started acting up...

"I have to teach the students what happens when you give a moose a muffin."

"It doesn't end well." 

[Empress1]

19 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

Loved the little girl who broke the toilets

She was adorable!

[JeanJean]

37 minutes ago, Seelouis said:

I really appreciate that this is one of the only school based shows that really incorporates them teaching actual things that would be taught in these grades. I love how they show the creative lessons the teachers are using. 

I really liked how Gregory taught them about the water cycle by leaving an ice cube out!

[milkyaqua]

So of course Ava would have no problem hiring a teacher's aide who's been in four jobs in fourth months...  And yes, Janine is becoming annoying.  How many times do you need to be told fire is hot before you stop touching the flame?  Even my cat learned after the one time he jumped on the stove and singed half his whiskers off.

Edited October 20, 2022 by milkyaqua

[Crashcourse]

5 hours ago, meep.meep said:

And of course:  "There is a period at the end of each of my sentences!"

And then Gregory said "exclamation point!"  I cracked up.

[meep.meep]

The look she gave him could have killed.

[DearEvette]

Yeah, Ashley is a big 'No' for me. She smiles too much. And yeah she's a bad aide.

I really like that one cafeteria worker.  He cracks me up every time. He makes what little screen time he gets really count.

As much as I know the show wants to kinda revere Barbara and play up Janine's naivete, I think in this instance it would have been nice for Barbara to be shown to be in the wrong regarding the juice.  I have known a lot of long timers who are cynical and hate change or like their dyed-in-the-wool systems.  And at times, I have been the Barbara.   I have worked where I have a long time and have seen so many high-ups at my school come in and want to make their stamp and they start changing things up and i roll my eyes because of course what they are suggesting isn't new, someone else has tried it and it didn't work and we go back to what we always did when they inevitably cycle out.

But sometimes, something new does come along and is a real improvement and can make things just a little bit better and easier.  The knee-jerk adverse reaction to anything new can be just as bad as the pie-eye optimism that Janine shows.

[peachmangosteen]

16 hours ago, Phebemarie said:

I loved last season, but something’s off for me this year.  

I agree. It's fine but the quality isn't anywhere near as good as season 1 imo. I'm hoping it's just growing pains and they'll get back into it.

[kathyk24]

11 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I agree. It's fine but the quality isn't anywhere near as good as season 1 imo. I'm hoping it's just growing pains and they'll get back into it.

The writers have made Janine pathetic. Where is all the character growth from last season?

[JeanJean]

34 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I agree. It's fine but the quality isn't anywhere near as good as season 1 imo. I'm hoping it's just growing pains and they'll get back into it.

I think first seasons might always be a honeymoon between shows and viewers. The newness makes it very special if it's good.  Abbott's still good but they need to allow Janine some consistent growth, like Gregory is experiencing. Watching him blossom is awesome.

[Black Knight]

1 hour ago, DearEvette said:

But sometimes, something new does come along and is a real improvement and can make things just a little bit better and easier.  The knee-jerk adverse reaction to anything new can be just as bad as the pie-eye optimism that Janine shows.

This, exactly. There is truth to the "if it's not broke, don't fix it" mantra. But at the same time, it goes directly against almost the entire history of human innovation, which is rarely about coming up with entirely new things and mostly about refining what already exists. The computer is an easy and obvious example: The computers in the 70s and 80s weren't broke, but there is a light-years difference between them and today's.

I was also glad Janine called Barbara out on the "I explain 'why' to kids and I don't want to explain 'why' to adults." Adults need training. One of the biggest problems in employment is the unwillingness of employers and managers to actually train hires. I appreciated Barbara admitting Janine was right. It's not helpful to just spout "if it's not broke, don't fix it" or "this won't work." It really doesn't work any differently with adults than it does with children: You need to explain shit. Nobody responds well to "It's this way because I say it's this way."

There is always that tension between older and younger people, where some of the older people's points are valid - they really have seen something tried before and know from experience it won't work - and some are not, it's that they're in a comfortable rut and not interested in innovating or trying anything new.

The perspectives of both Barbara-types and Janine-types are equally valuable: Barbara-types for their lived experience, and Janine-types because nothing would ever advance otherwise. Any good working group has both types, and any good working group continually strives to balance the two, to understand when the Barbara should carry the day and when the Janine should.

[Snapdragon]

1 hour ago, kathyk24 said:

The writers have made Janine pathetic. Where is all the character growth from last season?

I know, right?  It's as if that hair part meant nothing!

[BusyOctober]

Not to be the food police, but juice really isn’t great for kids on a daily basis.  Even the ones that are organic, all natural, have extra fiber or “hidden veggies”.  

Loved Ava and her secret bathroom suite.  “if you’re gonna ask if it has a bidet, you bet it bi-do!”
 

[ZuluQueenOfDwarves]

14 hours ago, Harvey said:

It's interesting that it's now a repeated occurence that the normal person has to accomodate the problematic person just to be able to do their job. Last week Gregory had to go the extra mile and come up with a whole character so the distruptive kid would pay attention in class, and now Melissa has to make the extra effort so the unprofessional teacher will actually do her job.

God forbid we ask people to behave themselves in a school.

Gregory teaching a small child self-regulation is literally his job though. The social-emotional aspect is by far and away the most important part of teaching, especially at that age. Ashley is a grown woman who should know how to act at a job. But I’ve also been a classroom aide for almost seven years—just outside Philly, as it happens—and I still haven’t broken $16/hour. So while I like to believe that I’m rather good at my job, by and large it doesn’t attract a ton of people who can afford to stay in the position for long, and the shortage is REAL. My coworkers who are assigned as 1:1 aides don’t even get benefits or paid time off. 
 

Barbara’s “That’s great, sweetheart,” to the little boy announcing that he’d pooped was awesome. Kids do share out everything going on with their bodies, and we do applaud them. 

Edited October 21, 2022 by ZuluQueenOfDwarves

[JeanJean]

33 minutes ago, ZuluQueenOfDwarves said:

Barbara’s “That’s great, sweetheart,” to the little boy announcing that he’d pooped was awesome. Kids do share out everything going on with their bodies, and we do applaud them. 

So do we old folks!!!!

[callie lee 29]

4 hours ago, DearEvette said:

Yeah, Ashley is a big 'No' for me. She smiles too much. And yeah she's a bad aide.

I really like that one cafeteria worker.  He cracks me up every time. He makes what little screen time he gets really count.

As much as I know the show wants to kinda revere Barbara and play up Janine's naivete, I think in this instance it would have been nice for Barbara to be shown to be in the wrong regarding the juice.  I have known a lot of long timers who are cynical and hate change or like their dyed-in-the-wool systems.  And at times, I have been the Barbara.   I have worked where I have a long time and have seen so many high-ups at my school come in and want to make their stamp and they start changing things up and i roll my eyes because of course what they are suggesting isn't new, someone else has tried it and it didn't work and we go back to what we always did when they inevitably cycle out.

But sometimes, something new does come along and is a real improvement and can make things just a little bit better and easier.  The knee-jerk adverse reaction to anything new can be just as bad as the pie-eye optimism that Janine shows.

I agree. I do it myself, but yeah if you're so closed of too change just because the current thing works, you miss good opportunities and innovation. Also it would have been a nice change of pace for Jeanine to be down to have some good, useful ideas. Truthfully I don't think the juice was the problem, or eat the crappy bathrooms. (But perhaps of Ava was better or even have some basic competency at her job she extorted the bathroom situation might be a bit better.)

Gregory, Jacob, and Melissa still continue to be fantastic.

[JakeyJokes]

11 hours ago, BusyOctober said:

Not to be the food police, but juice really isn’t great for kids on a daily basis.  Even the ones that are organic, all natural, have extra fiber or “hidden veggies”.  

Loved Ava and her secret bathroom suite.  “if you’re gonna ask if it has a bidet, you bet it bi-do!”
 

It was so quick, but they kind of dig at this with the math joke and how the juice is still only 15% juice. It was part of how childhood obesity became such a problem in the 90s — it was a heyday for Sunny D and Koolaid Koolbursts and our parents thought it had to be better for us than Mountain Dew. Which it was but not that much. 

Trust, once you get a bidet installed, you will never go back. My brother even wants one now and my mom is horrified.

[cinsays]

On 10/19/2022 at 9:28 PM, Crashcourse said:

Well, it was nice to see the cafeteria workers again.  

In the beginning, I thought Ava was kind of funny, but now I find her despicable.  I can't stand that teacher's aide either.

Janine is stupid.  

Finally someone agrees with me about Ava!  That she has the nerve to run she clothing business when she is supposed to be doing whatever principals do just infuriates me.

I would be sending letters (anonymously, of course) to the school board to get her removed and if that didn't work, I would go to the local media.

The teacher's aide was awful too. 

How would a real teacher handle being saddled with someone like her?  

I appreciate that we are getting to see the problems schools have to deal with, but I am not really enjoying the show because of Ava. 

I love Janine and the rest of the cast.

On 10/19/2022 at 9:30 PM, JeanJean said:

The teacher's aide is kind of like Janine cranked up from 10 to 20, I think. I hope they don't cancel each other out.

How so? 

[Ms Lark]

1 hour ago, cinsays said:

On 10/19/2022 at 9:28 PM, Crashcourse said:

Well, it was nice to see the cafeteria workers again.  

In the beginning, I thought Ava was kind of funny, but now I find her despicable.  I can't stand that teacher's aide either.

Janine is stupid.  

Finally someone agrees with me about Ava!  That she has the nerve to run she clothing business when she is supposed to be doing whatever principals do just infuriates me.

I would be sending letters (anonymously, of course) to the school board to get her removed and if that didn't work, I would go to the local media.

The teacher's aide was awful too. 

How would a real teacher handle being saddled with someone like her?  

I appreciate that we are getting to see the problems schools have to deal with, but I am not really enjoying the show because of Ava. 

Oh, I agree with you both about Ava. I get that people find her funny and she has her fans, BUT! I don't know about other places, but we frequently have appalling news about people high up on the public education ladder (and other gov't service orgs) who have been grifting and embezzling for years. This takes the funds away from the children and the teachers and school programs that really need it. Ava is one of these folks and while it's sad to hear about these things happening, at least they've gotten caught. She's also blackmailing the guy who was in charge of hiring her, so that's why she's still there. Bugs the hell out of me!

[mansonlamps]

The actress playing Ashley played essentially the same person in Curb Your Enthusiasm and I wasn't crazy about her there either,  but at least that show is all about over the top, cringey characters and humor.  She seems too unrealistic for this show. 

[MicheleinPhilly]

I hope Ashley takes a back seat in future episodes and just pops up now and again like Mr. Johnson. I could feel Melissa's frustration with her through my screen and unlike with Ava, I don't find Ashley funny. She just grates on my last damn nerve. 

Agree with those who are hoping that Janine starts to actually incorporate some of the lessons she has learned from Barbara and Melissa. She is starting to remind me of some people that I work with when I show them how to do something or find a certain piece of information. Rather than retaining that information and using it next time, they just continue coming to me. I'd only be willing to give her an hour a month too if I thought she would just disregard my advice anyway.

I howled though when Barbara and Melissa told her that the cafeteria workers don't want teachers at their meetings and Janine asked if "all are welcome" was just a formality. Oh, Janine. 

I also screamed when someone typed "Who is that white woman?" when Melissa appeared in Ava's auction. Is Ava involved in an MLM? I thought she was just selling her old clothes but Melissa called it a ponzi scheme. I couldn't see Ava messing with LuLaRoe or any of that stuff. 

[Aileen]

I loved that Jacob was just randomly drinking out of a coconut in the break room. 

[JeanJean]

2 hours ago, cinsays said:

How so? 

The unbridled enthusiasm factor. Janine's, at least, seems to be more grounded.

[Bookish Jen]

When Janine introduced the new juice, I thought it was going to make the kids sick, coming out from both ends. Thank goodness it wasn't that. 

Yes, Janine is being pathetic. I'm wondering if it has to do with breaking up with Tariq. Sometimes break ups make you act really stupid. 

Of course, Melissa has a baseball bat taped underneath her desk.

I want to slap Ashley into next week. She reminds me of every awful co-worker I've had that management totally coddled.

Why am I not surprised Ava has a fancy bathroom complete with a bidet?

Edited October 21, 2022 by Bookish Jen

[Crashcourse]

Since when did Janine become an expert on nutrition?  Shouldn't the cafeteria workers have been consulted before giving the kids the juice?

[P2C2E]

Right now I'm just putting my faith in Quinta that Janine's storyline is leading to something. That this is building to a climax, good or bad, that will give us great character development. Because I don't love it right now, but the payoff may make this necessary.

[Bookish Jen]

11 minutes ago, P2C2E said:

Right now I'm just putting my faith in Quinta that Janine's storyline is leading to something. That this is building to a climax, good or bad, that will give us great character development. Because I don't love it right now, but the payoff may make this necessary.

I agree. Janine may be going off the rails, but I trust Quinta and the rest of the writing staff to give Janine some growth.

[cinsays]

3 hours ago, JeanJean said:

The unbridled enthusiasm factor. Janine's, at least, seems to be more grounded.

oh, ok

but i didn't interpret Ashley's antics as enthusiasm but  more as just pointless disruption

Edited October 21, 2022 by cinsays