S04.E02: Ringworm

[txhorns79]

Quote

When it's revealed that a student in Jacob's class has ringworm, the faculty must band together to stop it from spreading through the entire school.

 

[Annber03]

I need more group dance scenes XD. That was so fun, I loved that. 

The whole ringworm thing. Man, I can only imagine the memories/flashbacks this epsiode brought up for anyone who works in a school, be it during the pandemic or during any seasonal flu/cold/chicken pox outbreaks or things of that sort. I wonder how common a problem ringworm is in schools. I can't ever recall knowing anyone who's had that. 

It was interesting to see how everyone handled that, from Gregory being super germaphobic (his "The hell you will!" response to Jacob cracked me up, he was so deadly serious) to Jacob fumbling through it all to Ava just going into full on crackdown mode. I liked how Jacob's student tried to get his way using what he'd learned about the Constitution (also, Jacob talking about Draco and the one kid being like, "Do you mean the wizard or the rapper?" XD). 

Figured Barbara would get ringworm the moment she started in with her "I am protected by God" thing :p. LOL at how Melissa's whole running thing with her hot tub date ended, too. 

Janine adjusting to seeing this side of Gregory (or a more extreme version of it, anyway) was interesting, too. I am glad that they were able to sort everything out and still have their movie date, though. Even if they did get ringworm as well :p. 

[JeanJean]

I loved this episode.

One of my favorites.

[Boofish]

Them - How many times did you watch that dance sequence?

Me - YES!

[txhorns79]

5 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

I need more group dance scenes XD. That was so fun, I loved that. 

I thought that was the best part of the episode.  The rest was kind of meh.  I totally get the freak out over ringworm at the school, but everything felt very paint by numbers.  There were no real surprises or twists in what was a fairly mundane episode.

[buttersister]

Could these people be any more charming? 🤗

[Blakeston]

The highlight had to be Mr. Johnson referring to Jacob as Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

[Annber03]

4 minutes ago, Blakeston said:

The highlight had to be Mr. Johnson referring to Jacob as Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

On a similar note, I also loved how they brought back Barbara's thing of mixing up famous people :p. 

[BAForever]

Love reading comments on here. Jokes happen so fast, I forget them. The RFK Jr. joke was a hoot, and the Draco. Can totally see Gregory as a germophobe. Barbara mixing celebs names was awesome too. 

Long time public school PreK teacher- we see more colds, strep, stomach viruses and flu.  Never had a student (so far) with ringworm.

[bosawks]

I've worked in congregant care my entire adult life in one form or another and when we get a ringworm case there is a definitive breakdown between the "newbies", who I honestly believe think it is caused by worms, and the "lifers" who sigh and bitch about having to buy some Lotrimin on the way home....

Edited October 17 by bosawks

[AD35]

"Try Jesus, don't try me".  LOL

[Ms Lark]

Anyone else feel especially itchy throughout the whole episode?

[Mountainair]

I could so relate to this episode. I’ve worked in a K-12 school for three years now in Kindergarten and my first two years I stayed sick all the time. Got every illness known to man it felt like. If another teacher was in the work room and said a kid in their classroom had lice, ringworm, covid, etc I’d avoid them at all costs. We had fall break the last week of September and Covid was going around. Thought for sure I’d spend the break with it but I didn’t. Parents a lot of the times treat school like daycare and send kids in even when they aren’t supposed to and we send them home, for example 24 hours fever free is a big one. 
Unfortunately we’ve been out of school for almost a month now due to Hurricane Helene. Hoping to go back by the end of the month but there is no water (another thing brought up in this episode) and you can’t have school with no water. 
The schools are looking at bringing in porta potties and having parent volunteers on “fire watch” because the sprinkler system can’t operate. 

[Crashcourse]

Things I liked:

- The dancing at the beginning.

- The kid who self-isolated and played with his game.

- Seeing Tariq and the parents at the PTA meeting again.

The rest was meh, and the main characters are the same ol' same ol'.

[jah1986]

How does Gregory live in Philadelphia and not know there is a line dance to Wild Wild West? I just did it a couple weeks ago at a party. I like that Janine and Gregory are starting to see some defects in the armor but it's not the focus. Loved that Ava and Janine were on the same page about how to handle ringworm. Mr. Johnson sleeping while standing up was hilarious.

Edited October 17 by jah1986
editing for language

[tennisgurl]

I love that apparently every large gathering in West Philly inevitably ends in a dance line to a Will Smith song. Also, the return of Barbara mixing up famous people! You know, Jada's husband!

I've never seen a ringworm outbreak but it looks nasty, even by the standards of illnesses that kids spread. I'm with Gregory, fungi are super freaky, its like they want to grow inside of you! I am still itchy rom this episode and I may never recover. 

"I thought you people didn't snitch!"

"Then why are my uncles all in prison?!"

Edited October 17 by tennisgurl

[Featherhat]

Ok, that was one of the best cold opens. I feel like Men in Black also has a line dance to it? Loved Tariq's "what always inevitably happens in  West Philly school gyms" and the return of Barbara's celebrity mix up. 

I'm still itchy from the thought of ringworm. Gah, I've never had it but I've had other fungal infections and yeah not fun. I'm surprised Ava didn't flee the school like she did with the fire, progress? 

Of course Barbara was going to get it and she apparently deliberately infected her bitchy church choir? Or had she had it for a few days before it presented symptoms? 

I enjoyed Melissa and her hot tub in the ground that was against HOA regulations. 

I'm glad Janine and Gregory worked their stuff out, it felt pretty in character. I also enjoyed the line about getting Charlie the white kid to use beige pencils as they hadn't been used before. 

All in all a fairly standard episode but enjoyable. 

 

[Night Cheese]

I definitely did the Wild Wild West line dance at middle school dances back when the movie came out. The Will Smith effect in (and around) Philly is real.

I didn't realize ringworm was that pervasive. I remember there being outbreaks on the wrestling team in middle school and high school, but nothing like this episode. I feel bad for educators everywhere if that's really a thing. 

Barbara was great as always. I loved that she had unflinching faith that God has made her immune, and then was completely unphased and undeterrred when she got it too. 

The hot tub resolution was wild and hilarious. 

[Crashcourse]

9 hours ago, BAForever said:

Jokes happen so fast, I forget them.

Talking too fast has always been annoying to the extent that, sometimes, I don't even get what they're saying.  I realize this is only a half hour show, but sometimes they just jam too much into it.

[ridethemaverick]

One of my favorite episodes of this show ever. I laughed out loud so many times. 

Melissa especially tickled me with her frustration over people not understanding that damn hot tub was IN THE GROUND.

Jacob's student was such a standout to me, especially him refusing to trash talk Morton THIS time because of the pressure on his bladder and then infuriatingly forgetting to go to the bathroom after all of it. So authentically middle school kid you wanna pinch lol

 

[peeayebee]

17 hours ago, Annber03 said:

On a similar note, I also loved how they brought back Barbara's thing of mixing up famous people :p. 

Yes. That whole discussion about movies and the actors was great. Combine that with Tariq and the line dance, and the cold open was my favorite part of the ep.

I also enjoyed Ava and Janine being on the same page when Jacob first brought up the ringworm.

My favorite line was from the student: "I'm not trash-talking Morton with you right now."

The rest? Not a fan. Maybe it's just that the subject kinda grosses me out. I don't think I've ever had experience with ringworm. I volunteered at a preschool, and lice was definitely something that came up regularly. Then once my son returned from summer camp with scabies. Which I got.

I just didn't enjoy most of this. Maybe it's my mood. Maybe I need to drink more.

Edited October 17 by peeayebee

[Boofish]

Not sure why but ringworm went around quite a bit at predominantly black schools when I was growing up. Not sure if it still happens but at least 3 or 4 kids per class had ringworm. Especially during hotter months.

And whoever wrote the joke about Jacob washing his legs deserve the Emmy and a Golden Globe.

[emma675]

I'm still laughing 24 hours later over Melissa's focused intensity of her date and his in-ground hot tub.

[Annber03]

33 minutes ago, emma675 said:

I'm still laughing 24 hours later over Melissa's focused intensity of her date and his in-ground hot tub.

I loved Jacob's utter confusion as to why that was supposed to be a big deal. 

[Galileo908]

Damn, was this one great. I really went aww at Gregory taking off his gloves to be with Janine at the end of the day, and end up with matching ringworm rings. Maybe they shouldn't have watched Dune, too many worms. It made perfect sense for Gregory to be a germaphobe.

"Kids, if you wanna do crime, now's the time. Happy Purge Day, y'all!"

"I'm a known liar! (scoffs)"

"I think God wants me to leave early, too."

Man, Ava was just on fire tonight. Loved Mr. Johnson eating "something from somewhere" if it wasn't from her secret bunker.

2 hours ago, emma675 said:

I'm still laughing 24 hours later over Melissa's focused intensity of her date and his in-ground hot tub.

"ABOVE THE KNEE!" 

6 hours ago, Night Cheese said:

Barbara was great as always. I loved that she had unflinching faith that God has made her immune, and then was completely unphased and undeterrred when she got it too. 

God was testing her, and now God is testing her church choir. If that ain't the sweetest revenge, what is?

6 hours ago, Featherhat said:

Ok, that was one of the best cold opens. I feel like Men in Black also has a line dance to it? Loved Tariq's "what always inevitably happens in  West Philly school gyms" and the return of Barbara's celebrity mix up. 

This is how I learn that the Wild Wild West song had a dance. I think it's another thing I realize I'm too white for.

[Annber03]

46 minutes ago, Galileo908 said:

"Kids, if you wanna do crime, now's the time. Happy Purge Day, y'all!"

I loved that line, too XD. 

Quote

This is how I learn that the Wild Wild West song had a dance. I think it's another thing I realize I'm too white for.

I didn't know that, either. I know there was a whole dance bit in the video for the song when it came out, but I thought it was just for that video, I didn't realize there was a whole thing with it. 

(I actually like that song :p.)

[ribboninthesky1]

13 hours ago, AD35 said:

"Try Jesus, don't try me".  LOL

The phrase is ubiquitous now, but every time I hear or see it, I think of this song. 

Another notable quote from the note: "I'm not the 1 or the 2, so please send my child home at 3." 😄

I loved the group dance - Gregory and Tariq were smooth with the moves!

 

  

[Empress1]

On 10/17/2024 at 12:40 AM, Boofish said:

Them - How many times did you watch that dance sequence?

Me - YES!

[Raises hand] That was so much fun! And I see you, Gregory/Tyler, droppin’ it like it’s hot!

”Ava, you promised you’d stop listening in on our classrooms.” “I’m a known liar!” HA!

Mr. Johnson’s physical comedy when he was blocking the stairs had me rolling. so did Barbara’s prim walk out of the building because the Lord wanted her to leave. This was a really funny episode.

[Night Cheese]

11 hours ago, ribboninthesky1 said:

"I'm not the 1 or the 2, so please send my child home at 3."

Is this a riddle?!

🤣

[DearEvette]

12 hours ago, ribboninthesky1 said:

The phrase is ubiquitous now, but every time I hear or see it, I think of this song. 

Another notable quote from the note: "I'm not the 1 or the 2, so please send my child home at 3." 😄

I loved the group dance - Gregory and Tariq were smooth with the moves!

 

  

That entire letter was fire!

Great episode.

[Ilovepie]

I guess I'm in the minority but other than the dance scene (which was awesome!) I did not like this one. I could understand the freaking out if it was lice which can move very easily from one person to another, but ringworm? cover it up and don't touch it and it's not that big of a deal? I had it once as a kid and nobody was that wiggy. We put ointment on it and a band aid. 

And I question the legality of segregating kids and blocking the entire top floor. Also not allowing kids to use the bathroom? I just found the whole thing dumb and unfunny.

[DearEvette]

It was obviously heightened for comedy. But my understanding is ringworm is very contagious.  You don't need skin-to-skin contact, it can linger on objects. So if a kid was scratching and then touched a desk or an object of clothing or a pencil or like this kid, his video game then it can spread really quickly.

 

[Joimiaroxeu]

Sounds like Abbott's PTA is getting kickbacks on the school uniform purchases from the one specific store.

Jegory is Janine and Greg's couple name. Meh, I'm not feeling it.

"Mad cow, sad cow, red cow, blue cow."

So does exposure to ringworm temporarily affect your brain? Seemed like most of the adults who caught it went a little whacky.

Ava had already suggested separating the infected kids into their own isolated area. Interesting how no one really acted upon the idea until Janine said it.

Melissa probably dodged a bigger bullet than ringworm when her hot tub date's rules violations finally caught up with him.

Ava is trying to get all the worm-related illnesses it seems. Well, maybe not what RFK Jr. got. Eek.

[Snapdragon]

I found this episode pretty ridiculous.  I had ringworm as an adult and it wasn't a big deal at all.  I went to the doctor and was super annoyed because apparently you just treat it with an over the counter cream, so I was out like, $100 for a visit that could have just been a $10 trip to the drugstore. 

In real life, what the school would probably do is have the infected child spend the rest of the day in the nurse's office doing his classwork.  Same as if a kid gets sick and the parents can't pick them up from school.  They just hang out in the nurse's office until they can go home.  You would probably send an email out to all the parents in that class letting them know to watch out for it, tell the kids not to share supplies for the time being and wipe everything down.  It certainly wouldn't be this insane panic they were showing in the episode.  

And I feel like the Wild Wild West dance might be a regional thing because I was that song came out right before my senior year of high school and I don't recall anyone doing a dance to it ever (nor really liking the song, actually).

[Seelouis]

6 minutes ago, Snapdragon said:

I found this episode pretty ridiculous.  I had ringworm as an adult and it wasn't a big deal at all.  I went to the doctor and was super annoyed because apparently you just treat it with an over the counter cream, so I was out like, $100 for a visit that could have just been a $10 trip to the drugstore. 

In real life, what the school would probably do is have the infected child spend the rest of the day in the nurse's office doing his classwork.  Same as if a kid gets sick and the parents can't pick them up from school.  They just hang out in the nurse's office until they can go home.  You would probably send an email out to all the parents in that class letting them know to watch out for it, tell the kids not to share supplies for the time being and wipe everything down.  It certainly wouldn't be this insane panic they were showing in the episode.  

And I feel like the Wild Wild West dance might be a regional thing because I was that song came out right before my senior year of high school and I don't recall anyone doing a dance to it ever (nor really liking the song, actually).

I think they said the nurse wasn’t there and that week. It’s pretty common for school nurses to rotate among several public schools. 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 10/17/2024 at 6:19 AM, BAForever said:

Long time public school PreK teacher- we see more colds, strep, stomach viruses and flu.  Never had a student (so far) with ringworm.

Lice! To me, lice is the situation that keeps spreading and is very difficult to get rid of. Years ago, my school had a zero tolerance policy. You couldn't come back to school until the nurse checked you and found no nits. No parent wanted that, but they also didn't want the lice spreading to the home. The clean up is so monumental!

On 10/17/2024 at 6:06 PM, peeayebee said:

I volunteered at a preschool, and lice was definitely something that came up regularly.

Yes!

On 10/17/2024 at 7:37 PM, Annber03 said:

I loved Jacob's utter confusion as to why that was supposed to be a big deal. 

And then she called him a virgin!

 

[Snapdragon]

18 minutes ago, Seelouis said:

I think they said the nurse wasn’t there and that week. It’s pretty common for school nurses to rotate among several public schools. 

Yes, which is why I said they'd have the kid sit in the nurse's office.  Whether the nurse is there or not, they have a little cot bed for sick kids.  So if a kid was sick or had anything infectious, they'd have them sit in there and the front desk staff would just peek their head in every once in awhile to check on them until their parents came and got them.  Or they'd isolate him in a spare room (conference room, etc) until he was picked up.  Either way, the situation they showed in this episode would never happen.  

[Ilovepie]

40 minutes ago, Snapdragon said:

Yes, which is why I said they'd have the kid sit in the nurse's office.  Whether the nurse is there or not, they have a little cot bed for sick kids.  So if a kid was sick or had anything infectious, they'd have them sit in there and the front desk staff would just peek their head in every once in awhile to check on them until their parents came and got them.  Or they'd isolate him in a spare room (conference room, etc) until he was picked up.  Either way, the situation they showed in this episode would never happen.  

Thank you! I thought it was absolutely stupid too!

[qtpye]

On 10/17/2024 at 12:40 AM, Boofish said:

Them - How many times did you watch that dance sequence?

Me - YES!

Maybe, It's because my Dad went to school in Philli.

I couldn't forgive that dance sequence for NOT being Men In Black.

That's just my jam.

(I am just going to be that stupid ornery person at the Happy Dance Table)

 

On 10/17/2024 at 1:00 AM, Annber03 said:

On a similar note, I also loved how they brought back Barbara's thing of mixing up famous people :p. 

Not gonna lie.

My 39 year old behind has been doing more of that lately.

[MicheleinPhilly]

On 10/21/2024 at 2:20 PM, ItCouldBeWorse said:

Lice! To me, lice is the situation that keeps spreading and is very difficult to get rid of. Years ago, my school had a zero tolerance policy. You couldn't come back to school until the nurse checked you and found no nits. No parent wanted that, but they also didn't want the lice spreading to the home. The clean up is so monumental!

I was a lice MAGNET in school. So much so that my mother scheduled a meeting with the nuns to find out just what the heck I was doing in school all day to always be coming home with cooties. 

I thought this entire episode was amazing. From the PTA meeting and realizing that all of the Abbott teachers have horrible taste in Will Smith movies to Ava talking about getting a tapeworm from a seafood restaurant next to a gas station. 

[mojito]

It was funny to see an episode about ringworms. Back before the earth cooled, the kid across the street from me had ringworms. I'd never heard of it before. All I remember is that the kid's head was shaved and he wore a hat. My mother told us to stay away from him.

Believe it or not, until this episode, the subject of ringworms never again came up in my life. It is sixty-two years later.

[SoMuchTV]

18 hours ago, mojito said:

It was funny to see an episode about ringworms. Back before the earth cooled, the kid across the street from me had ringworms. I'd never heard of it before. All I remember is that the kid's head was shaved and he wore a hat. My mother told us to stay away from him.

Believe it or not, until this episode, the subject of ringworms never again came up in my life. It is sixty-two years later.

"Ringworm" is a contagious fungal infection caused by common mold-like parasites that live on the cells in the outer layer of your skin. (Thanks Google and the Mayo Clinic site.) No actual worms involved. 🎶The more you know...🎶