I know I am late to the party, but I finally watched “Abbott Elementary.” Do police officers like watching “Law & Order?” Do doctors like watching “Grey’s Anatomy?” Part of television watching for me is escapism. Although “Abbott Elementary” is a mockumentary, and has a similar vibe to “The Office,” I was not sure if I wanted to watch it. Although I loved “The Office,” I have never watched the entire series because I did not want my escapism to be into situations that reminded me of real life.

All my friends, including my fellow Indy K12 writers Andrew Pillow and David McGuire, encouraged me to watch it. This month, I finally did with my entire family. We binged watched the available episodes for season one over a few days. It was enjoyable for our entire family. 

No matter who you are, most of us have experienced going to school. The majority of the people who attended school went to a public school. This show gave us a common setting that we all had experience with and this allowed us to jump into conversations we never had before.

In one episode, the ceiling was leaking. My sons mentioned how this occurred at their school and that led to a conversation about why this is so common in some schools. There was another episode about gardening and getting healthy food into the cafeteria. When I was a literacy coach, I was able to get a learning garden at the school I worked at. My boys helped me work in the learning garden during the summer. That brought back to remembrance how school lunch regulations interferes with a school’s ability to incorporate food from a school garden into a cafeteria and the conversations we had previously had about it.

Then my husband and sons got to make fun of me during an episode where a male teacher was being so strict that his kids wouldn’t even dance at the school assembly. My sons and husband have been to school events I have helped facilitate, and they said they remember how kids wouldn’t let loose until I gave the nod to do so. I’m glad they all got a good laugh out of that.

“Abbott Elementary” made us laugh. The conversations around schools can become extremely heavy. It was nice to just have a good laugh and not be so serious all the time when talking about school

Most importantly, “Abbott Elementary” shows how each of the main teachers care about the students despite not having everything they need to be successful in a public school.

I know some people do not like the principal because she flips every situation to be about her, but it is a mockumentary. It is supposed to be funny.

I must add that Tyler James Williams, who many of us know from “Everybody Hates Chris,” still has it when it comes to giving a deadpan face to the camera.

If you haven’t checked this out, grab your family, your family’s favorite snack, and tune in!