"Educator of the Year" is the twentieth episode of the second season of Abbott Elementary.
As Gregory is suddenly offered an award that he feels he doesn't deserve, Melissa is annoyed to discover that she's supposed to present him with the award despite barely knowing him, while Janine deals with a difficult student and Barbara learns that she needs to complete her teaching requirements.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Brutal Honesty: Gregory gives Melissa a hard time during their speech preparation as he gives humble but overly detailed answers about his teaching methods.
- The Bus Came Back: Ashley Ramirez returns since her disappearance after the Candy Zombie Outbreak. It's implied that she was repeatedly fired before landing one school that made her "Teacher Aide of the Year".
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Ava accidentally gives Barbara her cease-and-desist letter as she's earned the disapproval of "Coleman's Camping Supplies" for selling camping supplies under a similar name. You can tell how bothered she is by it
- Cold Open: The episode begins with Melissa being in a bad mood because her tire got busted along with having to deal with Jacob's convoluted group chat. Later, Ava appears alongside the Chief Education Officer, Elizabeth Washington, to grant Gregory the title of Teacher of the Year.
- Condescending Compassion: The nominating committee keep emphasizing the diversity of everyone involved in the ceremony. Even Jacob finds it absurdly performative.
- Everyone Has Standards:
- Ava is creeped out after the Chief Education Officer asks that everyone applaud the wonderful black man (Gregory).
- Even Jacob finds the committee's efforts to highlight diversity to be patronizing and performative.
- Fandom Rivalry: In-Universe. Greg admits that he's a Ravens fan which earns him booes from the Abbott audience. Mr. Johnson even tells him to go to hell over it.
- Funny Afro: While testing out her online class, Barbara finds a photo of Mr. Johnson with an over-sized afro.
- The Generation Gap: Discussed. One of the remaining courses Barbara needs to complete is a course on how to talk with people from younger generations.
- Hard Truth Aesop: As Melissa explains to Gregory, you can't choose when people should acknowledge your accomplishments and you just have to accept them whenever they come.
- Heroic BSoD: Janine is profoundly disheartened when a parent calls her the worst teacher she's ever seen.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: Gregory feels that he doesn't deserve the award because of how he hasn't completed all his education goals with his students mixed with how his senpais and coworkers have accomplished much more or suffered more than he has respectively.
- Kick the Dog:
- After her boss warns Barbara that failure to complete the remaining course can cost her her teaching license, Ava suggests that she should develop the same "Teacher of the Year" energy as newbie Gregory.
- Cassandra tears apart Janine for "complaining" about her son's behavior claiming that she's terrible as a teacher if she can't keep him under control. She also blames her for forcing her to leave work early when earlier she said it wasn't a big deal.
- Layman's Terms: Elizabeth Washington explains that the reason they want Melissa to present the award to Gregory is to "create a diverse, kaleidoscopic POV to bridge the gap between culture and education". Ava breaks it down to how they need a white woman to give the award to a black man to improve the former's overall image.
- No Ending: There is no actual resolution towards Deshaun's misbehavior or how Janine will deal with him without his mother's help.
- No. Just... No: Barbara closes her computer after seeing her new class is being led by Mr. Johnson and Ashley.
- Remember the New Guy?: The episode introduces us to Deshaun, Janine's most difficult student who's given her trouble throughout the new year. This is the first time the audience has dealt with him.
- Seen It All: Barbara confides in her kohai that she too was called a bad teacher countless times.
- Shout-Out: Ms. Teagues comments that Juneau, the capitol of Alaska, reminds her of another funny movie.
- Sickeningly Sweet: Annoyed over the blooming relationship between Greg and Janine, Ava and Melissa take a moment to mock them using silly voices.
- The Stinger: Jacob finishes logging Barbara into her new Intergenerational Language class. But she comes to regret it when she sees Mr. Johnson as the main instructor who's being guided by Ashley.
- Stunned Silence: The auditorium is filled with cheer and clapping after Mr. Eddie offers his award on behalf of all the teachers at Abbott. But then the clapping comes to a stop when Ms. Washington openly calls him a wonderful black man in front of everyone.
- The Unreveal: Compared to the other cases, it's never explained why Deshaun has started to misbehave and disrupt Janine's class.
- Worst. Whatever. Ever!: Cassandra, Deshaun's mom, unashamedly calls Janine the worst teacher ever for her inability to control her son.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are:
- As Gregory waffles on whether or not to accept the award because he doesn't feel he can be called Teacher of the Year when he's not even worked a full year, Melissa advises him to think of it as a "Most Improved" award, saying that while he may not actually be the best teacher, he's come a long way from where he started.
- With Janine convinced that she's failed one of her students, Barbara tells her that it's not possible to fail a student as long as you keep trying.
