| Episode |
"New Tech" is the fourth episode of the first season of Abbott Elementary. It was directed by Randall Einhorn and written by Brian Rubenstein. The episode first aired on ABC on January 18, 2022, with 3.02 million viewers in the United States.
Description[]
When a new computer program is introduced at Abbott, Janine is excited to finally help Barbara out with something. However, Barbara is reluctant to accept change and finds herself in a tricky situation when she decides to lie about her students’ results rather than admit defeat. Elsewhere, Melissa surprises Jacob when she offers up a friend to assist with his lesson on unions, but she ends up teaching Jacob an important lesson herself.
Plot[]
Janine teaches her class some sight words (which are words kids can recognize without sounding out) using Philadelphia slang. Barbara hears this and investigates. Janine explains that sight words are a useful teaching tool for reading. Barbara disapprovingly comments that Janine is abandoning the phonics principle that students need and she leaves.
The tech teacher tries to help Melissa and Barbara with the new software.
As mandated by the school district, Ava gathers all the teachers up to 5th grade to introduce a new technology which will help students learn how to read. Janine expresses her excitement over the new software, but Barbara comments that she prefers the tried-and-true method over the latest “doohickey” and that no program can do what she does. She adds that she does not need some young, pimple-faced kid telling her how to teach. She is surprised when the tech teacher who comes in is close to her age. The tech teacher explains that the software will help teach students to read and that it will deliver data on their progress at the end of each day. He then distributes new tablets to each teacher to help them with the software. Training for the new software starts and Melissa has trouble navigating through the program. The tech teacher helps her and gives instructions using techy jargon that both Barbara and Melissa have trouble understanding. Janine sees this and asks how Barbara is doing. Barbara lies and says it is going well, although she gets locked out of her account.
In Barbara’s classroom, Barbara is having trouble working her. Janine overeagerly offers her help, but Barbara refuses the help, and once again lies saying that she’s “Miss Tech” and that she loves tech. She then dismisses Janine saying she’s disturbing her students’ nap. Shortly thereafter, Barbara tries to use the program during her class, but she could not figure out what to do. Instead of using the program, she opts to continue teaching her students the way she always has and plans to simply input whatever information is needed into the program afterwards.
Meanwhile, Melissa walks by Jacob’s class and hears his lesson on unions. She gives a look of disappointment and waits for his class to end. After Jacob’s class, she tells him that his lesson was garbage. He disagrees, stating that he read a lot of books and listened to a lot of podcasts regarding the subject. She tells him that his lesson was not factual and that she knows because her family lived it. She then offers to hook Jacob up with a captain back in the day so that he could come to Jacob’s class and give an eyewitness account for the students. Jacob is excited but misunderstands, thinking Melissa is inviting a police captain to his class when in fact, she will be bringing in a strike captain who just recently got out of jail.
Barbara teaches Will how to read Jack and Jill.
The following day, Ava announces to the whole school that according to their new reading program, Barbara’s kindergarten class has been doing so well in their reading that they are now able to read at a fourth-grade level. Everybody praises and congratulates Barbara, but she tries to downplay her “success” knowing that she doctored the results of her student’s reading progress. Janine goes to Barbara to apologize for assuming that she needed help when she was actually doing so well with the program. Ava arrives shortly after to congratulate Barbara for her success with the reading program. Janine then suggests that since some the other teachers were having a hard time with the program, Barbara should do a small presentation for those who need help with it. Ava takes this suggestion and says that they should have an assembly instead and have one of Barbara’s kids read to the whole school, choosing Will who is not really a proficient reader. After class, Barbara stays with Will and helps him read the book of fables he will be reading during the assembly. She is optimistic that he will have the book memorized just in time.
Meanwhile, Gregory is having trouble introducing the reading program to his students, having expected that he would just be letting his students watch movies since he was just substituting. He just started teaching his students his name. After his class, Janine catches up to him and asks him about his progress in using the reading program. He tells her that he finds the program confusing to use and suggests that they get together to figure it out. Janine is happy with the suggestion but remembers that her boyfriend was going to pick her up after school so they can buy a new bed and invites him to come with them. Gregory awkwardly declines her offer.
In Jacob’s classroom, Melissa brings out Vinny “the Tire Iron” Romano who then gives his account of the union strikes he has been a part of. Melissa listens eagerly, but Jacob pulls her to the side having realized that Melissa did not bring a police captain, but a strike captain instead. Melissa expresses her disappointment towards Jacob’s romanticizing of the city and refusal to see its true history, adding that one cannot teach students what is right if one cannot respect where they are from.
Will tries to read Ava's Michelle Obama book.
During the assembly, Barbara hurriedly takes Will to the stage before he can forget the words he was going to “read.” As Barbara introduces the boy to the audience and what he would be reading, Ava switches his book with her copy of Michelle Obama’s book, adding that a kindergartener with fourth-grade level reading skills will have no trouble reading it. As Will tries to read from an upside-down book, Barbara sees that he is having trouble and stops him. She comes clean with what she did, and Janine is disappointed. After the assembly, Janine goes up to her and asks why she wouldn’t let her help when she was clearly having trouble with the program. Barbara answers that admitting that she could not figure the program out would mean that she was too old for her job. Janine then offers that they figure it out together and Barbara accepts.
Meanwhile, Jacob goes to Melissa and apologizes for being a condescending jerk. Melissa tells him that he doesn’t need to sanitize the city’s image because it is who they are-the good the bad and the ugly.
The teachers work together to understand the new software.
The following day, the teachers get together to work out the program and are finally getting an understanding of it. Just then, Ava interrupts and tells them that the said program is actually illegal, having been invented by the Pennsylvania Penal System to collect data for prisons. She takes their tablets away and shuts down the initiative.
Janine thinks of an alternative reading program and shows it to Barbara. As they explore it, Will reads from Michelle Obama’s book, which shocks both teachers. The three dance to celebrate Will’s accomplishment.
Starring[]
- Quinta Brunson as Janine Teagues
- Tyler James Williams as Gregory Eddie
- Janelle James as Ava Coleman
- Lisa Ann Walter as Melissa Schemmenti
- Chris Perfetti as Jacob Hill
- Sheryl Lee Ralph as Barbara Howard
Guest Starring[]
- William Stanford Davis as Mr. Johnson
- Alex Morris as Wallace
- Brian Scolaro as Vinny
Co-Starring[]
- Mylen Bradford as Jacob's Student
- Camden Brooks as Barbara's Student
- Peyton Goodrum as Janine's Student/Stuck Student
- Levi Mynatt as Will
Ratings[]
"New Tech" was watched by 3.02 million viewers, earning a 0.58 in the 18-49 rating demographics on the Nielson ratings scale.[1]
Media[]
Episode stills[]
References[]
- ↑ Metcalf, Mitch (January 18, 2022). SHOWBUZZDAILY’s Tuesday 1.18.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals UPDATED. Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved on July 14, 2022.