The Simpsons takes on education

Prior to Sunday, I hadn’t watched a new episode of The Simpsons in about a decade. Not only did I get my fill as a kid (the show started when I was 10 years old!), but I had other things to do and other shows to watch. So when I hopped on the treadmill at the gym a few nights ago and saw the wall-mounted TV playing the show’s familiar introduction with Homer and the gang, I wasn’t terribly excited. That changed very quickly.

I don’t want to give too much away, so I’ll just say that the episode (“Bart Gets a Z”) is focused on an event (and its aftermath) that occurs in Bart’s classroom. The show’s underlying political/social commentary is spot-on, including jabs at new teachers, veteran teachers, education reform, technology in the classroom, the debate over core knowledge v. critical thinking skills, and more. I was laughing out loud, even though I had to read all the dialogue on closed captioning. Anyone who has spent time in a public school as a student, teacher, or parent will appreciate this, so if you have 22 minutes to spare, visit Fox’s The Simpsons site and watch the episode!