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 Season One: Race to the Top
Our hero John Dewey faces a day to remember in this ambitious spin-off, which highlights a harrowing day in the life of a high school social studies teacher. Episode One: High Low Hold It John Dewey’s apartment. A large stack of papers and a bottle of whiskey on the kitchen table. A note on the calendar says, “October 21st, Visitation Day, pick up kids from school.” John emerges from his bedroom cursing about his old fashioned alarm clock (which says 7:30) not ringing. Throws it against the wall. He puts on a pair of pants and is out the door with his papers but without breakfast. Joy abounds at school in the teachers’ lounge as the PTA has brought doughnuts and coffee for the staff. Dewey grabs his doughnut and coffee and heads to the copy room. The machine is broken. Ms. Garcia a young, sharply dressed woman is screaming at Mr. Brimwell an older, balding male for jamming the copier right before school. Cut to the clock; it is 7:45. Brimwell is buried in the machine and says, “There’s nothing we can do. The overhead sheet is melted.” Dewey reaches in the staff refrigerator and grabs a bag of frozen peas and the dishtowel off of the door handle. He pushes Brimwell out of the way, jams the peas into the copier, pulls out the hardened overhead and wipes off the machine. All is right…for the moment. Back at the faculty lounge trouble is brewing. The second (in some cases of third or forth) serving of coffee combined with all you can eat Krispy Kreme doughnuts is causing intestinal distress for the staff. With only two unventilated stalls, tempers begin to flare. Mr. Gringstad makes the announcement no one wants to hear. “This is not going to work. Some of us are going to have to use the student bathrooms.” Dewey arrives at class at 7:59 armed with three stacks of handouts and the students’ papers, which he graded the night before. As he arrives a student asks, “Are we doing anything interesting today?” And Dewey replies, “You won’t believe what is going to happen today.” Little does Dewey realize that he doesn’t know either. Future episodes will include tense moments like: What will Dewey do when he realizes that tonight is Back to School night and he has custody of his kids? How will Mr. Gringstad deal with the viral graffiti all over the school saying, “Gringstad Stinks Bad”? And, what role will Dewey take in the ensuing lock down? How will Dewey react when during lunch, a math teacher mocks his efforts at using formative assessment as “enabling the losers.” Tune in to 24: Teachers’ Edition every Tuesday night at 9:00 PM on FOX. Rated PG-13 for some strong language and depressing budget realities.
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