The Female Teacher on Television: Shifting Stereotypes on the Small Screen(Education and Popular Culture)

This edited volume examines the ways in which the representation of female teachers on television has developed from the advent of the medium up to the present day. Despite the widely feminized nature of the teaching profession, the first depictions of female teachers on television did not occur until over a century later. Contributors analyze a variety of programs spanning time periods, audiences, and genre to provide insight into the past, present, and future trajectory of increasingly multidimensional portrayals of female teachers. Scholars of television, media, gender, women's, and cultural studies will find this book of particular interest.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Introduction Part I: From the Television Revolution to the Sexual Revolution Chapter 1: Our Miss Brooks: The Lead Teacher in Her Domestic Sphere Patrick A. Ryan Chapter 2: What Does it Mean to be a (Working) Woman?: Television's Female Teachers in 1950s and 1960s Situation Comedies Cathy Leogrande Chapter 3: From Foundling Home to Maritime Mansion: The Re-Emergence of the Nineteenth-Century Governess in the Twentieth-Century Soap Opera Dark Shadows Rebecca Grunzke Part II: Animation Dominations Chapter 4: "Glorified Babysitter": Edna Krabappel as the Prototype for the Modern Teacher Adam Grunzke Chapter 5: Peggy Hill, Patriarchal Shill Elizabeth Currin Chapter 6: "Western Civilization As We Know It Will Come to an End": Female Teacher Tropes and Opposing Teaching Ideologies in Disney's Recess Leah Day Part III: Iconoclasm with a Purpose: The Death of the Savior Teacher? Chapter 7: "You're Not Really My Children": Teachers and the Attack on Public Education Robert Dahlgren Chapter 8: Not Your Average Manic Pixie Teachers: An Analysis of Jocelyn from Schitt's Creek and Jess from New Girl Abigail Stebbins, Melissa Stanley, Jacob Gates, and Stephanie Schroeder Chapter 9: "It's a Calling. You Answered": The Strong Black Woman as Savior Teacher in Abbott Elementary Andrew Grunzke and Ludovic Sourdot Part IV: The Case of Rita and the Trans-National Teacher on Television Chapter 10: Rita: The "Naughty" Teacher Melanie Janzen and Christie Petersen Chapter 11: Rita: The "Good Teacher" Gets Real Mary Dalton Part IV: Afterword Chapter 12: What Hath Our Miss Brooks Wrought? The Future of Feminized Portrayals of Teachers: Female Embodiments of Artificial Intelligence Edward Janak and Pierrette Dagg About the Contributors

About the Author :
Rebecca Grunzke is Assistant Professor of Education at the University of Guam. Andrew L. Grunzke is Associate Professor of Education at the University of Guam.

Review :
There is no cultural medium more accessible to the masses than television, and no profession more familiar to the masses than the teacher. It is not surprising that over the decades teachers have been the subject of television entertainment in comedic, dramatic, and animated series. This volume tackles the important question of how female teachers have been depicted in television shows. The chapters examine the question historically and cross-culturally. They offer compelling arguments about what these depictions reveal about our cultural understanding of schools, gender, and the teaching profession. Embedded in the history of teaching and popular culture, these essays offer powerful insights into the ways that modern television shapes our understandings of women's work in the classroom. Andrew and Rebecca Grunzke's thoughtful collection of essays demonstrates how the portrayals of female teachers seen on screens only occasionally reflect what was actually taking place in classrooms. The popular movies and shows discussed in this volume are not just entertainment; they educate.