Abbott Elementary is out to bust all the typical teacher tropes that have manifested in popular culture across time. As Marshall (2016) writes, teachers have predominantly been represented in popular culture as saintly, un-intellectual nurturers, or the opposite, as monsters, all the while presenting a misogynistic view of the teaching profession that’s dominated by women. In this presentation, media literacy educators/scholars, Dr. Stephanie Flores-Koulish and Sr. Rose Pacatte will examine various depictions of teacher depictions in the media, past and present using the critical lenses of media literacy education, and discuss the implications of such depictions on the profession and especially the impact on this female-dominated profession.
