Children: Good morning, Ms. Teagues!
Janine: You know, Ms. Howard, you remind me so much of my favorite teacher from the third grade, Ms. Elliot. She was well-dressed, good with kids, a wizard with a glue gun...
Barbara: Thank you, Janine. That is very kind of you.
Janine: Yeah, I-I wanted to be just like her, actually. I was, like, obsessed with her. She wrote in my report card note, "Needs friends her own age. A bit clingy." She was a hoot.
Barbara: Yes.
Janine: Anyway, hey, did you get my e-mail about the two of us hanging together after school or...
Barbara: No. It must have gone to spam.
Janine: It's so crazy how my e-mails do that with you and nobody else.
Barbara: Uh... Class, turn around.
Janine: Bye, Mom... I'm sorry. Ms. Howard. Bye, Ms. Howard.

Janine: Hey, do you want cheese steaks from the corner store for lunch today?
Jacob: Uh, not... not from there. The guy behind the counter, he calls me "white boy."
Janine: Well, it's like a term of endearment, and, like, if you don't like it, just ask him to stop.
Jacob: No way. There's an entire chapter in White Fragility on that, okay? Robin DiAngelo, she says, "When you start policing people who have..."
Janine: Hey, Melissa, can you please tell "Ta-Nehisi Quotes" here that "white boy" is a term of endearment from the corner-store people?
Melissa: For Zach Ertz, yeah. For him, it's an insult.
Jacob: Hmm?

Gregory: Um... hello? I'm looking for Ms. Coleman.
Melissa: Oh, yeah, she...
Ava: Hello.
Gregory: Hi. I'm Gregory Eddie. I'm the sub for the teacher who, uh... punted a student.
Ava: Oh! You're the sub. Forgive me. I thought one of my colleagues here hired a stripper for me. [laughs]
Gregory: Okay.

Barbara: Nice to meet you, young man.
Gregory: Yeah, you too.
Melissa: Yeah, nice to meet you, Ryan.
Gregory: It's Gregory.
Melissa: Eh, let's see how long you'll be here. Then I'll remember your name, okay, Tim?

[aside to camera:]
Gregory: I'm subbing here because I need a job until I can become principal. It's what I studied for. I actually interviewed here and got it, but then... I don't know... something happened.
[separately to camera:]
Ava: I go to the same church as the Superintendent. Caught him cheating on his wife with the deaconess. I needed a job.

Janine: "Is your school sick? Try prescription rugs." [looks to camera] Classic.

Girl: Janine, why are you putting that rug away?
Janine: Erica, I told you to call me Ms. Teagues. I'm an adult, though we are almost the same height. And there's a little bit too much pee on it.
Girl: Mm!
Boy: Yeah, but where do we sit for story time?
Janine: [sighs] I will figure something out, okay?
[aside to camera:]
Janine: Losing the rug is a big deal. For primary classes, rugs are like a calming space for the kids. It's like a Xanax. Like a huge Xanax for kids to sit on.

Ms. Schwartz: There you are. Ava, can I talk to you? Uh, I need an aide. I'm outnumbered in there. The kids are crazy. One of them told me to mind my six this morning. I don't know what that means, and I need help.
Ava: Calm down. They're just kids. And, besides, aides cost money, and we don't have that.
Ms. Schwartz: Right, but I just...
Ava: Do you want to split your salary with somebody else?
Ms. Schwartz: No.
Ava: No, no. I didn't think so.
Janine: Well, if we can't get aides, maybe we can get new rugs?
Ava: All I'm hearing is, "New, new, new, need, need, need." And, yet, Barb, one of our best and most senior teachers here, she never complains. What is your secret, Barb?
Barbara: Knowing there's not much you can do, Ava.
Ava: So understanding. Be like Ms. Howard, people. [chuckles]

Barbara: Melissa is resourceful, capable.
Janine: Well, I think the younger teachers are capable.
Barbara: Really? Then why is it that Ms. Schwartz's hair is falling out? Why does Jacob here need a smoking break every five minutes?
Jacob: I switched to an herbal vape.
Barbara: And why can't any of you stick it out longer than two years? More turnovers than a bakery.
Jacob: Ouch.

Jacob: You know what? Hell, I think we should still try for rugs.
Janine: Yeah.
Jacob: You know, before I taught here, I was in Zimbabwe. I was doing Teachers Without Borders, and what I learned...
Janine: Jacob, what did I say about, like, not talking about your time in Africa?
Jacob: You...
Janine: I told you to stop.
Jacob: You told me to...
Janine: Yeah, it's weird.