‘English Teacher’ highlights the human beyond the classroom
Spoiler warning: This article contains spoilers for season one of “English Teacher.”
Evan Marquez wakes up for the day, and the ’80s beats begin. Sometimes the titular English teacher’s on-and-off boyfriend Matthew is next to him in bed; often, he’s not. Evan does his morning handstand push-ups against his bedroom wall, grabs his briefcase, rushes to the car and drives across an Austin bridge to Morrison-Hensley High School, frantically rushing to the classroom where he teaches English.
The first two words I would use to describe the new Fox eXtended (FX) show “English Teacher” are 1) heartwarming and 2) hilarious. The show’s second episode questions the gendered tradition of the “powderpuff” game, where the girls play football and the boys pretend to be cheerleaders. In order to make the tradition more respectful to the school’s young women and LGBTQ+ students, Evan enlists a drag queen friend to teach the football team how to perform authentic drag. The boys embrace the concept and gain serious respect for drag queens. The powderpuff game shows the students’ sweet side and characterizes Evan as a positive force for them — and it left me crying, just a teeny bit.
Another bright spot in the season were the relationships between the high school teachers, which were varied and complex. When Evan shows his whiny or his snappy side (both of which he has), his friends, especially history teacher Gwen and physical education teacher Markie, keep the cast of characters grounded and add a hell of a lot of comic relief. Episode seven gives us this golden exchange: Markie: “I can’t swim.” Gwen: “But you coach the swim team.” Markie: “It’s a completely different skillset.”
The series also explores power dynamics between students, teachers and parents. Season one begins with a parent opening a legal investigation against Evan because he kissed his boyfriend at the time (Matthew, who also taught at the school) in class. Later, the same parent — a mom named Linda — pressures Evan into changing her son’s failing grade. We start to see the extent of Linda’s power in the conservative Austin social circles: she chooses her son’s grades, she decides if Evan gets fired and she owns a gun. It’s hard to not take her words with gravity.
Evan is not a perfect person, and sometimes it is difficult to tease apart which aspects are Evan’s human foibles and which are areas of growth for the show itself. For example, there was a considerable drop in quality for episodes four and five after an excellent powderpuff episode. The plot line of Evan rocking the boat about a culture war issue repeats two too many times — and I’m saying that as someone who agrees with many of his ideas. Some plot points are introduced and dropped without further reference, like when Evan is enamored with guns after shooting a bullseye during mandatory teacher firearm training — shouldn’t this affect his view of gun ownership when Linda takes him impromptu pheasant hunting? There is a chance these inserted plot points were meant to be kooky satire, but their drop-offs felt like inconsistencies to me.
Despite the fact that the investigation against Evan closes when he agrees to not date faculty at the school, the pilot introduces a potential love interest — a fellow teacher named Harry — in a plot line that aged me 20 years. Harry is conventionally attractive, is available due to his open relationship and spends the entire show giving sultry smiles and trying to make moves on Evan at very inappropriate times — including at the school dance — instead of saying anything interesting or of substance.
The idea that Evan would jeopardize his career for a man who has so little personality is the most unrealistic part of the show. It is largely the writing that does not do justice in fleshing out Harry’s character. This shortcoming hides the actor’s talent and reflects oddly on the character of Evan, who is otherwise a great judge of people’s true selves. It is a solid gap in logic that leaves audiences with no choice but to watch the uncomfortable romance commence, perhaps unable to put their finger on why it is so awkward.
Despite Harry’s flatness, the show’s exploration of Evan’s love life humanizes teachers in a way that is rare in popular media. Teachers are often portrayed as superheroes, saviors, sufferers or villains. In movies, it seems like they can do anything — they always put work over their personal lives and they use unconventional methods to get through to underperforming kids. Importantly, we see none of those stereotypes in “English Teacher.” Rather, the show adds valuable representation of teachers as humans dealing with nuanced issues in an accessible format. Many wonder how American high school English teachers are dealing with ChatGPT, book bans and social justice issues in the classroom. “English Teacher” is a direct and entertaining response to that curiosity.
Despite being in his 30s, Evan’s relationship with his career is ridiculously relatable.
“I need a job that means something to me. Which I hate,” says Evan. “I know, that sucks,” responds Matthew, who left teaching for a tech job before episode one.
The plot of my favorite episode is along this same theme. The episode follows our cast of characters attending a teacher’s conference, where they sit through one depressing talk after another about the state of the teaching profession. Evan also runs into a college friend who has a much different conference experience with his high-paying job in “energy arbitrage” at a company called Sourcely. The friend’s conference features corporate swag bags, a VR dance floor and small talk that manages to be simultaneously confusing and boring. But when Evan is offered a job that would change his life and keep him financially stable, he seriously considers it — especially after hearing about the bleak future of teaching. It’s the classic question: do you do what’s personally meaningful, or something with little meaning for more money?
In response to Evan’s doubts, Principal Grant Moretti tells him to “remember what’s important: the love of what you do, the people that surround you, the people that support you. Good people make good teachers, and Evan, you are good people.”
Evan’s relationships are at the center of the show. While he can be whiny, and even a bit rude, there is a difference between the little things and the big things. Evan makes offensive offhand remarks that hurt his friends — you can see the pain in their faces afterward. But even though Evan is not always nice, he is always kind. The care he has for his friends is clear; he goes out of his way to support them in the big moments. His passion for helping students comes first, before his complaints about the school and region’s politics. As an English teacher, he dedicates his life to service — and as an English student, I know that can change real lives in our real world, too.
Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.
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