What should ‘Abbott Elementary’ joke about in season 2? Here’s what readers said.

Last week, opinion writer Natalie Pompilio highlighted some of the real-life issues portrayed on the hit sitcom Abbott Elementary, which aired its season finale Tuesday. The Inquirer asked readers to share their ideas for what the Philly-based show should tackle in season two.

As a former English language learner coordinator in Philadelphia schools, I know of one particularly idiotic requirement that would make for a great episode of Abbott Elementary: After just one year in this country, language learners were required to take the literature portion of their standardized tests without the use of a dictionary. They also had to take the math portion right away, either translated into Spanish or with a dictionary if they spoke other languages, which did not help at all. Of course, the low scores they received were included in the school’s overall performance ratings, leading to many “failing” schools. The number of immigrant students arriving in Philadelphia with huge gaps in their education is never mentioned in these ratings.

These kids arrive in droves, think Afghanistan refugees right now, and they need trained teachers to teach all different levels of students, many of whom can’t read at all let alone at grade level. But Philadelphia teachers always make it work!

Beth Logue, Philadelphia

New plot idea: Where are all the school libraries? The school library has become a dinosaur with fewer than 10 school librarians out of more than 200 schools in Philadelphia. The plot of an Abbott Elementary episode could center on volunteers trying to open the library again. The problem is that most volunteers are in their 70s, so they’ll often need to cancel due to COVID fears, bad knees, etc. Plus, where will the funding come from to purchase new books with characters that look like our students?

Doris Heise, Philadelphia

» READ MORE: 5 times ‘Abbott Elementary’ spotlighted Philly’s broken schools — and how teachers want to fix it | Opinion

As a student of 12 years in the Philly public system, I don’t remember any shortages or problems. Of course, that was 60 years ago. Having retired from teaching in the system for over a quarter century, though, I have seen a few.

Topics for next year’s episodes:

1) Create an alumni association for the school. Granted, such a thing may not yet exist for an elementary school, but that could be the comic hook.

2) Address the problems some kids might have in applying to, or even choosing, the middle school they will attend.

3) How about if daylight saving time is instituted year-round and the kids have to stand out in the pitch darkness to catch a bus or to walk to school?

Alan Bronstein, Elkins Park

When I worked in Philly schools years ago, the building where I taught was built in 1912 and the heating system was very poor. One day, black soot was steaming out of the vents. The principal urged calm and for people to stay in their classrooms. A serious student looked at me, wide-eyed with concern, and said he did not care if he was disciplined, he was leaving. I realized that the safety of these kids rested with me and I began to line them up. At that moment, the lead teacher on our floor had taken matters into his own hands and led our section outside to clean air. School evacuation happened soon after.

Another time, the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment math section had a group of questions based on a paragraph about a hunting expedition. Some kind of traps were placed in various locations. The words describing the hunt would be known by students in regions of the state where all kids learn to hunt. I didn’t know what some of the words meant. It was totally unfair to our kids, who couldn’t begin to solve the problems without a hunting vocabulary.

Mardys Leeper, Bryn Mawr