Ep 9. Life Science

Bad Teacher is a comedy series revolving around a self-centered woman named Meredith Davis who becomes a teacher solely to find a wealthy and promising husband. Season 1 Episode 9 titled 'Life Science' is all about Meredith trying to find her footing as a science teacher, a subject she has no knowledge of.

As the episode begins, Meredith stresses out that she has to teach the coveted Life Science subject which she knows nothing about. In her usual fashion, she tries to wing it and ends up showing a horror movie clip in class which scares the students. After this, the students, especially Irene, express their disappointment in the teacher's lack of interest in their learning and it brings Meredith to an epiphany.

Realizing that she has run her classes poorly, she decides to change it up to better interest her students. She goes to a bookshop and gets loads of science books and asks principal Carl to switch her classes so that she could teach science permanently. However, when Carl agrees to switch the classes, Meredith realizes she has been frozen out of the Lucille Ball Teacher of the Year Award competition, which infuriates her.

Meanwhile, Ginny, the school nurse, is trying to discourage Joel, a social sciences teacher, from pursing a romantic relationship with her since they had had different goals in life. Joel, however, is persistent and feels that he could be just the supporter that Ginny needs to follow her dreams. He tries to get her to take baby steps towards her goal but Ginny remains hesitant.

Back at school, Meredith arrives at a new lesson plan that involves costumes, re-enactments and jellyfish torture. She hopes that these new changes in the classroom will earn her a chance to win the Lucille Ball Teacher of the Year Award. Her new teaching method works as all the students join in and learn quickly, except for Irene who seems to have lost all interest.

Meredith decides to talk to Irene and finds out that the girl is angry with her because she had been rude to one of Irene's friends. Meredith apologizes and seems to have made amends with Irene.

Bad Teacher Season 1 Episode 9, 'Life Science' highlights the struggles of Meredith as she tries to gain recognition as a teacher. It seems that she is finally getting the hang of things and finding creative ways to teach her students. On the other hand, Joel is still unsure if Ginny is willing to take the necessary steps to better her career and find happiness. This episode ends on a positive note, signaling the possibility of a more fulfilling second half of the season.