“She always had a kid every year who would be the kid that caused trouble, but who would be her favorite,” she said. “We would know who her favorite was by who she came home talking about who caused the most trouble. It was always this relationship like, ‘Jamal gets on my nerves.’ (Jamal) is the only name we’d hear all year and by the end, she’s crying when he’s going to first grade.”
As a kid, Brunson would get in trouble for flipping around the house and unintentionally breaking things in her path. Her parents didn’t punish her, but instead encouraged her exploration.
“My parents, they’re solution-based people, so it was like, ‘We’re gonna put her in dance school,’” she explained. “So that kind of solved that problem. I didn’t get in trouble for too long, because I had somewhere to go.”
Redirecting kids as they advance in life is one of the reasons Brunson is passionate about education and kids. At one point, she even wanted to be a teacher herself.
“There was a point in time where I really considered it, but it didn’t last long,” she said. “It didn’t go anywhere. My mom really wanted me to be one and I just knew it wasn’t for me. I knew I didn’t have the patience that it took … that time.”
Originally from West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Brunson is now becoming a household name across the nation because of “Abbott Elementary,” but her fame is not a story of overnight success.
The 32-year-old actor and writer first gained prominence when a short skit of herself went viral back in 2014. From there, her humor and internet savvy landed her a job at BuzzFeed, where she worked for four years as a content creator. After leaving in 2018, she helmed a number of creative projects, including one pilot for the CW that was never picked up. She then worked on “A Black Lady Sketch Show,” the animated series “Magical Girl Friendship Squad” and the third season of “Miracle Workers.”
But “Abbott Elementary” is her triumph.
In the ABC-sitcom set in her hometown of Philadelphia, Brunson plays Janine Teagues, a novice teacher still holding out hope that the school district will provide desperately needed resources. Barbara Howard and Melissa Schemmenti (Lisa Ann Walter) are seasoned educators who have learned to lean onto their own tricks after countless instances of not receiving enough support from administrators. Along with long-term substitute teacher Gregory Eddie (Tyler James Williams) and history teacher Jacob Hill (Chris Perfetti), the group bands together when the shady principal — Ava Coleman (played by the hilarious Janelle James) — pulls stunts that are disadvantageous to the students.
Why teachers pick their career is one of two reasons Brunson made “Abbott” from the perspective of educators. The other reason is because it’s rare that a show centers the perspective of teachers.
“It’s usually been half and half — half the students, half the teachers,” she explained. “Usually, the show is bouncing between those people and more focused on students but I thought there was something really significant about going into teachers lives in a real way. Not in a jokey way that starts with our perceived comedy impression of them. That’s what was compelling to me about doing this kind of show, because there’s so much more to show: Real people who are choosing, most times, to do the most underpaid job in the world. What makes up that kind of person?”
That question compelled Brunson to create characters who had that same combination of fire, patience, kindness and stability.
“I knew I didn’t have the patience to be a teacher,” she said. “My mom did and that’s so significant to know this is the job for you and you know what it takes in the long run to do it … It’s actually a really hard job that you have to have a lot of gull, hurt and emotional stability to be able to do. So if you can’t do all of that, you’re not going to be a good teacher. If you can do all of that, it’s actually really special.”
That’s why, despite not having the patience before, Brunson wants to become a teacher one day.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
