The Unteachables

8th grader Kiana Roubini comes to Greenwich Middle temporarily, while her mother is filming a movie. On her first day at the school, she notices the other kids writing her off as a new kid. They don’t care, and as a short-timer, Kiana “doesn’t much care either” (3). She doesn’t think anything important or meaningful will happen in the next few months, so she keeps herself emotionally distanced.

When Kiana ends up in room 117 by mistake, she figures it’s as good a class as any, since she won’t be there long. She’s different from the other kids in room 117 because she hasn’t been conditioned to believe that she is an unteachable troublemaker. She is even still willing to do extra work on assignments, like the essay she writes early in the novel, which later makes her a leader in the class and forces her to engage with her peers in a more meaningful and lasting way. At the end of the book, Kiana decides to stay in Greenwich having officially committed to the room 117 that changed her.

Parker, a student in room 117, struggles with dyslexia, a reading impairment that makes “letters get all jumbled up” (28), so that Mr. Kermit’s Concorde becomes Coco Nerd. Parker’s condition means he has trouble with written information, but as we see in the novel, Parker’s learning difference doesn’t mean he is incapable of understanding—in fact, as his quick grasp of mechanics shows, Parker is actually quite intelligent, and we see from the caring way he looks after his grandmother, Parker is an empathetic and kind person. The book criticizes teachers and school administrators who deem kids like Parker slow learners rather than actually working through their difficulties. At the end of the novel, Parker lucks out—when Mr. Kermit returns to his old teacher self, he figures out how working with anagrams can help Parker’s dyslexia and lines up a reading specialist to support Parker’s learning.

Aldo, another student in the Unteachables class, struggles with anger management: He gets so mad that he “can actually feel the heat from it” (37). Aldo is in room 117 because the administration decided he was too disruptive to the regular classroom. Aldo doesn’t like getting so angry, but since no one ever cared about his struggle, he never thought he could get help with his emotions. As a result, he lets his anger control him, flipping out at the slightest provocation and dulling his sense of empathy. Aldo’s progress over the course of the book shows that kids can overcome emotional struggles with support. Having understanding friends and a caring teacher helps Aldo come to terms with his anger and learn when it’s appropriate to be upset.

Mateo, who describes himself as smart and small, “part hobbit and part Vulcan—Bilbo and Spock” (51), interprets the world through references to pop culture, finding character equivalents for people he knows. This nerdy approach invites bullying from the football team. As far as we can tell, there is no real reason for Mateo to be in room 117—he’s simply there for being an oddball. Unlike Aldo and Parker, Mateo doesn’t appear to need any help—he shows that the administration punishes individuality and diversion from the “norm.”

Before this year, Barnstorm was “an unstoppable running back, an amazing point guard, and a lights-out pitcher” (34). But after a football injury sidelines the former star athlete, teachers notice that Barnstorm has been coasting on his athletic ability instead of participating in class, getting away with doing less work than other students. He exemplifies the special treatment awarded to athletes in school, and the way kids who define themselves through sports have a hard time forging a new identity when no longer able to play those sports.

Barnstorm is also highly competitive. After Mr. Kermit introduces the puffy-tail reward system, Barnstorm hoards his tails, even though keeping them serves no purpose. Though this kind of winning is pointless, Barnstorm also applies his drive to win toward much more productive and positive projects, like the science fair.

Emma Fountain teaches in the room next door to Mr. Kermit. She’s the daughter of Mr. Kermit’s former girlfriend and looks just like her mother, making her “a time machine” for Mr. Kermit (44). Ms. Fountain is a reminder of everything Mr. Kermit could have been—an engaged, devoted teacher whose students love her. Ms. Fountain also demonstrates ways to introduce new teaching techniques into traditional school. She uses many of the tactics she honed teaching kindergarten with her seventh graders, even though they are supposedly too old for these methods. Her instincts are dead-on—and her behavioral chart is a big hit with Mr. Kermit’s class.

Jake Terranova, a successful businessman and owner of Terranova Motors, caused the cheating scandal that destroyed Mr. Kermit’s career 27 years ago. Jake’s car dealer slogan is that he “will jump through hoops to get you a great deal on the perfect new or used car” (70). Outside the dealership, Jake is also willing to jump through hoops. When he learns the cheating scandal still affects Mr. Kermit, Jake is fully prepared to do whatever he can to help—which includes confessing to being the culprit in the local paper and inviting the Unteachables to do some project-based learning in the car dealership’s service shop.

Elaine Ostrover demonstrates the harm that rumors can do. Because she is tall for an eighth grader, built as “solid as an oak tree” (34), has a deep voice, and has a name that rhymes with “pain,” Elaine has a reputation for violence. Though the novel never spells it out, Elaine might be in room 117 because rumors about the many kids she’s beat up make teachers afraid of her. Elaine does have a moment to turn the stories that circulate about her around Greenwich Middle School to her advantage, when she scares off the bullies harassing Mateo. However, at the end of the novel, Elaine reveals that none of the rumors is true—her education has suffered simply because of what she looks like.

Dr. Thaddeus is the antagonist of The Unteachables. He was the principal at Greenwich Middle School when the cheating scandal took place, and now as superintendent, he still holds a grudge. Though Dr. Thaddeus knows Mr. Kermit had nothing to do with the scandal, he wants to fire Mr. Kermit rather than letting him retire and draw a pension, worried that having a teacher with a shady past get money from the school district will look bad to the public. Dr. Thaddeus is obsessed with appearances and keeping the Greenwich records squeaky clean. His fixation on getting Mr. Kermit fired show the lengths he’ll go to in order to preserve his image, and his reinstating Mr. Kermit at the end of the book shows Dr. Thaddeus will bow under any kind of pressure.

Kiana’s stepmother, nicknamed Stepmonster, spends most of the book as everything Kiana dislikes about being stuck in Greenwich. As Kiana matures, she sees Stepmonster in a new light—as a role model.

Parker’s declining grandmother Grams typically calls Parker “kiddo,” which bothers Parker because it means Grams doesn’t remember his name. Nevertheless, Parker knows Grams loves him, and that love, coupled with the time they spend together each morning on the way to the senior center, gives Parker the drive he needs to go to school each day. During the novel’s climax, Grams stands up for her grandson, confronting Dr. Thaddeus and remembering Parker’s name. This one moment means the world to Parker.

Mrs. Vargas is the principal at Greenwich Middle School and a foil for Dr. Thaddeus. Mrs. Vargas was a teacher at Greenwich when the cheating scandal occurred, so she knows what Mr. Kermit could have become if he’d chosen to work passed the scandal—a successful teacher. Though she disdains Mr. Kermit’s lackluster teaching, Principal Vargas objects to Dr. Thaddeus’s monomania about getting rid of Mr. Kermit. Mrs. Vargas believes in Mr. Kermit’s ability to be an amazing teacher and is eager to support the teachers in her school.