Recess/Headscratchers

Why do Mrs. Finster and Principal Prickly have to be such Jerkasses?

Is it even possible to have that big of a stick up your asses that you don't think kids should have time to play?

Why is Gretchen proclaimed to be so smart, even though seems to do and believe things that are really stupid?

Some examples would be not already seeing through the fact that sometimes it's okay to tell on people, and the fact that she still seems to believe that numbers like a gazillion exist. My only guess is that she's 9, so it's slightly excusable, or she knew the truth all along and, in an effort to fit in more, she just followed Wizard's First Rule.

She's "smart" probably as in a straight-A student with more knowledge about facts and a wider vocabulary than her peers. But since she's 9, she's still prone to making 9-year-old mistakes. And any kid could be nervous about whether it's okay to tattle or not.
If you want a counter example to "sometimes it's okay to tell on people", let me Google that for you...
She's book smart. Not Street Smart. Two completely different things.
- Only to people who aren't book smart and need something to hang onto.
- This troper feels that episode shows they're not completely different things her book smarts translate to the street.
Maybe she was using gazillion as a placeholder for a number large enough she didn't know the proper term for?
Because she's also nine. Being book smart doesn't prevent you from being gullible.
Also, in the episode with the c-note; Gretchen did not tell them that 100 divided by seven is not that much.

What was up with the villains' plan in Recess: School's Out?

His plan was to create an everlasting winter.....so he could eliminate summer holidays. Never mind all the endless side effects it would create, two words can shoot a hole in his plan. SNOW. DAY.

Ask any Canadian; if there's always a lot of snow, the standards for snow days get much higher.
- Ask any Alaskan; there's approximately only one snow day in a decade. If you're lucky.
  - And you can still go on vacation in the winter. I mean really, Some kids find winter more fun.
Although the easy way to answer this is he's not a mentally well man.
- Well duh, he thought that altering the climate would get him elected president instead of executed for crimes against humanity (assuming the lynch mob didn't get him first).

Why, in her right mind, did Ms. Finster agree to be the lunch and recess monitor?

She hates it, it's clearly taking years off her life, and she's a full-time teacher in addition. Since she's protected by tenure, I'm surprised that she hasn't told them to get someone else to do it.

If you pay attention Finster actually seems to enjoy it, she just doesn't admit it. Actually many episodes contain little hints (and sometimes flat out say) none of the teachers are as bad as they are made out to be. I think it's more of how they are seen through the kids' eyes at the time.
- Finster doesn't hate it. If she hated it she wouldn't be doing it. They're teachers, they like teaching, helping to form kids, making a difference but they are also in charge of maintaining order and have a job to do. They're strict and they've lost much of their optimism but they are not bad or unhappy people. Occasionally they act a little too selfish and occasionally need to be reminded of the other side's perspectives but in the end they're doing what they want to be doing. Just check out the movie when they aren't the kid's mandatory rivals, they come rushing to the children's aid. They truly love what they do and they care deeply about the kids.

Is Spinelli Asian?

The only explanation I can think of for her strangely drawn face is that it's a stylistic way of showing that she's Asian. Yet Spinelli sounds like an Italian name.

- Both of Spinelli's parents are clearly not Asian, so unless she is adopted, neither is she.
  - Since Spinelli doesn't resemble her parents, this troper always assumed she was adopted (and Asian).
- She's Italian according to The Other Wiki, and on the episode where Spinelli joins the Ashleys after Randall reveals her true first name, she also had a great-grandmother who lived in Alaska and ran the Iditarod. Judging by her eye shape, lip shape, and Ambiguously Brown skin tone (which reminds me of the one from that Eskimo hunter on the 1949 Looney Tunes cartoon "Frigid Hare"), she probably could be Inuit (Eskimo) along with being Italian.

Why do the kids NEVER seem to use their own judgement, instead following behind a "playground king" who is really just some sixth grade boy, and using a made-up "code of honor?"

The King has enough charisma and wisdom to be a reliable judge when the kids don't know what to do, in theory anyway.
Because they're kids. Even though it's over-exaggerated for comedy's sake, in real life, kids literally do have a "follow the pack" mentality that they rarely question in fear of being the outsider.
- Actually, Gus stood up for himself during his debut episode, tired of being the new kid. King Bob respected that, telling the former new kid that "you never asked".
- Seconded. Much of the time the kids follow their own judgment.
Same reason we have a democracy and follow the Constitution - it's been that way for years and things are decent enough this way that we don't need to change it.
Not to mention that it's been said that some playground kings of the past have vastly improved recess for the kids. Some of the kings weren't just your average sixth graders.

The kindergarteners are savages, yet every kid in actual grade levels is shown to be capable of mostly proper grammar and doesn't wear war paint. What, upon reaching first grade, they're instantly civilized?

Pretty much.
Taking the Fifth Grade shows Hector and Tubby still adjusting to first grade.
Kindergarteners can act like older kids. They choose not to. It's kind of their last chance to be savages before growing up.

Why did the kids get in trouble for breaking that statue in "The Biggest Trouble Ever", even though the builders were supposed to bolt it down? The episode depicts it as major news, yet not one journalist even bothers asking if the structure was safe.

The Mayor was Jerkass and it was clear he was simply jealous that they sucsseded where he failed.

The Movie and growing up

How come in Recess: School's Out, the kids are so worried about their futures and such, and say on several occasions "This is the last chance we get to be kids!"? They're only in 4th grade, that makes them around 10 years old. Who on Earth told them that they'd all be adults before they were 11? I love the movie, but that part always struck me as silly.

Wait, where did I have heard this similar part before?
- What does High School Musical have to do with anything? Speaking from experience, juniors and seniors in high school do have to worry about their futures. But to the original Headscratcher, I never noticed before how the kids do that.
  - It's a mix between Fridge Brilliance and Hilarious in Hindsight as elementary school kids today have much more responsibilities than kids of thirty years ago, elementary school students when the show aired, as well as kids starting puberty at a younger age. My niece looked like she was 16 when she was 12.

Why didn't Gretchen buy the "other dimension" explanation?

I realize the idea that Swinger Girl broke through a dimensional barrier is ridiculous but Gretchen (and the rest of the main cast except Mikey) seemed to act as if there is no such thing as an Alternate Dimension. It's especially jarring for Gretchen as she is privy to everything science-related and I thought stuff like this is actually taken seriously by the scientific community.

What's wrong with the kids?

They have no legitimate concept of kissing or aging, and believe odd stuff. I know this is an exaggerated version of childhood innocence, but seriously? They just seem stupid and overly naive.

- Most children become truly aware of the difference between reality and fiction at age seven. Since most of the characters are nine, it makes sense for them to still be a bit gullible and believe some odd stuff. As far as the concepts of aging and kissing go, maybe they're just late bloomers as far as maturity and awareness go?
- They're only nine years old. At that age, few kids have a legitimate concept of kissing.
- Not to mention it's been stated that Recess takes place in the 90s somewhere. Kids believed in those things back then before they started to wise p at earlier ages.
  - One part Nostalgia Goggles, one part cultural drift; every generation grows up faster than the one before it. When Recess was on TV, it was aimed at kids around the same age as or younger than the main cast, which meant 6-10 year olds, with Parental Bonus gags. Kids that age today are exposed to much more adult media, and some of them have probably had Myspace/Facebook pages since they were born, so the internet (and the.. uh, shall we say social interaction unrestricted by traditional etiquette that comes with it) are a very basic part of their lives. Kids today aren't any more mature, but they have access to a lot more information.