Goodbye, Mrs. Wilder 5/5

The stage bringing Mr. Stoeler has arrived and Nels greets him and offers a glass of lemonade. Meanwhile, the classroom is a-shambles as the kids are throwing papers and books and are just genuinely chaotic. Mrs. Oleson has no control as even Hilde has gotten in on the action. Then Laura storms in and gets all drill sergeant with the class as she commands everyone to stop. She calls out Albert for his shameful behavior. Mrs. Oleson is torn up because she doesn’t know why this happened, leading Laura to explain what the kids planned. Harriet is shocked by this but Laura apologizes for what happened. She goes on to make a speech about how she expected Mrs. Oleson to fail, but everyone has learned a lot during this difficult time, blah blah blah. The speech concludes with a rousing call to clean up the classroom, most of which is accomplished by Harriet. Hehe.

Some time passes and the inspection is in full swing. The class demonstrates the French lesson about the new dress with the blue parachute. It does remind me of my French class where the repeating en masse sounded more like some cultish dirge than communication in a foreign tongue. The demo ends and we can see Mr. Stoeler nodding in approval. Harriet dismisses the class and the grown-ups chat for a bit. Mr. Stoeler is impressed and will recommend the grant. However, Mr. Stoeler is concerned that the expanded curriculum isn’t particularly relevant for the local area. It turns out French was only used as an example and was not a direct suggestion. Nels is biting his tongue so hard that I’m worried that blood is going to start dripping. Harriet is disappointed with how this conversation is going and seems almost offended when Mr. Stoeler suggests, directly this time, that perhaps agriculture should be taught. Since this isn’t in Harriet’s wheelhouse she starts stammering a rebuttal. Nels quickly intercedes and reminds Mr. Stoeler that his stage will be leaving shortly. Mr. Stoeler congratulates and thanks Mrs. Oleson again for the demonstration and departs. Nels also gets in one last dig, reminding Harriet that this was exactly what Laura suggested.

Laura is putting laundry on the clothesline when she sees all the kids from school approaching. Albert introduces Ralph, who asks if Laura is still mad. Laura is getting over it and appreciates all the kids’ compliments. The kids also have news that Mrs. Oleson wants Laura to take her job back. Laura says she will come back only if the kids promise not to wear the uniforms anymore. Aww.

The next day Laura rings the morning bell and the kids file in wearing all the latest Walnut Grove fashions. Starting today, the class will be studying agriculture which the kids seem genuinely interested in. Laura starts writing “crop rotation” on the chalkboard and Ralph seizes this moment to yank Willie’s hair. He yelps again, causing Laura to turn around. This time, Ralph gets busted after Laura goes through a lengthy explanation of peripheral vision. After Ralph gets sent to the corner, the show ends with Willie being far too excited that it isn’t him in the corner for once.