March 26, 2021

The final round may not have been what we expected, but it was no surprise that Ms. Frizzle came out on top for this year’s March Teacher Madness.

Our voters always keep it interesting, and they’re passionate about their choices. In fact, a “New Girl” fan group on Facebook brought Zooey Deschenal’s Jessica Day within spitting distance of the win over Ms. Frizzle from the beloved “The Magic School Bus,” but it wasn’t quite enough.

“Ms. Frizzle is an original and by far one of the most remembered and favorite cartoon characters of all time and one of the greatest teachers, not only in the show but in real life, as well,” wrote J.R. “We all wished we had a science teacher like her.”

Looking back at the rounds, we must admit we were surprised Ralph Hinkley (William Katt in “The Greatest American Hero”) didn’t go further. He was a personal fave.

And we were sure Miss Crabtree (June Marlowe in the classic “Little Rascals”/”Our Gang”) shorts would advance. There were several requests for her the last two years. But there must not have been enough of you who watched her in syndication when you were kids.

We added the new category of principals this year to shake things up. Most principals were teachers at one time, after all. We thought Mr. Skinner from “The Simpsons” and Mr. Belding from “Saved by the Bell” would be close, and when he won, we figured Mr. Belding might ride a wave of nostalgia. We were right.

“True merits in a realistic school environment goes to Mr. Belding,” S.H. wrote.

Putting together the Second Chance bracket was tough, but we wanted to give these popular folks a, well, second chance.

“Keating should have won, and I can’t be convinced otherwise,” wrote A.M. about Robin Williams’ amazing role as prep school teacher John Keating in “Dead Poets’ Society.” When he and Ms. Frizzle were in the first year’s competition, we expected them to be the final two, but William Daniels’ Mr. Feeny from “Boy Meets World” took the bracket by storm. The next year, too.

He was so popular, we decided to take him out this year to give another teacher a chance because we knew he couldn’t be beat otherwise.

“It doesn’t matter; no one will beat Mr. Feeny,” agreed M.Y.

With your suggestions, next year’s bracket is already shaping up to be an interesting one. See you then!