The Middle Episode 2.17 The Math Class

Ms. Rinsky (guest star Doris Roberts) is back! Actually, she never left. We just haven't seen her in awhile because Frankie's been banned from her class. But when Brick gets a D on a math test, Frankie feels it's time to have another chat with the world's most intimidating teacher. Maybe Ms. Rinsky won't remember her. Nah, she remembers her.

The parent-teacher conference gets off to a rocky start. Then things just spiral downward. To help Frankie understand her young son's homework, Ms. Rinsky offers to teach an evening math class for parents. Mike realizes that his wife was a real goodie-goodie back in her school days. Of course, kissing up to the teacher won't help you solve a math problem while up at the blackboard. Hey, at least Frankie can name all the presidents. Actually, she can name only 16 of them.

Mike does well in Ms. Rinsky's math class, so he's able to help Brick ace his homework assignments. That's why it's so hard to understand why he gets a D-minus on his next test. Frankie blames Ms. Rinsky. She feels she's a bad teacher. After a few late-night beers, Frankie assembles her thoughts in a harsh, rambling email to the school principal, who then asks to meet with Frankie and Mike. Uh-oh.

The reason Brick got a D is because Ms. Rinsky lets them have free reading time once they finish their test. Brick only answered three questions so he could hit his book ASAP. An uncomfortable meeting in the principal's office clues in Frankie to the fact that the school actually has a file on her. That's never a good thing.

Ms. Rinsky believes the way to get Frankie to fall in line is not to ban her, but to embrace her. That's why she's going to be doing all kinds of extracurricular duties from here on out. Frankie will be in charge of the phone tree, school pets and she'll be stuck with crossing guard duty every Tuesday and Thursday. On the bright side, none of those things require any math skills!

When Axl and Sue fight about who has to visit Aunt Edie and Aunt Ginny, Mike orders them both to go. It's an agonizing visit, though Sue's curiosity is piqued when Aunt Edie mentions she buried a time capsule many years ago. She filled it with all sorts of cool stuff, but never dug it up.

Sue wants to find that time capsule, but Axl's not into the excavation scene. He changes his tune after he thinks Aunt Edie has died on the couch. She's fine. Just needs a refill of scotch. The next night, Axl and Sue drive all over Orson attempting to find the time capsule. They dig up a yard that may or may not be at the right house. Then Aunt Edie remembers she never actually buried a time capsule. It was just something she read in a Nancy Drew book.

Aunt Edie takes a hose to the furious homeowner whose yard they destroyed so Axl and Sue can make a getaway. The kids are thoroughly impressed. As it turns out, Aunt Edie has had many adventures in her life. She shares a few stories with Axl and Sue, who make for a captivated audience. Guess spending some time with the aunts isn't all bad.