Since debuting in October 1975, SNL (Saturday Night Live) has become an American institution. No politician, Hollywood star or celebrity has been spared its harpooning satire. Many of the same people have guest hosted the show from Presidents to cinematic A-listers.
Teachers have often been the target of sketches as well. ThinkFives’ Chief Celebrity Critic scanned hundreds of hours of SNL skits and has selected these Top 5 SNL Teacher Sketches. Enjoy!
Creighton Boys School’s Popular New French Teacher
A new French teacher becomes the most popular teacher in the school. And that might not be surprising given that the teacher is Catherine Zeta-Jones.
First Aired: 10/22/05
What to note:
- Bobby Moynihan: “What time you gettin’ home honey?”
- Rachel Dratch eats her sandwich for 6 minutes, so believable and never runs out of sandwich.
Sarcasm 101
A professor (Matthew Perry) and his class welcome a new student (Ana Gasteyer) to Sarcasm 101. Could Matthew Perry be any more qualified to teach this class?
First Aired: 10/04/97
What to Note:
- “Could you be any stupider?”
- Norm McDonald: “I wanna take a bath with Marissa… I mean – that is to say, can I want more to – to – to-“
Plagiarism
A teacher (Chris Parnell) is well aware of students’ history paper plagiarism from copied Amazon reviews to printouts with the site URL on each page. (ThinkFives note: we plagiarized this from the SNL website).
First Aired: 05/03/03
What to Note:
- Teacher: “Anyone who copied a user review off of Amazon will be getting an F.”
- Watch for students Seth Myers, Amy Poehler and Ashton Kutcher. “What is the Associated Press?”
The Science Room
A professor (Adam Driver) struggles to educate two students (Mikey Day, Cecily Strong) about air using balloons. Said by a real middle school teacher on their site, “This sketch is actually a documentary.” [Note: R-rated skit for language – yes really.]
First Aired: 1/25/2020
What to Note:
- Zackry Adams: “Okay, here’s a hint. Oxy…” Lany: “Cotton?”
- “If punctured, balloons will… Starts with a “P”, ends with a bop.”
Farewell Mr. Bunting
Mr. Bunting’s (Fred Armisen) students won’t take his firing sitting down. This Dead Poets Society parody has a 2.5 minute setup. The reaction shots by the class are hysterical. Do not skip ahead. It’s well worth it! It’s #1 on our Top Five List!
First Aired: 5/21/2016
What to Note:
- “Poetry should not be fun. It is oppressive. The arts in general are for women and homosexuals.”
- This is how Dead Poets Society should have ended
- I didn’t know Pete Davidson was so tall.
Honorable Mentions
- Substitute Teacher: A substitute teacher’s (Lin-Manuel Miranda) attempt to connect with his students.
- Test Prep: A tutoring class (Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, Kyle Mooney, Pete Davidson) goes off the rails trying to answer a teacher’s (Sandra Oh) questions.
- Suel Forrester: Substitute Teacher: Incoherent substitute teacher Suel Forrester (Chris Kattan) puzzles students with his babbling.
- Lonely Teacher: It’s either a very funny skit or one that is uncomfortably awkward. You’ll need to decide. Tina Fey and a very young Justin Bieber star.
Substitute Teacher 
Test Prep 
Suel Forrester 
Lonely Teacher
What was your favorite SNL skit about teachers or education?
I guess I have some homework this weekend — catching up on these SNL clips!!
Lonely Teacher is my favorite. Tina Fey is so hilarious in that one, as Justin Bieber unintentionally swoons her.
Two classic sketches you missed–maybe there could be a “Classic 5 Classroom Sketch” category?: Seinfeld’s “WWII History class” (the class consists of Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, Chris Rock, David Spade, and others) … and Billy Crystal’s “Winston University” sketch (the class includes Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Belushi). Both are fantastic.
Great suggestions. I do remember a few of these. Very funny skits! Thanks for sharing.