Jerry Monitor

Jerry is a 6-foot monitor lizard that possesses the ability to stand upright, talk and think like a human being. This unique trait ostracized Jerry from his lizard community and sent him down a deep spiral of depression. Only repeated viewings of his favorite inspirational teacher movies (“Dead Poet’s Society,” “To Sir With Love” etc) kept his sanity and inspired him to pursue a career in education.

By educating the youth of tomorrow, Jerry hopes he can make the world a better, more tolerant, place for strange creatures like him.

Not much is known about how Jerry managed to obtain a teaching certificate. His certificate seems legit, but who knows? He wants to work and he works cheap, which is good enough for school administrators in cash-strapped districts.

Jerry is a new substitute teacher at James Buchanan Middle School and he is very excited about the possibilities. Education is his true passion in life and he can’t wait to start molding little minds. However, Jerry is a very nervous fellow and is easily flustered by something going wrong. He wears his emotions on his sleeve and has a difficult time playing anything close to the vest. As he is still a 6 foot monitor lizard, the human world remains something of a mystery to him, and all he really knows is what he reads to prepare for the day’s lesson plan and what he saw in various inspirational teacher movies.

Jerry functions as an all-purpose substitute. Any class that needs a teacher is fine for him, despite his lack of knowledge in most key areas of education. His biggest strength is his earnestness as it goes a long way in winning people over. Jerry is in no way as “cool” or “hip” as he thinks he is but he has a goofy charm of his own. One could say his teaching style is less based on skill than on his appreciative students making sure not to let him down.

The school faculty seems to tolerate Jerry all right. No one particularly likes or dislikes Jerry, despite Jerry’s incredible enthusiasm for every aspect of James Buchannan Middle School. Jerry sees himself as the friend to every teacher and administrative personnel and likes to go out of his way to impress them. His incredible cheerfulness is grating and refreshing at the same time.

Most students don’t pay him any mind. He’s just another teacher, why bother getting to know him? The students that do get to know him seem to like him though. He’s sort of like their uncle: kinda silly but nice enough. He just wants to help.

No one at the school knows Jerry is a 6 foot monitor lizard. Despite his bad wig (based on the kickin’ 90s mullet worn by Mr. Turner on “Boy Meets World”), his ill-fitting clothes, his all-to-obvious shoulder pads and his green, scaly skin, everybody at the school accepts him as a regular, somewhat-awkward human being.