When Jack is disappointed with the popcorn maker he orders, he and the students plot revenge; Helen goes back to school to get her high school degree and chaos ensues in Principal Durbin's office in her absence.
Mr. Pugh plans a field trip for the Toledo chapter of the Ohio Naturalists; when Jack can't write his own book, he agrees to be ghostwrite for popular author Robin Shwank -- only to insert his own chapters into Shwank's book.
Jack accidentally loses a significant amount of money and it falls in the hands of the students; as Principal Durbin and Helen investigate who stole the money, the students and teachers admit to other wrongdoings.
Jack has Mary drive him to the doctor, but a prank results in him getting the same procedure twice; at school, Durbin and Helen embarrass themselves and the kids compete over class superlative titles.
As the school prepares for winter break, Jack tries to record a lecture as a way into the University of Wisconsin's philosophy department; frustrated and unable to finish the video, he falls asleep and has nightmares.
