Mr. Bergstrom

Mr. Bergstrom is, briefly, a substitute teacher. He taught Lisa's class for a time.

History
Mr. Bergstrom took over for Ms. Hoover after she believed she had Lyme Disease and Lisa immediately took to him because he was the kind of male role model she needed in her life. However, after Ms. Hoover returned, he had to leave Springfield. A distraught Lisa ran to stop him, and Mr. Bergstrom gave her a note saying "You are Lisa Simpson".

When Lisa was sad because Maggie was smarter that her, Marge gave Lisa a paper that said "You are Lisa Simpson" and then Lisa says "I already have one of those", referring to Mr. Bergstrom's note.

He later returned to Springfield to visit Lisa and prepared a meal for her. Lisa, however, was unaware of his visit and didn't come to dinner as she was talking on the phone with her new friend Isabel Gutierrez.

Behind the Laughter

 * He, like his voice actor, Dustin Hoffman, is Jewish. He is an artistic, liberal teacher who tries to inspire his students, even though that means some will make fun of him, by drawing a picture of him with his guitar and naming him "The Singing Dork". Instead of being offended by this, however, he laughs and asks Lisa if he may keep it. Lisa says she did not draw it, although his praise of the art makes her wish she did. Mr. Bergstrom also encourages the students to patronize the Springfield Museum of Natural History, as it will soon be going bankrupt. This inspires Lisa to visit, and Homer grudgingly agrees to chaperone her. Mr. Bergstrom encourages Homer to think more highly of himself, as he is the only man in the world who is Lisa's father.
 * Hoffman at the time agreed to appear in the episode but for some reason did not want to associate himself with an animated show. In the show’s closing credits, he is credited as “Sam Etic”, a play on the word “Semitic”, which alludes to the fact that both Hoffman and Mr. Bergstrom are Jewish.