Work and Play

Kim as Elvis 11 in BLT's Tuna Does Vegas.

My blog writing has been on hold while I worked for an elementary school as a second grade teacher for the last two months. The two-month job overlapped with several plays and theater activities for Kim all of which resulted in our days being long and tiring. We volunteer and work for our pleasures, fulfillment and satisfactions. Although, before we have those good feelings of accomplishment, we seem to suffer a little.

During the same time period as my long-term sub job, Kim’s 9^th grade students rehearsed and produced several short Christmas plays at the high school. He was also working for a local church on their Christmas pageant by coaching the actors and blocking the scenes. All the while Kim was trying to memorize his lines for Tuna Does Vegas, the New Year’s Eve special at the Baytown Little Theater, which opened to a packed theater on Monday, December 31, 2012.

The weekend the Church pageant opened also included Saturday rehearsals for both the school plays and Tuna. Kim didn’t get a lot of rest that weekend and developed a nasty cough. Fortunately, after a visit to his doctor and three prescription drugs, he was able to carry on. Of course, it didn’t help his personal drama with all the plays he was working on to hear me tell about my stress filled days with the 7 & 8 year olds I was dealing with daily at the elementary school.

The teaching gig for me began when the school secretary called me the last week in October to ask if I could work a long-term sub job in a second grade class.  She explained that the teacher as on maternity leave and the substitute that was in the class was relocating to another city. My job began one day before Halloween and ended four days before Christmas. As you have surely figured out, I was with the children through the aftermath of Trick or Treating, Thanksgiving vacation, Christmas special activities and party, plus a field trip into the city to see a play. There was nothing easy about this job.

Even though I taught second grade for more than a decade in addition to other grade levels during my career of 30 years, jumping back into the grind of daily lessons, bus duties, 20 minute lunches and team meetings did not come as easily for this retired teacher as I had hoped. The teaching techniques, resources and conditions under which I was hired made it difficult to simply pick up where the last sub left off. The teacher’s leave had been extended twice before I came and three other substitutes preceded my arrival. My part of the job began in the middle of the semester halfway through the second six weeks grading period. The other capable substitute teachers, unfortunately, were not certified, experienced classroom teachers. The second grade students were high maintenance given the fact that they were now on their 4^th substitute since the school year began. Factor in a few special needs students along with a handful of major behavior problems and this was one challenging group! To be precise there were two classes to whom I was to teach reading, language arts and social studies subjects. I shared two homerooms with another teacher who taught the math and science subjects. Even though, after the first week on the job, I wanted to quit, I knew I could not do that to the students again. Those students deserved some stability in their daily routines. They needed rules, daily routines and a safe learning environment. Although, I was not sure I the right teacher, I was the best they had for now.

So, I made it my mission to stick to the task until the school let out for the holidays. As much as I wanted to quit, I am proud to report that I stuck with it until the day the students got out for vacation. There is that good feeling of accomplishment I mentioned earlier, but the weeks before it were packed with much toil and angst.

This week Kim starts back to work teaching his theater classes at the high school and I am taking a short break from teaching school. In about three weeks, I will begin administering tests to elementary students nominated for the Gifted and Talented program in the schools. It is a job I have done for several years now and one I enjoy very much. The testing will keep me busy for a little more than a month. Then, who knows? I would love to work in an office with other women and be a permanent fixture there until who knows when. Kim will continue his busyness with school and theater as he usually does. I do believe, however, that after he closes Tuna Does Vegas, he will likely step backstage or in front of the stage directing as he enjoys other aspects of theater. Who knows? Perhaps he will play more audience roles in the future. We have both thoroughly enjoyed watching our sons on stage and sharing a night out in Houston experiencing theater in the city.

Our calendars are clearing out and we are at the time of this writing, down to performing Baytown Little Theater’s production of Tuna Does Vegas. Thankfully, this production is the last of our obligations for the season. BLT’s New Year’s Eve performance of Tuna went a lot smoother than either Kim or I expected. We are most happy that he learned his lines as well as he did and that the audiences applauded the portrayal of the Tuna, TX gang of characters. A weekend of three performances plus a Rotary Club gig of the show are all that remain, so we are busy through next weekend finishing the play, but at least we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

One thing is for sure; even though we survived the end of 2012, there will be another opening, another show in 2013. It is also for sure that we will suffer a bit for a lot of satisfaction in the end.