Teacher smoking outside school gates

[Omzlas]

I've been pondering over this since Friday and thought I'd consult the MN gurus

There's a teacher at DC school who smokes, fine. The school is almost at the end of a dead end road and I've seen her before, smoking at the very end of the road at the end of school. She was well away from the gates but lots of kids walk that way on their way home, she'd often be chatting to a mother etc and I've never given it that much thought

On Friday, she was stood less than 3ft away from the school gates, smoking. All children would see her as they came out of the gates as you can only turn left or right as you exit and she was stood between the gate and white railing (the kind put in place to stop kids running out of the gate and into the road).

My AIBU: surely this is an appalling message to send to children? I'm an ex smoker and wouldn't begrudge anyone a cigarette if that's how they want to live, but surely not smack outside the school gates? Do I speak to the head or am I being precious? I completely understand that children are likely to see their parents smoking but... at school? A teacher?

I don't know whether I'm overreacting or if my concerns are valid and I should speak to the head. It's a small school (one class per year) but the head isn't that approachable, should I just bite the bullet and speak to her? Mind my own and ignore it?

Years ago teachers smoked on the school bus to go swimming and school trips. One teacher smoked on the balcony outside our classroom.

They have banned smoking pretty much everywhere - what more do you want?

Leave the woman alone! I’m sure you wouldn’t want her poking her nose in your business would you?

This wouldn't be allowed at our school and the teacher would be spoken to about it if school knew.

We have had smoking staff who can't get through the whole day without. Fine, but they can't smoke or around premises, or in sight of the children. Everyone at school knows this - they used to go behind some shops in an alley nearby. Out of sight and a street or two away from school. Obviously there was still the smell of cigarettes when they returned but at least they weren't seen actually smoking.

It’s funny how times change, a couple of decades ago almost everyone smoked

I disagree. In the late 90s I knew few adults or teens who smoked. Even before that in the early 90s very few people I knew at university smoked.

If you look at the attached chart , you have to go back quite a long way to get to the point of "almost everyone" and even then it was mainly men, not women.

I spray copious amounts of perfume on me afterwards

Please don't tell me you think that actually works? It really, really doesn't.

This is the first time you’ve seen her do this close to the school. And she was doing this before school had ended. I would be thinking - just had an interview, a difficult meeting with a parent, a phone call about a sick relative, something that meant the inhalation of nicotine became a top priority at that moment. If it was regular I’d ask if staff could be reminded to smoke away from the school gates.

I’d have to say something. DD idolises her teacher. If she saw her smoking it would send a really bad message. Can’t she wait until she gets home?

Drinking’s legal too but I’m sure nobody would like to see their kids teacher outside the gate with a special brew?

Even before that in the early 90s very few people I knew at university smoked.

I was in secondary school in the early to mid nineties. I remember going on a school trip and the head teacher explicitly telling us all smoking was banned on camp grounds but if you walk into the camp woods there's a stream with a bride over it and teachers or camp staff never go that far away from the centre. There was a bucket of sand next to the bridge.

Our youth club had a smoking shed and a corner in the yard where no youth worker ever ventured so if any underaged drinking was going on no-one would know.

Maybe it's a regional thing but lots of people still smoke where I live and back in the nineties most people did. I wouldn't bat an eyelid at a teacher smoking outside of school grounds.

She is probably there because she can't smoke on the premises. Would be better if they built a smoking area round the back out the way. She probably would prefer that too.

I'm only a ta and I wouldn't let children I work with see me smoking. I've even hidden it when I've been at local events at weekends where school families are likely to be, and on the rare occasions I've bumped into families at restaurants or pubs.

I'd expect to be pulled up by the head if I were the teacher in the OP, but at the same time I think she has every right to do what she's doing. Unless she has another easy opinion of somewhere else closeby that would enable her to be unseen, I don't think it's fair to bring it up with the school.

@Omzlas
When I read your post - what immediately came to my mind was the saying "the only thing worse than a non-smoker is an ex-smoker".
You were very fortunate not to find it too difficult to stop - I really, really struggled!

But a teacher who is regularly to be seen smoking is never going to be credible in giving the "smoking is bad for you" message and will make it more difficult for her colleagues to do so.

Kids are not stupid. They have the 'Exercise and eat healthily' message taught to them everyday, by overweight teachers/TAs/HCPs and their own parents, who do just the opposite.

You don't have to practice what you preach to children, in order for them to get the message that something is bad.

JaneTheVirgin

@Lizzie48

Your children have never seen anyone smoking before? You mean someone they know, right? Because it would be absolutely impossible for a child that has ever had a hospital appointment, a meal out or a shopping trip in town to have never seen anyone smoking”.

Your comment has made me try to recall the last time I saw someone smoking and I honestly can’t, must have been ages ago. I see lots of e-cigarettes, but not tobacco. To see a teenager smoking, certainly where we live, is such a rarity that it really stands out. That would have been ages ago too, weeks at least.
Thank goodness the message finally seems to be getting through.

I’ve remembered! it was outside the main entrance to the hospital when my husband was there for his last appointment. They were standing right underneath the “this is a smoke free site” signage.

If the students are under 18, then yes, of course you should. If over 18 then it is irrelevant as they are all adults

You can't be sold cigarettes under 18 but you can smoke them. It's not illegal

Whatever the rights and wrongs of this particular situation I just can't help but feel it's incredibly crass to smoke in public anywhere that isn't outside a pub amongst the haze of drinkers/smokers.

I work in a school and smoke. I'm very conscious that it's my decision to smoke and not the children I teach, so I only smoke on my breaks, well away from the school, I stub them out and put them back in my pack, if I see any parents walking past me I'll stub it out and walk away and I spray loads of perfume. I'll also not smoke at any school events or in the morning or when school first finishes. It's a awful example

Smoking isn't illegal. Why would you begrudge someone a fag at the end of a working day?

Quite a lot of kids will see their parents smoking at home. It isn't great I know but it's not like she's lighting up in the classroom. That is something I had to put up with at school in the late 1970s and 1980s. My parents didn't smoke so it was a fairly unpleasant experience for me. Nearly every teacher I had smoked in the classroom. We were even given merit points for empyting and washing out ashtrays. It was horrible.

I’m actually really surprised that she’s allowed to smoke at the gates. My workplace (big local authority) has a 30m ban for smoking and most schools in the area follow suit.

I think it is pretty poor show to smoke right at the gates (in same way that I hate people smoking near door ways or bus stops) but I wouldn’t do anything about it. If there’s no policy to stop her then she isn’t doing anything wrong, if there is, it will be picked up by the headteacher soon enough from by of the pupils.

spray copious amounts of perfume on me afterwards

Smoke smells pretty bad, but the smell of stale smoke mingled with perfume smells like vomit. I don’t know why, but it’s utterly vile and very distinctive.

I don't know why or how she was there, lesson wise. That occurred to me but it isn't my place to question why she's outside when she should potentially be inside

Not your place to question what she does in her own time either. This is the first time you've seen her here smoking, 30m from the gate. Do you question all parents/members of public smoking that close to children?

One of our teachers used to smoke out the back of his mobile classroom and then spray air freshener. I don’t think it’s great but my children know some adults smoke and I can’t get overly upset about it.’

I am very much anti smoking. I tried it once when I was 14. never again. I wont have a DP that smokes.
However in this scenario I couldn't give two hoots.
It wouldn't even occur to me to report and I would think less of someone that did to be honest.
In fact I would think they are a shit stirring test if they did.

Child of the 80s, and Miss Sims used to go in the stationery cupboard attached to her classroom and smoke nice health and safety there!! she reeked of coffee and fags, and when the teachers came out of the staffroom, billows of smoke followed them out too.
I couldn't get too upset about a teacher smoking - better if she went down the road a bit I guess. Ex smoker here too - 12 years clean, but I could still pick up a fag and smoke it tomorrow

Mr Roberts just drank a good few nips of whisky while teaching... Hmm, I'm not painting a good picture of my educational establishments here!!

Lou670

I can understand why some teachers smoke but I think they should stand out of sight and smoke discreetly and then attempt to mask the smell with some cheap body spray

^

You don't really think that works, do you?

@JRMisOdious

But think about it. If you travel to hospital by car, you won't see anyone smoking, as hospitals are strictly non smoking. Same with restaurants and shops. I think the reason we don't see smokers at all is because we don't use public transport, we go to places by car. (And yes, I know that car exhaust fumes are not healthy.)

I find it strange too. When I was growing up, we saw smokers everywhere.

No, sorry. YANBU. Most teachers would never dream of doing this. They'd also be pulled up pretty sharpish if they did. It's utterly unprofessional. If it is a one-off, I might leave it but if I saw it again, I would contact the school and express your views on this. I really don't agree with all the defenders on this thread. Smoking has no place around a school. Just none. If she really can't get through the day without one, she needs to seek help so that she can - nicotine patches, whatever. She has professional standards to uphold and smoking right outside the school gate isn't one of them!