Should teachers be allowed to have hobbies?

[teacherwithhobby]

First of all, I'm not a school teacher, but teach at an FE college. I don't teach music, but I play piano and sing in my spare time, do local open mic nights. I don't see that I'm doing anything wrong in this. I'm fully dressed when I'm performing, my music isn't anything overtly sexual, just a woman at a piano, and performing and meeting others around this hobby is part of my social life. I feel like this is looked down upon by colleagues, that I should be 100% dedicated to my work all the time and have no hobbies at all. I don't see that my hobby interferes with my job, I'm not a big drinker and wouldn't have anything on a work night if I'm playing somewhere in any case. Similarly, it doesn't cause any mid-week late nights. I've often felt like you aren't allowed to have any hobbies if you are a teacher, that it's looked down upon by some who are full-on martyrs. For example, I mentioned going for a run and my supervisor sniffily said 'I don't think you'll have time for going on any runs this week'. Really? I'm not allowed to take 30 minutes exercise in my day outside of working hours to take care of my physical and mental health, I should only ever think about work all the time? Seeing as relationships and children take up a lot more time and exertion than playing the piano or going for a run, should people be allowed to have either of these if they are teachers, or should some sort of vow of chastity be taken? Do any other teachers out there experience this, or am I in the wrong, I should 100% be dedicated to my job all the time, no hobbies allowed?

I’m a teacher and have never heard anyone say anything like this. Lots of staff at my school are involved in music and many other things outside school. It’s a job - what you do in your spare time is totally up to you.

Why should be allowed a spartan cell outside the school building? She should move into the school stock cupboard to show proper commitment 😂

Loved this post:
People who choose to have children cannot be expected to provide snacks or pencils. Play equipment will be found, sourced, made or bought by teachers. Teachers should also buy laminators, ink & printers to provide what the school needs.
Yes, the same boss who expected me to magically teleport to another city 45 minutes away by train in 30 minutes, for an unpaid work meeting at 30minutes notice, also told me that I would be expected to buy prizes for quizzes on my zero hours, part-time salary. Is that even allowed, to tell teachers they have to buy prizes for students with their own money? Of course, I didn't dare question.

It was years ago now so I can’t remember exactly the wording. Something along the lines of it had been suggested the children work on their projects at home but I wasn’t setting a good example. Others had completed a full day of learning at home, what would they think seeing the teacher’s children out in the snow for hours on end. Speculation they’d done no work etc

A parent governor chipped in by email once it got round with an offer of photographic proof, which was pretty creepy. The headteacher actually marched out on the playground to berate her though after that. She was a nightmare that woman and we had a few run ins with her trying to round up other parents over this and that.

It's got nothing to do with anybody else as long as it's legal and doesn't contravene Nolan Principles.

When it comes to encountering students and, worse still, parents, Bus Rules apply. I will pretend that you do not exist and you will do likewise. Unless it's a pub and you're underage, at which point it changes to 'You turn around and walk back out again without the slightest hint of backchat to the bouncer before this goes further' and, in the case of the gym 'You will refrain from discussing your love life quite so loudly and I will henceforth always get changed in the toilet to avoid any potential recurrence of my trying to hide unsuccessfully in the shower for the full duration of your bellowed over the sound of the hairdryers blow job technique discussion with your friend from the Lower 6th'.

Teaching is certainly full of both types of victim.
The "I work till 4am" and the "I will not touch a piece of prep once that bell has gone"
The vast majority of us are neither one nor the other.
OP- you're over-thinking. Unless your hobby actually has a knock on effect on your colleagues' work then they probably really care a lot less than you imagine.
I have an almost professional singer colleague. She and her husband have a recording studio and are YTers. She's very good. I doubt many of our colleagues are eaten up with jealousy, apart from because of her gorgeous voice.

Complaining is quite a common hobby?😂

What a ridiculous complaint to make. My kids teachers often enjoy a night out. I am glad they have fun. They have stressful jobs

Based on what teachers comment on here I’m surprised you’re able to make so much time for this hobby without falling behind on lesson planning, marking etc. Perhaps your teaching is suffering as a result and your colleagues can see it.

Seriously weird. Your colleagues’ attitudes, that is! You do you!

WTF? We have enough trouble recruiting teachers as it is. If they're not allowed to actually have personal lives we may as well give up. Unless you have a side line as a drug dealer or similiar then it's no-one's fucking business.

Everyone in whatever profession or job should be allowed to have hobbies. There may be some that are incompatible with a job, but that should be the exception.

The OP is doing something I'd like there to be more of, live music. As someone who has four professional musicians (or former musicians) in the family, I know how much pleasure playing a musical instrument and singing can bring.

What do you mean 'so much time?' You've got no idea how much time I spend on it. This is exactly the kind of judgemental and presumptive comment I'm talking about.

OP, don't get pretzeled up by martyr colleagues. You carry on.

People who only have work in their lives are dull. All work and no play...

It takes no more time for me to participate in my hobby than it does for people with families to take their kids to clubs etc. I think if you're a single woman with a social life then you're looked down upon, whereas if you're a woman with a family, you're allowed to have that family, but of course work may see you as having other priorities too, so as a woman you can't win. I'm not saying it doesn't happen to blokes, but as with most things I think they'll get an easier ride about these kinds of things.

Those who blurt out such ridicilous nonsence that teachers are uncommitted due to thier dedication to their hobbie(s) are ignorant, narrow minded, immature, and are a stain on the human race.

They may also be jealous.

Don't take no notice of these leeches and they will slither off to bother somone else.

Yeah, but those teachers always seem to have plenty of time to post very prolifically on MN, so…

I've never heard anything like it - your colleagues are weird! I've been a teacher for 28 years and so was dh until recently. We've both always had hobbies and known many other teachers with hobbies. In fact I think almost all of the colleagues I've chatted to in my new (since September) school have some kind of hobby! It's not at all discouraged.

I really don't understand the attitude of your colleagues.

I work in the adult education sector and many tutors have second jobs tutoring privately let alone a barrage of hobbies are shared in the staff room!

Running, home made honey business, professional baby photography, baking, dressmaking, shopping for bargain discounted designer clothing until they drop, active members of religious institutions...I often feel like a lazy and boring so and so for doing nothing extra at all!

Our head teacher stands at the main school door at the end of the day “to say goodbye to the children”. Really she’s waiting to see who leaves first. It’s almost always me. She often comments “running off somewhere?” “Have somewhere to go?” And I always reply “no, the school day is finished and I’m going home”
She is the person in our school who has no work/life balance. And you would think that makes our school the most efficiently run? But no - she cannot prioritise anything (everything is a priority therefore nothing is), hates most conflict and cannot make a decision to save her life. So all her time is spent running around like a headless chicken “for the good of the school” and “to keep the goodwill of the parents” yet are enrolment numbers are falling every year.

You are entitled to a life!!! DD's physics teacher played bass in a rock band and played their leavers ball!

Based on what teachers comment on here I’m surprised you’re able to make so much time for this hobby without falling behind on lesson planning, marking etc. Perhaps your teaching is suffering as a result and your colleagues can see it.

The teachers who talk about workload and the state of the education system speak the truth. That doesn't mean it's not important to carve out a little bit of time for yourself, even if it has to be only in the holidays. I don't have much time for my hobby since I went back to full time, but it does depend on your home situation too. I have fairly independent teenagers. If I had small dc I don't think I'd find any time for hobbies.

What? I've worked in education for 30 years and never come across this attitude. The school/college etc don't own you, they just employ you. Go for your open mic nights!

Once upon a time the best teachers were the ones who had an interesting life outside of teaching. Now, OP is correct, having a life is treated with distrust and the mood and fun vampires rule the roost in schools. It's one of the reasons my husband moved to FE (ironically).

There's always one...