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 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.

But has anyone actually said that to you directly or do you normally exaggerate chit chat type comments to gain sympathy and create high drama?

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?”
😮I think you're right, it's often these people who are running around like headless chickens all the time, fretting and getting worked up when they could just be getting on with it.
I've just remembered something another colleague said when I told her about playing piano, 'Is that what you really want to do then?' as though to question my commitment to the job in front of everyone. I don't think she had any hobbies herself apart from heavy drinking.

There's always one...

Usually more than one... Some people do insist on pretending that when teachers talk about working far in excess of their paid hours, they are claiming to have literally no free time ever.

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?”

What an arse. My Headteacher seems to actually believe that teachers deserve some work-life balance, and reminds us regularly that we shouldn't feel we need to check or reply to emails outside working hours. Unfortunately she's retiring

I've just remembered something another colleague said when I told her about playing piano, 'Is that what you really want to do then?' as though to question my commitment to the job in front of everyone. I don't think she had any hobbies herself apart from heavy drinking.

How depressing. Many of my colleagues seem to play instruments, sing in choirs or do sports. And quite a few, like me, knit or crochet. One makes literally all her own clothes (apart from underwear!).

Yes, you're exactly right, I'm desperate for sympathy and high drama, but you're far far too clever and see through it - well done you! Plenty of other commenters have backed up what I've said though - perhaps they're all histrionic narcissists too! Perhaps everyone who doesn't have the same opinion as you is pure evil, and you're the fairest, wisest of them all. Bravo for being so incredibly better than absolutely everyone else 👏

If this is ‘high drama’ to you I really strongly suggest you get out and live a bit more to make life exciting.

Those that are suggesting OPs colleagues would only say this if she isn't performing well at work are missing the point. That's essentially saying that she should more than the hours she is paid for in order to do her job properly, and by extension, that is what they (her colleagues) have to do. This is one of the reasons teachers are leaving the profession in droves. The best ones got a taste of working with children through a hobby and used their experience to get onto a training course and get their first job. Then the job demands they give it up because of the unreasonable hours, way beyond paid time. Were left with the full, uninteresting ones. Those mentioning private school teachers are correct - their ethos is very different to a state school in a deprived area whose teachers are the ones who could do with a diversion!

*work more
*we're left with

FFS

Not my experience of any of the schools I taught at.

Sounds like your colleagues are just a bit weird.

I do agree with others that the culture in education at the moment is to massively overwork staff though.

@teacherwithhobby

I agree with you 100% and can picture your scenario. It's been part of the deterioration of the job for 25 years.

Plenty of other commenters have backed up what I've said though - perhaps they're all histrionic narcissists too! Perhaps everyone who doesn't have the same opinion as you is pure evil, and you're the fairest, wisest of them all. Bravo for being so incredibly better than absolutely everyone else 👏

Yes, you're a complete drama Iama.
🤣🤣

When my DS was in 6th form the young drama teacher from school was seen many times out and about pissed as a fart.

I was a bit shocked but apparently this was normal for a few of the younger teachers.

I wouldn't worry at all about your colleague. They're probably jealous as they don't have much of a life.

PurplePixies You're the only one creating drama. Everyone else has either said that similar things have happened to them, or they haven't and find it odd, then in some cases questioning why it's happened. Everyone else is just contributing to the conversation, nobody else is getting worked up and making personal insults but you!

mrsjackrussell - yes, I can understand that bumping into your students whilst drunk could be an issue, particularly if you live in a small town. I live in a large city and I teacher adults over 18, so it's not even that which could be a problem.

Maybe you are efficient.

I was lucky enough to be part time, and my motto to self was work smart not hard.

I remember two women in my department, with the intro of yet another new scheme of work and set of textbooks, painstakingly creating notebook files- cutting, pasting covering answers with squares one by one, prepping for next lesson. Really time consuming stuff that they saw as an investment.

I would use the ready made PowerPoint of text book. With the physical textbooks, whiteboard and visualiser and my personality to teach it.

Total waste of time for experienced teachers. I never understood it.

Total martyrs.

I like to think that I affected them during my time there as on my leaving, both were reducing to part time and one relinquishing a tlr that just wasn’t worth the money.

I think some posters are trying to wind the OP up. 🤔.

Yep, I guess everyone has got to have a hobby after all! Are all hobbies equal, though...

My friend who is an award winning science teacher ;

Has a dog
Has a horse
Plays tennis
Runs
Plays hockey ( and coaches at the school)

Other friend who are teachers have horses ... which is a big serious hobby !

Your colleagues sound totally odd

One of my DDs is a teacher . She is also a very good tennis player , playing for a club on a Saturday. She often receives snide comments about being lucky to have so much spare time !

Why are you even bothered? If you do your work and support your colleagues appropriately - team work - then the rest of your time is yours!

I once had a manager that expected me to just cancel all my plans when she needed cover, my shifts were weekends, she would blow up my phone on a Wednesday saying “I need cover for tonight” I’d tell her I was busy and had plans, she’d interrogate me on my plans and then try to find reasons why me covering a shift for her were more important. I used to say no my days to work there were Saturday and Sunday and whenever I wanted to book annual leave nobody ever wanted to cover my shifts for me. She kept doing it til I got another job some days in the week, she called me one day and I luckily was on a break and my supervisor need. I asked her to tell my other job manager why I couldn’t come in. She did. Thing is she still thought I should leave this shift to go cover hers. She was paid a hell of a lot more than me and even If I had been working a 40 hr week I still wouldn’t have earned her wage. She got by on 20 hours a week literally showing up to do the banking then swanning off again, her wage was heavily inflated because as it turns out of cover was needed she should have been covering those shifts not blowing up everyone else’s phone because she did t want to work an evening / night shift.
I finally got lucky my supervisor saw the hassle I was getting. She organised me some extra shifts so I could hand in my notice at the other place. I had 4 weeks holiday I had been unable
to take as my holidays were cancelled when she hadn’t covered them. I handed my notice in to her and also to the head office as I wouldn’t put it past her to “not have received it”.
mad I was due so much holiday my notice became effective as of the day I handed her the letter. She just stood gaping at me as I walked out. I had already informed my work mates and told them don’t help her she needs to pull her weight. So she ended up working weekends for the next 4 months as nobody wanted to cover them and she struggled to replace me. I can when she did replace me they didn’t last long they were fed up of the same harassment. I heard they finally got rid of her when she got caught falsifying cover sheets basically putting names down to cover extra shifts they hadn’t agreed to. She had tried that with me in the past she called my home at 8.30 asking where I was. I said I’m at home. She’s like you should be here you put your name down to work. I got to work at half 9. Looked at the cover sheet and she had me down 9-2.30 I said to her “why did you call me at half eight if I wasn’t due til 9? She just shrugged and said her clock was wrong. Some people believe that work should be the only
priority, others have realised that there’s more to life .

That's incredibly weird.

😱😱 What was the actual complaint?

Please continue to drive carefully 🤭

I’m a teacher and if anyone made comments like that to me I’d just laugh at them.