Is your teaching a hobby?

Post-doctoral life is pretty sweet. I have more time every evening and every weekend. I don’t have a looming deadline or a wonderful dissertation chair demanding a revision. Yet, this goal oriented individual struggles with this as well. So last year I decided to take up a hobby. I can honestly say that I really don’t remember having hobbies before. Again, I think it is my personality. I am all in person-I do not do things for recreation-unless you count going to Disney World. I do many things for fun- I love to sing in the choir, I love movies, I love attending sporting events, and I love working in the yard. When I was younger I played the piano and was a cheerleader. Fun was retreating to my room to read. So the idea of a hobby was a bit overwhelming, but the Rosebros decided I needed a little less family time i.e. they got tired of being my hobby. With their blessings, I decided to take a course on making stained glass.

Boy was this harder than I had expected-which was frustrating. I don’t really like to struggle-for fun. Having the correct materials-nippers is a real word by the way, the right oils, the right glass, the correct grain, grinding the class, placing  joints together (and no, these joints did not make me want Cheetos), using copper foil…the list goes on and on. The struggle was real and I would often find myself walking away from my work because it got too hard or I didn’t know what to do. I would stay away for a couple of days when I just didn’t want to look at it again.  I eventually learned enough to make some very simplistic pieces that didn’t turn heads but would have made my Mom proud and with time I got to the point where I could make stained class pieces that were not terrible. I would never, ever give my pieces away. I will never win any contest with my pieces. In fact most days I would not even share what I’ve made. This became my hobby. It took up a lot of time when my hubby was at work and the Rosebros were with friends or playing the Xbox (they are only allowed the Xbox on the weekends). It kept me busy. It gave me some purpose in having something to do from start to finish. I was proud even though I knew my work wasn’t ideal or the best. But I am not passionate about it. I don’t spend hours looking at stained glass. I don’t admire good stained glass when I see it. I don’t search out stained glass groups- is that even such a thing?).

I made a lampshade recently that I almost liked. I was looking for the perfect lamp to place this tiny lampshade on and as I was looking-for hours- for the perfect lamp, I sort of had a revelation about my “hobby.” All too often some educators treat this work as a hobby-this is both a good thing and a bad thing.

Some educators use teaching as a hobby and it is not such a good thing. It is something to do even if they struggle, even if it is difficult, even if they read about it, learn about it, ask questions about it, but it is just something to do. The attitude is one of hobby-they enjoy it-most of the time-and when they don’t they take a “mental health day” (a term that sends shivers down my spine). It is not a calling or a passion that they strive to get better at because the students depend on them. A hobby is also something that is easily replaced with more important work like a check list of items to teach or worksheets to complete. A hobby can be fun and fulfilling but not meant to give you purpose. It is meant to distract you from the hard stuff of life.

Some educators use teaching as a hobby and it is a great thing. These educators don’t use the same lesson plans each year because they know that real growth comes from understanding what their students need. They learn as much as they can but they also know they can only apply that knowledge a little at a time in order to improve. They live to “do” their hobby. They know where their weaknesses are and they search experts to help them improve in those areas. And they do improve.

So is teaching your hobby? If so-is it a good thing or a bad thing?