Professional/Fandom Boundaries
I find myself thoughtful tonight and I'm making choices that make me curious on how you folks choose to put boundaries between your professional life and your fannish hobbies. I'll be very interested in your feedback.
As I mentioned a few days back, I've been approached by a reporter from the Richmond Hill Liberal to have a newspaper profile done about my involvement in Urban Tapestry and filk music in general. Part of his interest in me is that besides having unusual and interesting hobbies I work as a teacher in Richmond Hill, so that, too, is likely to be part of the angle for the story.
As we discussed times and locations for the interview he suggested coming out to my school and interviewing me there. The idea rather caught me off-guard, and I found I really wasn't comfortable with it. I've tended to make a natural division between being a teacher and being a sf fan and filk musician and I figured if he's interviewing the "filk musician" (as he's indicated in e-mail he is) then it's not appropriate to have the interview done in the locale of the "teacher". It's not that I hide at school that I'm involved in science fiction fandom, but if the article isn't about my educational activities then it seems to me that school just doesn't need to be involved.
Simple enough, I asked him if we could meet in a Tim Horton's instead, and he was fine with that. I didn't tell him why I didn't want the interview at the school. Not knowing my reasoning, then, he went on to suggest that after our interview on Wednesday, he'll still send a photographer out to the school on Thursday to take pictures of me with my guitar in-front of the school or in my classroom.
So, I've found myself torn all day as to what to say to him. Part of me thought, "Why not? You can ask the prinicipal tomorrow if it's OK and she's very likely to be amused and agree. It'll stir up staff curiosity, but, heck, that's OK.". And part of me was saying, "I'm still not comfortable with this, filking has nothing to do with my teaching life and having me affiliate my filking with my school or my school board just seems iffy.". The second set of thoughts was speaking louder to me and I did finally tell him in e-mail that I would prefer to have the photo taken elsewhere and not at the school. No doubt that will be tough, though, trying to find another Richmond Hill setting to take an appropriate photo.
It still leaves me with mixed feelings. I know he was keen to have the photo taken in my classroom because it would add local interest and the fact that I'm a teacher by day and filker by night/weekend is the point of the article. I don't know if he'll understand my reluctance to not have my school directly involved in the article, though I'll have no qualms about mentioning the school in the profile. I wonder if he'll somehow think that I'm hiding my filking activities because I'm choosing to keep them separate from my school. Though, heck, I'm well-aware that my filking profile in the Liberal will create buzz in the school community. Not that it will come as any surprise to most school staff that I go to science fiction music conventions on the weekends or that I'm really, really, really fond of J.R.R. Tolkien :).
So, though I've chosen to keep the filk profile separate from my school, it's left me thoughtful tonight. I'm sure the reporter will think it odd and I keep wondering if maybe I am making too much of the division between career and hobby, though my instincts are still telling me I made the right decision.
So, filkers, fanfic writers, artists, costumers, gamers, Tolkien friends, fans of all kinds, I'd be curious to know:
QUESTION:
What kind of lines do you draw between your professional life and your fannish activities? Are you really open about your assorted fannish obsessions at work or is that a side of you you tend to keep for a separate group of friends? Do you keep memorabilia around at work that showcase your fannish interests? What do your non-fan co-workers think of your fan activities? If you were contacted to do an interview about your involvement in filk, fanfic, gaming, costuming, etc., would you have allowed photos to be taken in your work place?
As I mentioned a few days back, I've been approached by a reporter from the Richmond Hill Liberal to have a newspaper profile done about my involvement in Urban Tapestry and filk music in general. Part of his interest in me is that besides having unusual and interesting hobbies I work as a teacher in Richmond Hill, so that, too, is likely to be part of the angle for the story.
As we discussed times and locations for the interview he suggested coming out to my school and interviewing me there. The idea rather caught me off-guard, and I found I really wasn't comfortable with it. I've tended to make a natural division between being a teacher and being a sf fan and filk musician and I figured if he's interviewing the "filk musician" (as he's indicated in e-mail he is) then it's not appropriate to have the interview done in the locale of the "teacher". It's not that I hide at school that I'm involved in science fiction fandom, but if the article isn't about my educational activities then it seems to me that school just doesn't need to be involved.
Simple enough, I asked him if we could meet in a Tim Horton's instead, and he was fine with that. I didn't tell him why I didn't want the interview at the school. Not knowing my reasoning, then, he went on to suggest that after our interview on Wednesday, he'll still send a photographer out to the school on Thursday to take pictures of me with my guitar in-front of the school or in my classroom.
So, I've found myself torn all day as to what to say to him. Part of me thought, "Why not? You can ask the prinicipal tomorrow if it's OK and she's very likely to be amused and agree. It'll stir up staff curiosity, but, heck, that's OK.". And part of me was saying, "I'm still not comfortable with this, filking has nothing to do with my teaching life and having me affiliate my filking with my school or my school board just seems iffy.". The second set of thoughts was speaking louder to me and I did finally tell him in e-mail that I would prefer to have the photo taken elsewhere and not at the school. No doubt that will be tough, though, trying to find another Richmond Hill setting to take an appropriate photo.
It still leaves me with mixed feelings. I know he was keen to have the photo taken in my classroom because it would add local interest and the fact that I'm a teacher by day and filker by night/weekend is the point of the article. I don't know if he'll understand my reluctance to not have my school directly involved in the article, though I'll have no qualms about mentioning the school in the profile. I wonder if he'll somehow think that I'm hiding my filking activities because I'm choosing to keep them separate from my school. Though, heck, I'm well-aware that my filking profile in the Liberal will create buzz in the school community. Not that it will come as any surprise to most school staff that I go to science fiction music conventions on the weekends or that I'm really, really, really fond of J.R.R. Tolkien :).
So, though I've chosen to keep the filk profile separate from my school, it's left me thoughtful tonight. I'm sure the reporter will think it odd and I keep wondering if maybe I am making too much of the division between career and hobby, though my instincts are still telling me I made the right decision.
So, filkers, fanfic writers, artists, costumers, gamers, Tolkien friends, fans of all kinds, I'd be curious to know:
QUESTION:
What kind of lines do you draw between your professional life and your fannish activities? Are you really open about your assorted fannish obsessions at work or is that a side of you you tend to keep for a separate group of friends? Do you keep memorabilia around at work that showcase your fannish interests? What do your non-fan co-workers think of your fan activities? If you were contacted to do an interview about your involvement in filk, fanfic, gaming, costuming, etc., would you have allowed photos to be taken in your work place?