
Of course, if this were to happen, it would affect taxpayers. You yourself remind us that the taxpayers
are the ones who pay us to work during specific hours of the day. Of course, they don't pay us to work on
weekends or summertime, and for most, not after 4pm on weekdays. Yet every teacher I know gives more of their
time beyond their contractual hours for free to plan lessons, mark papers, and
so on. And taxpayers certainly do not
give teachers carte blanche to spend money where they see fit. So although that's a nice dream for us
educators to have, it doesn't seem feasible.
And until that day that schools are given unlimited tax dollars,
situations arise, often on a weekly basis, where we see something is lacking,
and we have to step up and fill that need.


So if teachers have to be consumers like the rest of
society, why can't we pay for materials created by experts? And by experts, I mean other teachers. This too is the way of the world. In the last decade, reality TV has made
"regular people" into stars.
People don't just want to see professional actors in a role; they want
to see regular people and real reactions.
People aren't just getting their news from professional
broadcasters. They read blogs and
Twitter to get news faster, from people who are there, who are local, who have
perspective. People magazine named
"You" as "Person of the Year" because of the number of self-publishers who are garnering the attention of the masses who want hear "the common man's" view. So why wouldn't teachers turn to other
teachers who are coming up with creative solutions to challenges in their
classrooms?

Just because "most teachers signed up for the job
knowing...[they] aren't paid what they're worth...[and] can't really raise a
family on the salary they're given" does not make teacher-entrepreneurs
criminals who are stealing from the tax payers.
Instead of condemning a site like Teachers Pay Teachers with
insinuations that teachers are doing something wrong by earning money by
publishing on there, try looking at what the site is actually doing from a
different perspective. What the site
actually is, is a place which promotes collaboration among teachers, current
materials during a period of rapid educational shifts, and yes, extra income
for teachers whose hobby is related to their field. Maybe, just maybe, teachers who love
educating enough to devote their free time to it should be applauded.
P.S., To my regular readers who look forward to weekly ideas for classroom use, a bunch of us on Teachers Pay Teachers have donated a product or two to a GIANT compilation for charity. All of the money earned from this product will be going to The One Fund, the organization endorsed by Governor Deval Patrick and Mayor Tom Menino, to help the victims and families of the Marathon Bombing last week.





Money bag and piggy bank graphics from OpenClipart.org.