One sentence summary:
Teachers are selling their own intellectual creations online -- whether they're lesson plans or entire units of study -- and this is setting off some controversy.
Give me a break. Here, finally, is a way for teachers to share some of their unique and sometimes brilliant lesson plans for a couple of bucks online. Who has a problem with that?
Apparently, someone at NYU. The Times reports that this professor said "...it cheapens what teachers do" to sell their work online. I don't understand. Perhaps if you scaffolded that thought with a series of prompts and lead-ins and bell-ringers, I'd be able to make my way toward the comprehension I need to truly understand the comment. Don't have enough time? Yeah, I know what you mean.
Before teachers can actually get to the curriculum they need to teach, a whole series of layers must be peeled. Must teachers come up with these lessons and activities every single time, in every single instance? Why would someone begrudge a little profit for the teacher who spent hours coming up with some innovative and fun way to approach and engage students? Do we argue with the textbook companies who use teachers to come up with plans for the resource kit?Is their work somehow cheapened because they have 'consulted' with MacMillan on their latest English Language Arts series?
There are many sites where teachers pay to download puzzles, rubrics, activity sheets. I haven't heard anyone complaining about those sites.This is the first site where teachers can actually sell their own stuff and make a little profit. So far, the reports say these teachers are reinvesting the money into their classrooms, and maybe the money is even helping them pay their mortgage. There's nothing cheap about that.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/education/15plans.html
Teachers are selling their own intellectual creations online -- whether they're lesson plans or entire units of study -- and this is setting off some controversy.
Give me a break. Here, finally, is a way for teachers to share some of their unique and sometimes brilliant lesson plans for a couple of bucks online. Who has a problem with that?
Apparently, someone at NYU. The Times reports that this professor said "...it cheapens what teachers do" to sell their work online. I don't understand. Perhaps if you scaffolded that thought with a series of prompts and lead-ins and bell-ringers, I'd be able to make my way toward the comprehension I need to truly understand the comment. Don't have enough time? Yeah, I know what you mean.
Before teachers can actually get to the curriculum they need to teach, a whole series of layers must be peeled. Must teachers come up with these lessons and activities every single time, in every single instance? Why would someone begrudge a little profit for the teacher who spent hours coming up with some innovative and fun way to approach and engage students? Do we argue with the textbook companies who use teachers to come up with plans for the resource kit?Is their work somehow cheapened because they have 'consulted' with MacMillan on their latest English Language Arts series?
There are many sites where teachers pay to download puzzles, rubrics, activity sheets. I haven't heard anyone complaining about those sites.This is the first site where teachers can actually sell their own stuff and make a little profit. So far, the reports say these teachers are reinvesting the money into their classrooms, and maybe the money is even helping them pay their mortgage. There's nothing cheap about that.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/education/15plans.html
I actually think this is an idea whose time has come. A potential user does not have to buy the product; but if it is deemed worthwhile it's a win-win for both parties. Provider and user - and most importantly, students.
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