On Missing the Forest for the Trees

"Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition." -Jacques Barzun 

"If we would just support each other - that's ninety percent of the problem." -Edward Gardner

I stumbled across this article on Facebook today: Why teachers selling lesson plans have sparked debate. There are some interesting points, but not the point I was hoping for when I saw the title. Yes, there are quality control issues with teacher-created materials. Yes, it closes the door for free flowing ideas. (I don't think I've ever purchased anything from a teacher collab site--I'm getting pretty good at finding the free stuff. If I ever get organized enough, perhaps I'll contribute to one of these sites--and my stuff will be free, as nice as some extra cash may be.) But this article misses the bigger picture of why these sites are how they are. I feel like the main issue is two fold, and not those two folds, revolving around the question of why teachers feel the need to create and sell lesson plans in the first place.

Why on earth should a teacher need to supplement her job with THREE other sources of income? Being a teacher is, many times, more than a full time job. I can't fathom having another job on top of that. (Granted, I do extra little jobs too-I am helping coach my school's track team, and just started tutoring one of my students after school, but only one of those things will get me extra money, and I am lucky that choosing to tutor was not a money-based decision). What is wrong with this country that an article can state that this teacher is essentially working four jobs to live comfortably, and that's NOT a focal point of the issue described? This should not be the norm. (As an aside, it's pretty messed up that these collab sites, like Teachers Pay Teachers, are helping some teachers from the pockets of other teachers--who may have similar money issues).

Many teachers pay hundreds-even thousands-of their own money to supplement classroom supplies, or items needed to create and implement engaging lessons. Schools and teachers are constantly fundraising to provide opportunities for their students. What other job doesn't supply its workers with the tools needed to do a good job? As the saying goes, teaching is the only job where you steal supplies from home to bring to work. School districts spend gargantuan amounts of money on curriculum--so why are teachers feeling the need to create and sell-or buy-lessons? (spoiler alert: many curriculums don't meet the children's needs who are in front of you). Why are teachers left to reinvent the wheel year after year? If teachers are constantly creating their own lessons, why are we bothering with these massively expensive curriculum materials? Why not fund teachers to make those decisions? I have hated many curriculums I've used--most are very content based, without too much regard to the actual little humans who will use it, or are practically scripted and one size fits all. It's actually offensive to teachers--who have been trained in effective teaching practices--to give them a script/one-size-fits-all curriculum (which this article  eloquently explains.) Why can't we trust teachers to do their job?

 I feel lucky to work in a school where we don't subscribe to any curriculum in the traditional sense of textbooks and workbooks and teaching guides, but are allowed to use our own knowledge to create lessons. That being said, many times I am creating from scratch materials and lessons that are already out there. But what if we put money where it can do the most good for our children--in the hands of teachers who are in the trenches, as it were, and who have a pretty good idea what might be best for the specific group of children in front of them right now?