I am very new to Teachers Pay Teachers. So sometimes, when I sell something or have a good day, I have a dance party! Today I reached 100 (and 101) units sold!!!!!!!! :) It makes my heart happy because it means people are enjoying my products and (hopefully) their lives are being made a little more simpler.
I am a new teacher (this is my third year) and I know that the teaching profession has changed drastically since I was a child. I was always an observant kiddo, as I think most kids who become teachers are, and I know we don't do the crafts like we used to, we don't have the easy-breezy feel to the classroom like it was pre-standardized testing.
I say all this because I recently read an article someone posted about how Teachers Pay Teachers is namely lazy teachers buying things to make their classroom "cute," paying no attention to the diversity in their classroom or the changing curriculum and standards.
To that I say 'please'
1. Teachers are not lazy.
This job is hard. Very hard. There is a very real science to it. And if I can save myself a few hours by purchasing some already-made math centers that my kiddos are going to be excited about, then of course that's a no brainer! On the flip side of that, when I create a new product sometimes I will spend a week's worth of evenings preparing a product, or longer. I want those products to look their best!
I WANT to have a life outside of my classroom someday. Right now I am not married, I have no pets, essentially it's just me and my career and I find it hard to keep up. I couldn't imagine at this point being married with three kids to chase around to games/practices/scouts/dinners/bathtime/homework plus a husband and a dog. Then I would REALLY rely on this great resource!
1. Teachers are not lazy.
This job is hard. Very hard. There is a very real science to it. And if I can save myself a few hours by purchasing some already-made math centers that my kiddos are going to be excited about, then of course that's a no brainer! On the flip side of that, when I create a new product sometimes I will spend a week's worth of evenings preparing a product, or longer. I want those products to look their best!
I WANT to have a life outside of my classroom someday. Right now I am not married, I have no pets, essentially it's just me and my career and I find it hard to keep up. I couldn't imagine at this point being married with three kids to chase around to games/practices/scouts/dinners/bathtime/homework plus a husband and a dog. Then I would REALLY rely on this great resource!
2. Teachers buy things for their classroom all the time.
I felt like a big part of the article was putting down teachers for purchasing 'pre-made' things. While I see the argument for wanting to make all your own things for ever and ever in your classroom, amen; and if that's your goal, go for it! But I find that highly unattainable in today's world. I know my district gives me a curriculum pacing guide and a textbook that I must follow. Essentially, everything I teach is from something "pre-made" ... I just like to make things more user friendly/condensed/ dare I say cute...
I felt like a big part of the article was putting down teachers for purchasing 'pre-made' things. While I see the argument for wanting to make all your own things for ever and ever in your classroom, amen; and if that's your goal, go for it! But I find that highly unattainable in today's world. I know my district gives me a curriculum pacing guide and a textbook that I must follow. Essentially, everything I teach is from something "pre-made" ... I just like to make things more user friendly/condensed/ dare I say cute...
3. Cute is awesome.
We are elementary teachers. There is value in a child seeing real birds compared to cartoon-y birds, I get that. But I am not going to ask Kevin Henkes to replace his hand drawn mousy characters with the real thing. Having a "cute" (and fun and inviting) classroom makes a child feel safe. They want to learn in a fun, creative, (cute) classroom. Needless to say sometimes I spend 10 or 11 hours a day in that room! I WANT it to be cute, darnit!
We are elementary teachers. There is value in a child seeing real birds compared to cartoon-y birds, I get that. But I am not going to ask Kevin Henkes to replace his hand drawn mousy characters with the real thing. Having a "cute" (and fun and inviting) classroom makes a child feel safe. They want to learn in a fun, creative, (cute) classroom. Needless to say sometimes I spend 10 or 11 hours a day in that room! I WANT it to be cute, darnit!
4. This is just complete ridiculousness.
Any teacher worth their salt knows exactly what standards their students are being held up to, even if they can't quote it directly, they know where their resource is so they can tell you how Johnny is doing on 2.MD.A.2 ... The AWESOME-est thing about TPT products is that as those standards change, or as we see changes that need to be made to products because of changes to programs, etc, we make those to the documents and BAM! You get the new download ... Instead of having to pay the 2.6 billion dollars for a new curriculum from (insert any textbook provider here).
The other 'best' thing is that TPT essentially is a place for differentiation in and of itself. The people making the products are teachers, they have taught the subject and know what other teachers are going through. When I make a product, I try to think of every way that it could be used in the classroom and prepare my product for that. That's also why we do previews; if it looks like it won't fit with your learners, don't purchase it! If you do purchase it and you would like to see some changes ... let us know! It might not be possible at that very second (as I said, teaching is a hard job and it takes a lot of time) but more than likely, it will get done.
So to recap: Teachers are not lazy people who are smart and like cute things that they are constantly buying with their own money.
Any teacher worth their salt knows exactly what standards their students are being held up to, even if they can't quote it directly, they know where their resource is so they can tell you how Johnny is doing on 2.MD.A.2 ... The AWESOME-est thing about TPT products is that as those standards change, or as we see changes that need to be made to products because of changes to programs, etc, we make those to the documents and BAM! You get the new download ... Instead of having to pay the 2.6 billion dollars for a new curriculum from (insert any textbook provider here).
The other 'best' thing is that TPT essentially is a place for differentiation in and of itself. The people making the products are teachers, they have taught the subject and know what other teachers are going through. When I make a product, I try to think of every way that it could be used in the classroom and prepare my product for that. That's also why we do previews; if it looks like it won't fit with your learners, don't purchase it! If you do purchase it and you would like to see some changes ... let us know! It might not be possible at that very second (as I said, teaching is a hard job and it takes a lot of time) but more than likely, it will get done.
So to recap: Teachers are not lazy people who are smart and like cute things that they are constantly buying with their own money.
It's just a quick Fairy Tale Story map and components. I did it this past week with my intervention group. They enjoyed it, and we took it a step further. After mapping a fairy tale, we would watch the "new" version from Ms. Booksy and map it again, comparing the two versions! Totally fun! (if you don't know Ms. Booksy- check her out, super fun! and a little silly)
