If I Download a Tpt File Will I Be Charged Again

The life of a teacher is a busy one. Every year I say to myself that I just need to get through September and things volition calm down. The kids will settle into our routines we love. I will magically be ready for the inevitable roadblocks that appear. Heck, I volition even anticipate them.

And then Oct rolls in and that "calming down" thing merely isn't truthful. October has its ain busy and then do Nov, Dec and every other month. Teaching is a wild ride – e'er.

I'k seeing a lot of conversations on social media about the weight of teaching. The feeling many have in October, the October Slump. Many use the phrase "just holding my head above h2o" or "treading water" — this whole idea that we are just nigh to drown.

The tasks build up, the work piles on, time and resources are scarce. It seems like we may soon be overwhelmed with the flood of responsibilities that come with teaching.

I get it. I live information technology. And withal…

Does the Finish Justify the Ways?

Earlier this week at the gym I sat downwardly to catch up on 1 of my preferred podcasts. I had not heard of the latest invitee, but role of the clarification centered on teacher resources and "disinterestedness in sharing." That defenseless my eye, so I turned it on and hit the treadmill.

Much to my dismay the podcast took a turn that acquired me to pause for a minute. The speaker was what some refer to as an Edu-CEO – an individual who has left the classroom to course a business organization with the goal of supporting teachers. This particular guest was singing the praises of the Teachers Pay Teachers pedagogy marketplace.

Having listened to this podcast serial before, and knowing that many of the by guests had been victims of the copyright infringement practices that Teachers Pay Teachers seems to miss and so oft in the products they profit from, I was anticipating that the host would have a pointed question or two for this TPT champion. But the challenge did non come.

As the podcast continued, topics similar how to promote your shop, dealing with the "echo sleeping room" of negativity, and how Teachers Pay Teachers is a tool for equity (I pulled an eye musculus on this one) were addressed. As a recovering TPT seller I know how rampant the abuse of intellectual property rights is on the platform, and so I was shocked at this clear bias for the promotion of resource creation using the intellectual piece of work of others without permission.

Every bit a unproblematic sample of what I mean, I've just searched  "The 40 Book Challenge" on Teachers Pay Teachers. This is an idea, for those who are unaware, that Donalyn Miller introduced in her fantastic book The Book Whisperer. The search returned over 1000 hits selling various graphic organizers and other creations, all sporting the 40 Book Challenge proper noun. They often cite Donalyn herself as the creator (one even called her "Carolyn" Miller).

In attempt to combat the rampant copyright violations on websites such as Teachers Pay Teachers, Heinemann Publishing has updated its copyright language. I hope other educational material publishers follow their lead. https://t.co/CTTRNIAcdH

— Donalyn Miller (@donalynbooks) December xvi, 2018

Using Donalyn's proper name is ane of two things – a misguided try to give credit, somehow thinking it absolves them of whatever incorrect regarding copyright infringement – or an endeavour to get more eyes on their product by having her name in the description. Either style the practise is disheartening.

Don't even get me started on the employ and abuse on TPT of Notice and Note, a drove of works by Heinemann authors Kylene Beers and Robert E. Probst. These two creators have asked that people not take their ideas and sell them on Teachers Pay Teachers. Just a quick search there produces 7000+ hits.

Why are these sellers willing to ignore intellectual holding rights? One TPT-participating teacher told me, "I don't intendance what they say, I should get paid for my work!" The hypocrisy of this argument was both staggering and hilarious to me. In that moment I realized what I was dealing with.

Sharing Our Work Is Good

The concept of teachers paying teachers is not all bad. The argument that teachers need ways to share resources and possibly even profit off the work they are CREATING themselves is credible, even valuable.

The concern I have is that educators are looking to Teachers Pay Teachers and the somewhat affordable products offered in that location without giving much consideration to who created the original work – whether someone else's genius fabricated it possible for these TPT sellers to create packets, handouts and super beautiful worksheets. And what it means when we fail to support the authors and thought leaders who have put in the time – in the classroom and at the writing desk – to effigy out and share what works.

The point is oft raised in this discussion that teachers need back up, they need resources, and there not enough time to make everything they need. I agree, and never more than than this year. I am stretched pretty sparse myself, and I myself am tempted at times. I accept in the past hitting upward Teachers Pay Teachers for some quick ideas and then I can only get something started tomorrow. What I have non done is kid myself that this is best for my students or my practice.

The Heinemann Blog post nigh copyright language revisions, mentioned in Donalyn Miller's tweet above, specifically mentions Teachers Pay Teachers as a cause for concern. This passage is highlighted in the post:

Heinemann'due south authors have devoted their entire careers to developing the unique content in their works, and their written expression is protected by copyright law. We respectfully ask that you practice not adapt, reuse, or copy anything on third-party (whether for-profit or not-for-profit) lesson sharing websites. (An Update to Our Copyright Language, Heinemann Blog, 12/10/xviii)

My outlook on this: If I buy Notice and Notation, if I read it, if I use the materials that come with the book (within the covers or online) – which are shared by the authors with me for the price of the book – and if I then accept their ideas and templates and conform them for my needs in my classes, this is advisable employ, part of my "license" which I gained by buying and arresting their work.

If I develop some of my own original materials, inspired by my study of Beers and Probst in the about full general sense, and offer them online, that may exist okay, too. But the infinitesimal I connect their titles, special linguistic communication, books and materials to my items for auction – I'grand very likely infringing on their intellectual belongings. If and then, and so I'thou taking unfair advantage of the big investment they and their publishers accept made to create, publish and promote what they have created.

Robert Probst & Kylene Beers developed the Notice and Note learning strategies.

I empathise that costs of professional resources tin can exist high. But these texts provide a long term learning tool. If a schoolhouse sectionalisation or school presents us with funds to improve our classroom and pedagogy, our beginning moves should not be to type in Teachers Pay Teachers to build a curriculum. Nosotros should exist building professional libraries. We should be creating a stiff foundation of teaching that does non rely on prune art, fancy fonts and chevron borders to catch our students attention.

While Teachers Pay Teachers is affordable and yes, you lot can probably get all the handouts you need in that location for effectually the same price as a few professional teaching resources, which is going to provide the better long term educational growth for both y'all and your students?

The Question of Equity

I take spent the week pondering how to address the claims that Teachers Pay Teachers is an equity tool, that it evens the playing field and provides resources to those who have less access due to geographic isolation or fewer fiscal resources.

While I can meet that these problems are significant, I would suggest there are better ways to gain admission than to purchase what some might say is stolen property. In this day and age nosotros take connections to amazing educators at our finger tips. I live in rural Alberta, Canada. The excuse of isolation only goes as far as our connection to the internet.

Lack of available funds is a real problem, merely if you have funds to purchase a few canned resources from TPT, yous likely have the means to invest in some professional resource that will build your practice. Check the library, frequently there is a resource department with back up funds. I also see crowd-funded resources requests all the time – effort 1 in your community. Maybe the #clearthelists movement would be a great way to become those resources to support your teaching (while we also support #fundourschools).

The idea of a schoolhouse partition or district giving teachers money for resource, and instead of investing in the learning of teachers we invest in workbooks and worksheets, saddens me. As I was discussing this concept on Twitter, a friend said in a moment of desperation they turned to TPT because they were educational activity a new grade and just felt similar they were drowning.

In that moment, I idea about the story Refugee past Alan Gratz that my grade 8 form is currently loving. In that location is a scene where Mahmoud is in the Mediterranean bounding main, on the verge of drowning, and his life jacket is non helping him stay afloat. The life jackets his family had purchased seemed great. They looked like the real deal, just alas they were fakes. Their sense of safety and security was imitation. (Mahmoud and his family exercise survive the ordeal, finding a functioning life jacket to keep them alive.) I thought about that and how Teachers Pay Teachers is sometimes that fake life jacket. It looks good, makes us experience okay, like we're able to float, but in the end it does nothing to really buoy us up.

My Greatest Concerns

Ultimately, my primary business organisation with the products on Teachers Pay Teachers revolves effectually the legalities of copyright infringement and the morality of teachers repackaging the ideas of others by throwing some shiny clip art on the authors' work and challenge it equally their own. What is the message we are sending? What is the example we are showing?

Beyond that, I think the appeal of quick and like shooting fish in a barrel handouts and one-half-understood tools will distract likewise many teachers from our truthful purpose. Find and Note once more provides a skillful example. Having some handouts with those words on them that we can show to the principal is a whole lot different than really understanding at a deep level what Beers and Probst are trying to help usa reach with our kids – and really learning to use their strategies.

Teach and larn. That'south our true purpose. Teach and learn.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: Readers may be interested in this story that appeared at Education Week in July 2020: Teachers Pay Teachers Has a New Anti-Racist Initiative. But There'south Still Racist Content on the Site.

AND this EdSurge article from February 2021:

What Teachers Pay Teachers Is Learning From Bad Lessons and Upset Teachers – More than two-thirds of teachers are estimated to have used Teachers Pay Teachers to access lessons and other resource. Even so, a review of materials on the site by The Thomas B. Fordham Constitute found many may not exist "worth using," and the company appears to exist reacting to some concerns, including a need for more anti-racist and culturally responsive materials. (Summary from Accomplished Teacher SmartBrief)

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Source: https://www.middleweb.com/41448/why-ive-stopped-using-teachers-pay-teachers/

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