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Edupreneur Resources, Uncategorized   |   Apr 3, 2012

Should teachers sell the materials they create?

By Angela Watson

Founder and Writer

Should teachers sell the materials they create?

By Angela Watson

It’s safe to say that the edublogosphere was completely different when I started this site in 2003. Namely, there WAS no edublogosphere  then–all I had was a collection of static pages without a commenting or sharing system. Social media had not yet been invented. Neither had Google. There was no way for my content to “go viral” and search engine optimization strategies weren’t part of my everyday lexicon.

I just wanted to share my teaching ideas, and nine years ago, that’s pretty much the only option I had, anyway. The whole thing started because I was responding to message board posts at Teachers.net and was surprised at how happy other teachers were when I answered their questions about what worked in my classroom. Even though I was still a new-ish teacher, people made me feel like I had something valuable to contribute. I started noticing that people would ask the same types of questions and I was retyping the same types of answers, all the while trying in vain to describe something that would be so much clearer with a picture. So I started my first website and shared my tips and classroom photos. When people asked questions in the message board forums, I now had a link I could share with them that contained some photographs and a carefully thought-out response.

Here’s what my site looked like in 2003. I didn’t have my own domain and used a free web server. Updating the pages was a nightmare!
Here’s what my site looked like in 2003. I didn’t have my own domain and used a free web server. Updating the pages was a nightmare!

I never for a moment thought I’d make money from sharing my resources. I spent thousands of hours adding new content simply because I loved my work as a teacher and I wanted to help other people. And I wasn’t alone in this venture–there were quite a few other educators who also slowly built out massive sites, all completely, 100% for free.

As the internet evolved, people started suggesting that I sell my materials. At first, they recommended that I put my resources behind a pay wall; later they suggested I sell them on CD-ROMs. More recently, I started hearing I should be selling on Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT).

screenshotmspowell

These people had a point: who knows how many tens of thousands of dollars I could have made over the past decade by selling what I’ve been giving away? But my original vision for the website was still firmly entrenched in those beginning days when the entire focus was simply sharing ideas. It was the spirit of teaching, I thought.

People also recommended that I write a book, and I did take that advice. I had no problem charging for my first book when it came out in 2008. After all, people are used to paying for books: they’re not free unless you borrow them from the library. Then in 2010, I created the webinarAlthough free webinars do exist, mine is the equivalent of a full day’s professional development session, so it made sense to sell that, as well. As always, my website content and downloadable resources stayed completely free.

After I published The Cornerstone book in 2008, I moved from mspowell.com to thecornerstoneforteachers.com and got a fancy flash template, which was still hard to update and is unusable through today’s mobile devices.
After I published The Cornerstone book in 2008, I moved from mspowell.com to thecornerstoneforteachers.com and got a fancy flash template, which was still hard to update and is unusable through today’s mobile devices.

Then last fall, I joined Teaching Blog Traffic School (TBTS). Almost every member of the group sells teaching materials they create…and they’re making good money at it. I mean like, GOOD money. Some make enough to cover a car payment each month; some can pay their mortgage, and often after just 12 months (or even less) in the game. The really remarkable part is that they’re getting this kind of money from selling teaching materials for around $3 a pop! With TpT and PayPal each keeping a percentage! Can you imagine?  That’s how great the demand is for high-quality teaching materials. This stuff is selling in massive quantities.

Though I never argued for or against teachers selling materials, just observing the hard work of the TBTS group changed my mind about teachers selling the products they create. I’ve heard many solid reasons for why they sell materials, starting with the fact that no one who is working legally to create high-demand products should even have to justify their work. (Sure, I’ll give you that.) Many argue that it’s common for teachers to have a part time job to supplement their income; the additional money is necessary just to put food on the table. How can anyone begrudge them for taking care of their families? (Yeah, point taken there, too.)

The world’s tiniest graph image. Sorry about that. It shows how sales on TpT have grown exponentially. The projected sales for 2012 are 900 MILLION. Paul for TpT explains: “Sales in 2011 were $3,400,000 and we are almost at the same amount for 2012 and it’s only April.”
The world’s tiniest graph image. Sorry about that. It shows how sales on TpT have grown exponentially. The projected sales for 2012 are 900 MILLION. Paul for TpT explains: “Sales in 2011 were $3,400,000 and we are almost at the same amount for 2012 and it’s only April.”

Others say they want to make money doing what they love most: something that benefits teachers and students. They see creating teaching materials as a noble profession just like teaching is–and of course, teaching is a job which they are also paid to do, and deserve to be paid to do, so this isn’t any different. Just because you’re doing something to help others doesn’t mean you yourself cannot also benefit. (Hmm, yeah, true. And hello, I create teaching materials for a living! The ideas I’m sharing on my site, in my books, and in my webinar/PD sessions are just as valuable as the work I did in the classroom. Maybe even more so because I’m able to impact education on a greater scale and make a difference in the lives of more than just 30 kids a year. So yeah, I’m on board with that point, too.)

But the line of thinking that ultimately persuaded me to believe that teachers SHOULD sell the materials they create is this: why should corporations make all the money? Educators have no problem paying big bucks for reproducible books they get in education supply and book stores. A lot of the stuff that teachers are selling is of the same quality or higher (after all, the publishing companies are paying experienced educators to write the books for them.) Why shouldn’t teachers get the money for their ideas and their work?

TpT recently adopted this slogan. Love it.
TpT recently adopted this slogan. Love it.

Recently I found out exactly how much one education publisher paid a teacher for the materials she created for one of their books. She came up with the concept and designed every single activity from scratch; all they did was put it in print, and barely even promoted it.  The amount they paid her was disgraceful, a lump sum with no royalties and no rights to her own concept. Seriously. She could have made 100 times that amount–maybe even more–selling the exact same thing as a PDF document on TpT. Those teaching resource books aren’t cheap. Shouldn’t the person who actually came up with the idea and created the materials keep the majority of the money?

Though my perspective on teachers selling their resources has shifted in a way that I never thought it would, I have NOT changed my mind about the way I want to run my website. My content is free, period. I am, however, rethinking my books as I’ve been watching the trend of selling smaller items for less instead of larger items for more (see Seth Godin‘s post just this week). The idea for my fourth book (yes, I know, the third one’s not even done yet–I’m a planner!) involves reproducible classroom resources. I’ve kind of scrapped the book concept now in favor of dividing up the chapters and selling them separately as printable PDFs. That way teachers can buy only the exact resources they want, and I can save the time and expense that goes into publishing a book. It’s an experiment, for sure, an idea I haven’t totally fleshed out, but I thought I’d let you know how my own plans for TpT fit into this discussion.

In 2010, I switched to WordPress and have never looked back. I can add and edit content easily, and visitors can comment and share the resources in one click. I was also able to add a blog to the site so visitors can subscribe.
In 2010, I switched to WordPress and have never looked back. I can add and edit content easily, and visitors can comment and share the resources in one click. I was also able to add a blog to the site so visitors can subscribe.

Wow, this is insanely long. Thanks for hanging in there. This was really important for me to share because I often see a deeply bitter divide between those who think all resources should be shared freely in the spirit of teacher collaboration, and those who think teachers deserve to benefit financially from their hard work. Many people on both sides find the others’ opinion to be unfathomable. I hope that by sharing my shifting perspective with you, you’ll be able to understand the view that opposes yours just a little better.

Specifically, I hope I’ve helped those who support TpT understand why so many educators think the basic principle of it is wrong: it has to do with the early years of teaching websites, when none of this had yet been dreamed up, and we were just a small network of people helping one another for the sake of helping. It also goes back to a pre-internet age, in which teachers freely copied one another’s ideas and there was no thought whatsoever to making a profit from an activity you made for your students. You made stuff because you wanted your students to learn, and you shared it because you wanted your colleagues’ students to learn, too. That’s just as honorable as wanting to make money to support your family.

This is how the site looks today in 2012: a professionally-created header, social media options featured prominently, and my two book babies in the sidebar! I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next.
This is how the site looks today in 2012: a professionally-created header, social media options featured prominently, and my two book babies in the sidebar! I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next.

I also hope I’ve helped the anti-TpT people understand that teachers selling their products are not operating from a sense of greed. They spend countless hours creating fabulous products, and much of what they make, they give away as freebies. But they’re working on a teacher’s salary, and they see that educators are desperate for engaging, high-quality teaching materials and they’re willing to pay for them. To let big companies and publishers benefit from that demand on the backs of a select few teachers who are paid paltry sums for their ideas? It just doesn’t make sense when you’ve got great resources of your own which can pay for the things your family needs. Why shouldn’t educators be entrepreneurs?

And now, I’ll toss it over to you. Do you think teachers should sell the materials they create or give them away freely?  I’d love to hear where you stand in this whole debate.

Angela Watson

Founder and Writer

Angela created the first version of this site in 2003, when she was a classroom teacher herself. With 11 years of teaching experience and more than a decade of experience as an instructional coach, Angela oversees and contributes regularly to...
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Discussion


  1. Thanks for this great discussion! I am a BIG fan of TpT, and I have purchased many activities to use in my Kindergarten classroom. I would much rather buy something on TpT knowing that the money is going back to the teacher who invested time and effort to create it, than to purchase a book at a “teacher store” and only use a few pages. I am a blog stalker, too, and I often purchase TpT items from my favorite bloggers. I have been a teacher off and on for the past 18 years, with a few years at home when my kids were babies. Sites like TpT and Teacher’s Notebook are amazing resources that I wish had been around when I first entered the classroom. I have spent anywhere from $1 to $10 on items on TpT, and very rarely have I been disappointed with my purchase.

    It amazes me that there are people out there who think that teachers are “greedy” because they want to sell on sites like TpT. Most teachers that I know, myself included, have spent hundreds (thousands?) of dollars on their own classrooms over the years. I didn’t go into teaching because I am “greedy”, and I don’t think any of the educators who sell on sites like TpT did, either. Why shouldn’t they be rewarded for their hard work? I am grateful that they share their ideas with the rest of us, and I am very happy to support their efforts. I am always excited to read in the TpT newsletter about how many educators are now earning $10,000, $20,000, $75,000, or more. Good for them!

    Thanks again for the interesting discussion. I think one of the best things about the teacher blogosphere is the ability to have discussions like this with other educators.

  2. I go to TPT often for last minute ideas and I have no problem paying someone else for helping me make teaching easier and more fun. I also like the idea the money goes directly to the teacher and I can pick and choose what I want to purchase. The only disadvantage is I have at times purchased something and then realize it will not work for me. But again, the cost is minimal and I am willing to take the risk.

  3. I love being able to go on to TPT and get a specific unit of just what I need for just a few dollars. It’s worth it. Sometimes I don’t want to spend hours and hours preparing a power point for a novel unit but I can find just what I’m looking for online in a matter of minutes. And, I can spend less than 5 dollars. I’ve spent almost as much money as I’ve made on TPT buying other teacher’s materials. I’ll be lucky to break even at the end of each quarter.
    I’ve also spent a great deal of time updating and redoing all of my own posted TPT teaching materials because I want them to be the best they can be. My son, who is studying graphic arts in college, has been helping me graphically organize all my materials and power points so they have a much more professional look. Not only to other teachers get better products, but I’m encouraged to use these higher quality materials in my own lessons. My file cabinet is full of old, outdated (ditto) worksheets that are literally molding away. A great deal of our teacher’s previously produced work is being lost to the ages. At least this way we can preserve all this knowledge. Money is a powerful motivator to help teachers do exactly that.
    I agree with the idea that if a teacher spends time creating a product that is useful to other teachers, the teacher should benefit from it. For the past 20 years, I’ve spent my time creating my own stuff and reinventing the wheel over and over. What a waste of my time, talent and resources! With TPT’s help, I have time to try new things in my classes, read new works with my students and spend my time in a much more productive way using products I’ve purchased from TPT. These products can really “jump start” me to try new things in way that few other strategies have done for me in the past. There are some amazingly creative people out there. I think we need to celebrate the fact that we have produced an educated “teacher” class that is tech savvy and very aware of how students learn in today’s environment. Their products reflect this new awareness whereas textbook companies can lag behind by years!!! I applaud this site and its inventive genius.

  4. I recently discovered TPT and have shared it with the teachers at my school. I love being able to shop from home/school and have the materials I need (want) right at my fingertips. I would rather pay the teacher for the use of their ideas and materials than go into a teachers store to pay for a book that I only need a fraction of. I also have found that the items are reasonably priced according to the time and effort it takes to create the materials. I am grateful that there are teachers with creativity who are willing to share their ideas. As a matter of fact, the ideas I find through blogs and on TPT have sparked further ideas into my head and allowed me to alter material for my needs.
    So, if anyone is feeling guilty for selling items, please don’t. I’m willing to pay because I’m grateful that you are being generous in you time, effort, and pricing. I wish I could create materials that were worthy enough to blog about or post on TPT.

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