Selling Lesson Plans (hiatus over)

Selling Lessons Online Raises Cash and Questions


To me this is entirely non-controversial.

Do you sell cookies you have made at home (occasionally)
Do you sell private music lessons?
Do you sell your expertise on your off-hours in such endeavors as plumbing, yardwork, painting houses, how to do algebra, et cetera, times a million?

Then why in a million universes would you not be allowed to sell lesson plans?* 

I commented:

"I'll tell you who doesn't own my intellectual proerty--the school system. And as soon as schools begin laying claim to this intellectual property, teachers need to demand 1) higher salaries, 2)profit sharing in the materials developed...or they need to WALK. Teachers need to think seriously about the implications of this--what if you write a book about your classroom experiences--something unobjectionable, uplifting, non-defamatory. Perhaps that book might even land you on Oprah--you could become rich. Does the school system own the copyright?

All of this needs to be spelled out to teachers BEFORE they sign their yearly contracts. College professors know precisely what their intellectual property rights are and avail themselves of multiple opportunities to profit off of their expertise, on the lecture circuit and through publishing."

Dear Readers: forgive my typos--I was in an apoplectic fit!

***
So, finally, after weeks if not months of promising, I will begin to compile where and how you can increase your hourly wage.  Thanks to the NY Times, I have found these two websites:

weareteachers.com
teacherspayteachers.com

Soon I will be posting how to earn money delivering instruction online; however, I personally have found this terrifically difficult to break into.

Most radical--starting one's own private school, charter school, home school, tutoring company-whatever you want to call it. 

"Unschooling-inspired commune slash ashram."

More to come.


***

*Obvious reasons why (not):

• you did not write the lesson plans--this is called plagiarism--DOI!!
• you co-wrote them with other colleagues--hey--split the profit!  Get their permission first!
• the school system paid you to write them - still unclear--a newspaper may pay you to write an article, yet you STILL OWN THE COPYRIGHT!!!!  It's called an anthology--I writemusic criticism, and do plan one day tocollect these and other writing togather for publication.  I'd like the newspapers to try to stop me.

Should you visit a student's home?

How about "no?" [short answer--long answer below...]
***

Learn Your Place!

While trolling for any and all reportage of teachers agitating for better working conditions and salaries, which we find entirely lacking and sparse, we found an article from last year concerning a planned/possible strike in Florida:

One anonymous commentator spewed: “....Looking closely at the facts here, it is reasonable to conclude that this strike is not really about Saucon Valley schools but about a broader strategy by the teacher unions -- namely, continuing to drive up comparative teacher salaries through formulaic pay scales and expecting taxpayers to pay for the escalating cost of health care.....”


I [Rachel] would like to reply: You are correct, sir! Teachers want to drive up comparative salaries--check--no, check-plus!! We want tax payers to pay for the escalating cost of health care--BINGO!! If we didn't know our anonymous commenter clearly despises teachers and regard them as "lessers"--we'd HIRE you as a guest blogger!!


Would anonymous commenter rather teachers go on strike to request that their salaries keep them mired in student loan debt, permanently ensconced in the lower middle class*, forever obligated to take 2nd, and 3rd, and 4th jobs to pay mortgages on house in the districts in which they teach?

To that we say, "G(o) T(o) H-E-Double Hockey sticks! We're not your worker bees.


Or...maybe we are, and just like the collapse of the honey bees, we should take our act on the road. Go to law school. Set up our own tutoring companies. Withdraw our labor. See how you like them apples....


*Yes--actually, you are in The Lower Middle Class. Oh, you don't think so? Well, you're wrong. We will elucidate you tomorrow.