Like many teachers, I have a Teachers Pay Teachers store where I create, buy, and sell teaching resources that have helped me be a better teacher. I believe it helps to create a teacher community, promotes connectivity, and has helped many teachers earn an awesome supplemental income. Then, as I was walking home the other day, I had this thought pop in my head that said, “You shouldn’t be charging for any resources.” Seemingly, this thought popped out of nowhere but perhaps not. Lately, I’ve been thinking seriously about how we set teachers up for success in the classroom.
Much of my graduate work focused on theory, not on practical actions I needed to be well-versed in to be successful in my classroom. Luckily, the first school I taught in after receiving my masters, was hyper focused on practical teacher preparation. I had an academic coach who visited my once a week, we debriefed at weekly meetings, set goals, and she gave me targeted feedback that improved my practice quickly. In addition, weekly grade team meetings and school-wide professional development gave me transferable frameworks for curriculum development, data analysis, classroom management, and more.
When I moved to Portland, I realized this is not the case for many, if not most other educators working today. My situation was unique but it shouldn’t be. So my decision to make my Teachers Pay Teachers store completely free is grounded stems from this belief that high-quality teacher materials should not come at a cost for teachers. In the coming weeks, I’ll be posting all my downloadable resources on this site at no cost; the resources on my Teachers Pay Teachers store are all free.
Check back in the coming weeks for free resources!
Cheers,
Amy