1. How long have you been on Teachers Pay Teachers? What made you decide to be a part of it?
I’ve been a seller for about seven months. I happened to read an online article about the site and decided to give it a go. I have created packets and sold them on e-bay, but that site is not really a place people look for education products. I love sharing my products and to make extra money from it is fantastic!
2. When did you know that you wanted to be in education?
I had some really great teachers throughout my education, so I must give them credit for making their mark on me and influencing me toward a fulfilling career. My Spanish teachers were all able to really reach me as a student and made the love for the language grow. My first ‘training’ as a teacher came after my second year of college, as I work as a teacher in a summer program for inner-city children. Without any education classes besides Education 100, I completed the summer and knew that I could handle this profession and it was something I wanted to do. At least now I know what I am doing though!
3. How are you currently involved in education?
This is my 6th year teaching. I currently teach 8th grade Spanish at a Blue Ribbon school in Illinois. I like to get involved in extra curricular programs and events at my school and see students perform outside the classroom walls.
4. What would be your advice to people who are considering joining Teachers Pay Teachers?
Any teacher who is not part of TpT needs to be! It is free to sign up as a customer and you can find thousands of products to use in your classroom. You can find plenty of free resources but any product you buy you know it is a teacher tried and true lesson-plus at great prices. To those who create engaging lessons for their own students, it is satisfying to know that your work is benefiting students around the US when other teachers buy your products. Plus, who couldn’t use some extra income?
5. What has been a highlight, thus far, about being on Teachers Pay Teachers?
I have always wanted to get into publishing. As a teacher, I enjoy creating relevant and engaging lessons for my students. When I would see products in educational catalogues being sold at high prices, I would think to myself “I could make that.” And now I am making products and can market them to teachers at reasonable prices that I would pay.
6. What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?
I would love to be an author and write novels. As a child, I loved to write and would write mini books at home. Although I do publish teacher materials on TpT, I still hope to eventually publish a book in the future. Perhaps in retirement?
7. What profession would you not like to do?
Lucky for me, I have found a profession that I love. I go to work everyday knowing that I am doing something worthwhile and enjoyable. I enjoy my role as a teacher where I get to interact with students everyday and hopefully inspire them in my content. I see the work that administrators do and the problems that social workers deal with and I know that I could never do their difficult jobs.
9. Who is your favorite author? Favorite educational author? And why?
I do not have a particular favorite author, but I do enjoy reading, especially the kind of books my students are reading. That being said, I have to say I really enjoyed the Hunger Games series.
By Justin
Justin's Favorite Products
This 64 page book features many ideas for lessons and offers numerous games and projects, You won't find a collection of this many classroom tried and tested materials in once place for this price! Publishers will charge you over 2 or 3 times the price of this book.
This project, designed for students in grades 6-10, has groups working to research and present about a Country. Project includes 4 main components: Presentation Board, Map, Travel Brochure, and Map. Each component has a detailed rubric for easy grading. Makes good project for Geography, Social Studies, or Foreign Language classes.
Thanks for the feature!!
ReplyDeleteA big woohoo to Justin, aka, Spanish Plans -- for letting us interview him and to find out more about another great TPT teacher.
ReplyDelete