1. How long have you been on Teachers Pay Teachers? What made you decide to be a part of it?
I have been on TpT for almost 3 years. I found the site while searching for teaching materials for The Shawshank Redemption by Steven King. I could find no materials anywhere, but followed a link to TpT where someone was selling a few worksheets. I didn’t end up using them; they weren’t quite what I was looking for. So I ended up making my own materials for the unit, and thought, I should sell my own teaching materials. Why not?
2. When did you know that you wanted to be in education?
My parents are both involved in education. My mom works in special education, and my dad teaches 3rd grade. They got me interested in elementary education while I was in high school. I often volunteered in my dad’s classroom after school. I ended up teaching high school, and then later, at the college level, but I still love the elementary classroom.
3. How are you currently involved in education?
I’m currently teaching a few English courses at a community college as an adjunct instructor and loving it. My students need a lot of support to be successful in college, and it’s a joy to work with them.
4. What would be your advice to people who are considering joining Teachers Pay Teachers?
Definitely do it! It takes quite a while to upload all of your materials, and write a description for each, but once you’ve done it, you just sit back and make money. It’s very exciting getting a check every quarter for my sales. One piece of advice, though, is to be sure to write very clear, detailed descriptions of your products, so that the buyer knows exactly what the product is. Also, every so often, go back and revise the materials. Your buyers want the best product they can get.
5. What has been a highlight, thus far, about being on Teachers Pay Teachers?
Getting the paycheck is always fun, but I think a better highlight is the fact that the process goes both ways. I like to think that the materials that I sell are helping teachers in need of quality lessons, but I’ve also used the site several times to search for and buy products from other teachers. It’s helped me out several times. There are so many materials on the site, and I always find something helpful.
6. What is something fun about you that other teachers don’t know?
Although I already said it, I think a lot of people don’t know that I started my career in elementary education. I still use a lot of techniques that I used in the elementary classroom. For example, I graded a test the other day, and I put stickers on the papers that got an ‘A.’ I don’t care what age you are, everyone enjoys getting stickers. J
7. Do you participate in education outside of the classroom? In what type of role?
I tutor in the college writing center, which is a lot of fun. Students come in who are motivated to improve their writing, and who really need my help. It’s very rewarding.
8. What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?
I’ve always wanted to be a librarian, because I love to read and do research, and I always thought it would be fun to be able to help students (or anyone) looking for a good book, or needing help finding materials. But that’s close to what I do now, so I don’t know if that counts.
9. What profession would you not like to do?
Anything that requires me to sit in a cubical all day. I could never be a business major. I love to interact with my students.
10. Who is your favorite author? Favorite educational author? And why?
Just one? Right now, my favorite author is Phillipa Gregory. I’ve been reading all of her book about the Tudors, starting with Catherine of Aragon and ending with Elizabeth. I love historical fiction, and her books are fabulous! As for an educational author, I don’t know if I have a favorite, but I do like Jim Burke’s books on the secondary English classroom. I think he has a lot of good ideas, and I still consult his books from time to time.
I really like the literature circle questions I created for Romeo and Juliet. I created questions for students to debate about each act of the play. It’s a great play, and there’s so much for students to talk about!
Poetry Song Project
I also like the poetry song project that I created. At the beginning of a poetry unit, my students discuss the idea that the best songs are full of poetry. I have them bring in a song, play it for the class, and analyze the song lyrics, looking for poetic elements. It’s a lot of fun, and they learn a lot from it.
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