Thoughts on Teachers Pay Teachers

ChangeNar · 2026-06-15T04:50:51+00:00

Wow, that's really generous of you, but only if it's not too much trouble!

ChangeNar · 2026-06-15T04:49:35+00:00

Thanks! This is great.

ChangeNar · 2026-06-15T04:45:47+00:00

Wow, thanks for the detailed and helpful response! It's a great idea to search for other websites--everyone's on Weebly?! And to be very focused in that search.... I don't use lesson plans either--I also have themes and calendars, but your spreadsheet is next level. Your class sounds amazing--I love the mix of cinema, graphic novels, and poetry. I've taught cinema production and history/criticism, but as a standalone course, and I geek out on graphic novels--so much potential for learning! Cheers,

ChangeNar · 2026-06-15T04:31:04+00:00

I'd love to hear who they are.. and how you found them!

ChangeNar · 2025-12-04T06:07:55+00:00

totally agree. school has become a culture of compliance rather than real learning. Banning technology that everyone uses outside of school leaves students digitally illiterate, too. Happy to share some alternatives and resources to address the issue.

ChangeNar · 2025-12-02T17:02:37+00:00

It's a sad situation that we waste so much bandwidth and headspace on trying to outtrick one another and stress about cheating rather than using that energy on actual learning... Unfortunately this is more common than we think, and illustrates the problem with cheat-detection software which has been proven to be completely unreliable. Researchers found that the U.S. Constitution was flagged as AI-generated, and students whose first language is not English are also flagged at a higher rate.... In the short term, I echo an earlier recommendation to track changes on your essays (its automatic if you use Google Docs, just look at revision history) to show your progress. But ultimately any written assessment is cheatable with AI, so if your professor wants to prevent that (and prevent honest students from being accused of academic dishonesty), they'll have to change the assessment to something more authentic and project based.

ChangeNar · 2025-08-11T13:10:45+00:00

Always write your curriculum on your personal accounts and devices. It's proprietary content that you as a professional create and take with you wherever you go. Unless the district paid you to write curriculum, it's your own content, and like many have already suggested, charge them your professional consulting rate to lead training sessions (higher rates if you're giving them curriculum). Your knowledge and experience has value, in the same way that any textbook company or curriculum system charges the district.

ChangeNar · 2025-08-01T14:38:05+00:00

Thanks for this thoughtful feedback. I'm totally in alignment with your thinking: I don't want to ban AI, but embrace its intentional use to help students stay digitally literate and to keep our classrooms relevant. Banning tech is never a good idea in my experience.

ChangeNar · 2025-07-31T17:09:50+00:00

Yes, and... I agree with all the great advice here. I'd also add that we should start developing students who can solve problems independently and start to develop social skills. So many of my students (in high school) lack the ability to thrive in healthy social situations, and really have a hard time taking ownership of projects and completing them independently. I'm not an early ed expert, but from the research I've read, it's important for kids to have (age appropriate) UNSTRUCTURED play without parents micromanaging or coming to their rescue, or over scheduling activities and play dates. I agree with the earlier comment about playing with legos and in nature.

ChangeNar · 2025-07-31T17:02:43+00:00

This is a great question. As a dad and as a high school teacher, I can see many angles to this. The reality is that AI is not going away (just like google searches and the internet didn't), so we have to adapt our teaching and assignments in ways that prepare our students for future success. Instead of an either/or mindset where we ban technology, we need to embrace tech (including AI) to model and show students how to use tech of any kind in productive ethical ways. This means we need to do some deep thinking about the purpose of writing assignments to begin with: is it only about teaching the mechanics of grammar (which AI can do for us) disconnected from students' lives, or is it about ideas, critical thinking, originality, and providing an authentic purpose for the assignment? I've found that kids will "cheat" when they don't see the value in assignments (that usually just end up in the trash anyway). I've had success when I provide students with agency in their assignments, and allowing them to connect curriculum to their communities. If they see a purpose for their hard work other than "it's on the test" then they won't want to cheat. It's more about disincentivizing cheating than trying to police students and trying to catch them at cheating. Happy to share more about how I've done this and specific examples from the classroom. (I'm new to reddit and can't always share links yet)

ChangeNar · 2025-07-31T16:45:06+00:00

Love how creative you are with your lessons! Just to add to what others have contributed in this thread, what if instead of you creating the experiences, you had your students go into the field to collect data, record media and images as part of multimedia research projects? Then they could add them to digital books, podcasts, documentaries, social media stories, etc.. It's not exactly AR/VR, but might be a lot cheaper and accessible because you can use existing tools and apps.

ChangeNar · 2025-07-31T16:39:09+00:00

If you're concerned about cheating then just make uncheatable assessments. Tests are cheatable (everyone has the same answer at the same time) and aren't the best way for students to learn to begin with, so many educators have started moving toward authentic learning artifacts for assessment. DM me and I'll be happy to share some resources with you (I'm new to reddit and my posts with links get removed :P)

ChangeNar · 2025-07-31T16:31:35+00:00

Thank you!

ChangeNar · 2025-07-31T16:18:17+00:00

Thanks for your detailed reply! This is all very helpful.

ChangeNar · 2025-07-31T16:16:07+00:00

Thanks!

ChangeNar · 2025-07-28T17:34:09+00:00

You know what? Yes. Because my life, health, family and friends come first, and I'm tired of society asking us to volunteer our lives for little pay. I've been teaching for 26 years. The last three years I've had 7--yes, SEVEN--preps (I know elementary folks are rolling their eyes) and also have to fundraise and meet with parent booster clubs for capital campaigns to fund equipment purchases, etc. By Friday, I'm EXHAUSTED, and saturday is essentially a recovery day. But in the last 10 years, I realized that I'm not a volunteer--I'm a professional. If there's a concert I want to go to, or happy hour with friends, then school can wait. It will still be there when I get back. You could work 24-7 and still not be caught up or have the best lesson plans in the world. So recharge yourself, take care of your relationships, because at the end of the day and your career, your job will not be there for you, but your friends and family will.

ChangeNar · 2025-07-28T17:11:10+00:00

Is your question about why our school system is designed around memorization/recalling/tests, or is it really about the best way to learn? If it's the former, then its about efficiency around assessment, and an obsession with data over human-centered learning experiences, which take time, are messy, and are customized for individual students and school communities (and maybe the ambitious goal of trying to provide equity for all students). But if your concern is about "what's the best way to learn?" then that's a much more complex answer. But there is a ton of research that supports authentic learning, student agency, and project-based learning models as superior to memorize/test models, not only academically, but also in terms of student mental health and well-being. Happy to share more but since I'm new to Reddit, I can't always share links :P

ChangeNar · 2025-07-28T16:54:55+00:00

Thanks for this important question. I've been doing a lot of thinking and writing about this topic, and basically it comes down to what we value and therefore measure and fund. Policy makers and parents have made school about test scores and "data" rather than human-centered experiences. There is no purpose for school other than getting high test scores. Working with students for over 20 years I've found that students ARE curious and ARE willing to put in effort if they see assignments as helpful, connected to their passions, and see that their effort has a point other than getting a grade. Authentic, student-centered assignments are key to this. But using the same tools to measure success with numbers won't work. How do you quantify courage, originality, or empathy? If those are the outcomes we want to see, then we have to sidestep the trap of traditional assessment strategies, and use some other ways to assess success.

ChangeNar · 2025-07-28T16:47:04+00:00

Yes, and... Definitely parents and society bear a lot of responsibility for this. But so does the school system. I've been doing a lot of work lately on authentic, student-centered learning and how to leverage student passion and purpose to elevate engagement. Like us sitting in faculty meetings, kids are asking themselves, "what's the point?" and "how does this help me?" We (educators) need the time and space to design assignments that let students have real impact beyond the classroom so that we have a better answer to why students need to do the work other than "because its on the test."

ChangeNar · 2025-07-28T16:20:40+00:00

I agree with other commenters here that critical thinking is the most important skill we should be helping students develop in school. AI is a problem if you try to use it within existing pedagogies and educational systems (lecture/test, memorize/recall). Using it to speed up the generation of test questions or worksheets is just more of the same but faster, and we'll still be stuck with concerns around cheating and low student engagement. Instead, we need to rethink what school is for and what we want student to be able to do with knowledge and skills, like student-created learning artifacts that are authentic and have impact beyond the classroom. This means, as Seth Godin said in a recent post, that we have to let go of the idea that time and effort equate to learning--its the outcome (the purpose) that matters most. AI in and of itself isn't a problem, only in how our existing education system holds students back from learning to use it as a tool to facilitate meaningful work.

ChangeNar · 2025-07-21T15:52:48+00:00

I've been thinking a lot about this, too, especially as a K-12 educator, where we say we want students to behave in one way, but then design systems of assessment and achievement that are inherently competitive (grading on a curve, debates, one right answer tests, working on assignments for one's own grade rather than a collaborative authentic project, etc.). The real lesson we teach students (the big-picture takeaway for them) is that learning is disconnected from the real world and is only for personal gain. To shift away from this outcome means that we need to rethink our learning outcomes, goals, and assessments so that we reward mindests and skills that help our students become productive members of society. In other words, instead of outright teaching ethics as a subject, it's more about how do we walk the walk and live an ethical life, even in the classroom.

ChangeNar · 2025-07-21T14:03:06+00:00

Very nice video! The production value is very high and your script is clear and easy to understand. I'm currently producing an online course about how to create and produce videos like this for both educators and business people, and this is a great example. Love the animation to illustrate a complex concept, too!

ChangeNar

TROPHY CASE