Should Teachers Be Ashamed When They Promote Their Work?

Blogger's Note:  This has the potential to be an uncomfortable conversation, y'all, and I'm not sure that my thoughts are completely polished yet.  Hope you will respect this for what it is: Transparent first-draft reflection on a topic that I think has real implications for our profession. 

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A few weeks back, I wrote a bit here on the Radical promoting my newest book - Making Teamwork Meaningful -- that was cross-posted on the Center for Teaching Quality's TransformED blog. 

In it, I shared the reasons why I think Making Teamwork Meaningful is a worthwhile read, I pointed to the collection of free resources from the book that are posted online, and I posted a series of recommendations from peers who had reviewed it in advance. 

An anonymous reader of the TransformED post questioned my decision to advertize the release of MTM, writing:

Having read so many of your worthwhile posts, I am disappointed that this is merely a promotion of your new book.

I knew it was coming and would have been interested in a simple announcement that it is now available. You have, however, gone over the top here.

You have taken advantage of a great blog for self-prmotuion. For shame.

As a guy who is trying to build a bit of a career beyond the classroom -- something that I can turn to during the two months a year that I'm not working with students -- Anonymous's take has challenged me to think about who I am as a professional AND who where we are as a profession.

The simple truth is that -- like a lot of other classroom teachers -- I need a part time job in order to make ends meet around my house.  But instead of pumping gas or stocking shelves at the Piggly Wiggly, I've decided to try to sell what I know. 

And while I'm constantly giving away content for free (see here, here, here and here for starters), I'm also hoping that interested audiences might actually buy my books, come to my workshops or hire me for onsite professional development with their faculties. 

I won't hide it: I really DO want people who stumble across my content to see me as a potential expert worth investing in. 

But maybe that's a truth best left unsaid in our profession?

Has wanting to profit off of our expertise inadvertently become the ultimate betrayal in a service-driven field where sacrifice has long been the criteria used for identifying the heroes in our hallways?

And if so, what are the consequences for our standing as professionals?

Isn't it possible that one of the reasons people beyond the classroom don't respect the knowledge and skills of classroom teachers is because we so often refuse to publicly lay claim to the title of "educational expert?"

Maybe I'm over-reacting -- or maybe I'm just a paranoid curmudgeon -- but I really do see every post that I write and every bit of content that I create as a digital haymaker in my own personal fight to defend practicing teachers as professionals.

The way I see it, we can't afford to hide what we know anymore because every time we hide what we know, our critics feel justified in questioning just how valuable we really are. 

Almost 20 years ago, my mom and dad gave me a plaque that still hangs in my classroom.  It reads:

A hundred years from now, it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of home I lived in, or the kind of car I drove; What will matter is that the world will be different because I was important in the life of a child.

Those words resonate with me simply because the handful of very human moments when I know without a doubt that I've made a meaningful and lasting difference in the life of one of my students really DO mean WAY more than the cash that I pull in on quarterly royalty checks from my publisher.

But I guess I'm just worried that the "sacrifice-with-a-smile" attitude we've built into a professional mythology over the past 100 years is simultaneously cheapening our field in the eyes of our critics AND chasing our most talented practitioners out of our classrooms. 

Any of this make sense?

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Related Radical Reads:

The Self-Promoting Teacher

Shameless Self-Promotion in Social Media Spaces

Twitter Snobs or Efficient Learners

Comments

[Pernille Ripp]

Bill, I have thought about this as well and I do not think it is wrong for teachers to promote themselves or their work. There seems to be a certain degree of self sacrifice expected when you become a teacher, that isn't expected in many other professions. The truth is we should be celebrating anything extra a teacher can do, since we are underpaid. In the end, if someone doesn't like the self promotion they can just not read it or follow. Congratulations on your book!

[Nick Provenzano]

Bill,

I feel like you and I are in the same spot. Due to budget cuts in my district, I need to find ways to make up for money that is no longer in my paycheck. I feel that some are annoyed or bothered that I monetize some of the things I do, but the alternative is finding another job.

I never thought this would be something I would do when I started teaching, but working with other teachers and sharing my experiences in my unique voice seems to work for me.

I continue to struggle with my dual life as an educator and "self-promotating" businessman. Until the funding issues in education changes, this is what I need to do to support my family. I think anyone that criticizes someone for trying to do that is off base.

Nick "TheNerdyTeacher" Provenzano

[Joy Kirr (@JoyKirr)]

I think it's guilt. Guilt can be a hard thing to get rid of. I was raised to feel guilty about everything, and it's become an issue in my adult life. I have to keep telling myself that it's okay to do this or that. I am not a writer. However, I wrote a blog post recently that I wanted comments on. I must've tweeted that post out FIVE times, and it was only I when I stopped that I finally got two comments. But I felt guilty promoting it! Why? I wasn't asking for money, as I don't think you are either. I was asking for people to share in the conversation. I had myriad questions in the post, and I just wanted to hear people's thoughts on them. Is this not what you're doing when you promote your writing? Don't you want to share with us what you've learned?

Keep it up. Don't let one negative comment change your enthusiasm to share. Pernille is right - if someone doesn't appreciate it, s/he can just sever the connection. Good luck, and enjoy your work!

[Mr_Brett_Clark]

Bill

First of all, I don't know of a profession where people don't get paid for their expertise when they are asked to share it with others. I don't see anything wrong with what you did. You were just giving a preview of what people were getting when they buy your new book.

On the other side, I understand why you feel a struggle with this. I struggle with the same stuff. Every time I tweet out one of my own blogs I wonder if I've tweeted it too many times. However, in the end I know my own motivations are pure, just like yours. We are both just trying to help our profession and if we end up helping our family out because of it, then that's a win-win.

Keep up the great work!

[Patrickmlarkin]

Hey Bill,

First of all Happy New Year! Second, like Pernille and Nick, I have struggled with this whole idea of making money as a perceived "expert." The bottom line for me (and you as you've shown over and over) is that I would talk about this stuff all day long for nothing. I love the work I do and I feel fortunate to have a network that has helped me to learn so much.

I believe we are fortunate to have classroom practitioners like you (and Nick and Pernille) who can provide resources for all of us. The bottom line is that there is a market for what we do and if we do not offer services like these then the only ones out there will be the "big-time consultants" who haven't spent time in a classroom in a long time, if ever.

My comment is not meant to be a slam on anyone, but I feel like the consultant market has been somewhat like the textbook market for a while and the big names get big bucks because they are better at marketing or because of some perception that if you earn a given amount for a day's work you must be great.

The best "consultants" we have in my mind are the ones working in our schools with our students on a daily basis. In the end, the people making the decision to spend the money do not have to buy your book or bring you to their district for a day.

Man, I would have expected more excitement about the book. I think it's awesome to be able to say - "Check out this great book written by a teacher!" What's better than that?

[Gcouros]

Here are some questions for you Bill...does the quality of your teaching or what you do because you make money as an expert suffer?

Does your school district lose out in any way because you write books or present? OR, does it actually build prestige for the district that they have an "expert" in their schools?

Does having a passion beyond the classroom make you less of a teacher, or in fact, a better one?

I want my teachers to do things that they LOVE outside of their jobs because that makes them more real to the kids they serve. Jesse McLean is a phenomenal teacher and a great college basketball coach and we all know that great coaches and great coaches have many things in common. He gets paid to coach so does that lessen him as a teacher?

Honestly dude, do what makes you happy, and if you get paid for it, why is that a bad thing?

Congratulations on the book!

[Scott McLeod]

Good grief. All you essentially did is post links to the book along with the testimonials on the back cover. It's okay to take pride in our work. It's okay to share. It's okay to supplement our income. It's okay to be entrepreneurial. It's okay to create value in multiple ways, some free and some not. It's okay not to feel guilty...

If one anonymous reader is concerned that one out of your hundreds of posts is touting a resource that you created that (gasp!) actually costs money, let him or her go and don't waste another second worrying about it.

Keep up the good work, Bill. And I'll keep buying your books. :)

[James Brauer]

What a great, timely blog post.

My take on this is rather blunt.

Businesses, service- or product-based, identify a market need and produce a service or product that best solves that need.

The business model one chooses can be to provide these services/products for free, or for a profit.

Ultimately, consumers will determine which business model is most sustainable. As such, a business must identify who their true niche market, or consumer, is.

Perhaps this is the first step to recognizing your true business model, mission, and vision?

[Rrmurry]

So let me get this straight:

Someone thinks it is not right for someone who "lives in the classroom," year after year, to sell their knowledge to help others who live in their classrooms as well.

BUT, it's okay for someone who has never been in a classroom, or got out of it before certification renewals came, to create lessons and sell, or receive education-based grants, their knowledge as pedagogical experts (Khan, KIPP, Rocketship, etc.).

Keep writing, speaking, and making us career educators proud to know you and your work.

[James Brauer]

Oh, it's also worth highlighting the comment derived from an anonymous poster.

One's credibility is lost if they cannot stand with conviction by their own words.

[Jeff Bigler]

First of all, it's your blog. Appropriate content is, by definition, whatever you choose to post.

That said, our society is becoming more and more schizophrenic in its attitudes towards teachers. On the one hand, teachers are held to a higher moral standard than just about any other profession (with the possible exception of the priesthood. In many places, teachers are criticized for unpopular lifestyle choices, editorial comments in local media, etc. Any faux pas by a teacher has the potential to become a significant breach of the public's trust in our moral fabric.

And yet the same public also vilifies the profession, attempting to strip away everything that individualizes our classrooms and our students' education in the name of consistency and higher scores on tests that measure only the lowest of low-level thinking skills.

It goes without saying that the public expects us to be completely altruistic, because the alternative in their eyes is that we must be profiteering from innocent children. Yet in the same breath they strip our schools of funds to the point where we become used to making daily quality-of-life sacrifices in order to be able to maintain our altruism to our own satisfaction.

On the other side of the coin, I also get criticized by businesspeople for giving away materials that took thousands of hours over a decade of teaching. They ask incredulously why I give these things away when I could sell them for a profit?

It is impossible to please everyone. No matter what choice you make, someone will be disgruntled with it. Just as no one goes into teaching for the money, no one goes into teaching in order to be valued and respected by society either. The cliche that "teaching is its own reward" is true because anyone who doesn't believe the cliche burns out and leaves the profession.

So by all means promote your book.
I have never suffered from learning what other teachers do, whether or not I end up adopting any of their ideas. And if promoting your book also makes you feel good about making other educators aware of something of value, that's also a good thing. But either way, don't let the detractors get under your skin. If a blog post doesn't interest them, they always have the option of skipping it quietly with dignity.

[Wmchamberlain]

I love it when an anonymous person online treats us like they are a jealous brother-in-law. The comment smacks of 'you owe me' and I disagree completely. You owe your family, students, and to a degree your community. You don't owe us anything. I appreciate what you are willing to share and if you want to promote things too, that is fine by me.

[Brian Rock]

Let me jump on the bandwagon here and say, "Nope. No need to feel ashamed."

I agree with so many other comments that it's hard to pick which one to add on to without writing a whole post. So instead let me add a different line of thought from critical theory.

Believing that writing (and blogging) can be free from promotion is like believing that the news can be completely "neutral" or that a writer of history can be entirely "objective."

It's impossible. The act of interpreting historical documents is inherently subjective, and simply writing something and putting your name on it is implicitly promoting yourself and your brand.

If it's impossible to write without promoting yourself, it would be silly to try and embrace some impossible ideal of being non-promotional. Instead, you need to embrace it and decide where on the spectrum of "soft sell" to "hard sell" you want to sit.

Accept reality, and stake your claim in it.

[Scott Boylen]

To echo most of the others here, congrats on the book and ignore the mad ramblings of the misinformed disgruntled. As teachers, we have every right, as do others, to make a dollar for what we do and know. This is especially true in todays world where public school educators seem under attack again.

If it is not negatively affecting your teaching/work for your school district, then there is no problem.

Write on! Feel good about sharing what you care about with others who are interested and ignore, as best you can, those who seem to gain something from slinging mud at anything they somehow disagree with.

Good luck with the book!

[SISQITMAN]

I don't have much to add to what has already been stated by other commenters, but it did give me a broader perspective of the issue of the ways we use our talents beyond the scope of the classroom or schools. I'm actually amazed at the things some educators are able to do beyond their regular teaching, admin. roles, etc. and how they find the time and focus to do it. My supt. and I have appreciated your posts and they have been fodder for discussion between us and with our staff. Thanks for that, Bill.