In my perfect world, teachers would not have to hustle to live a comfortable life. Of course, we do not live in that world. I know teachers who have a wide variety of jobs to help put food on the table. This article about teachers using Instagram and Teachers Pay Teachers as a side hustle made its way around the Twitterverse. I do need to make a confession, I do not have an Instagram account so I may have missed some nuances of the article. I was fascinated by the discussion going around, but I was left with some questions.
- Where is the diversity? These teachers highlighted are all very similar. Same time in their career and are all white women. The materials seem very similar in terms of color choices and font styles. They all seem to remind me of the same style that fills my Target.
- Where is the equity? (Is this opportunity really available to all teachers in all schools?) As I read this, I was also reading Troublemakers in which the author mentioned the conditions in Detroit Public Schools which involved mice, mold and other not Instagram-worthy issues. These teachers do not have access. I also wonder if any of these or other Instagram stars teach in an urban school district.
- Where is the research on the impact? Do these resources and styling make students learn more? Will students be more authentically engaged in learning with these resources or are these just beautiful worksheets?
- Why is there a need for teacher influencers?
I don’t have any answers just more questions. I am learning to be okay with not having the answers.
Mrs. Megan Morgan 