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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous] I like the concept in general; however there is no official editor. My daughter's teacher seems to purchase all her worksheets from there. They are horrendous. I find so many things with unclear wording or too advanced for grade level. It's not the same as using an edited workbook or text.[/quote]

Teachers usually can’t view the entire TPT product until after purchase; they can only preview low-resolution pictures of pages that the seller chooses to show. Unfortunately, we’ve already spent our money on un-editable PDF’s when we discover the errors in many cases. Sometimes it’s best to just explain directions aloud rather than try to white-out and rewrite extensive portions of text. While the star ratings and reviews might be helpful in some cases, much of the time the information is a bit shallow, like what you find on Amazon or other large websites.

That said, it’s not the end of the world if printed materials aren’t perfect. The errors usually don’t interfere with lesson goals, and teachers are there to guide students through the lesson activities. Textbook company materials, when they exist, can have their own issues — not developmentally appropriate, contain too many multi-step directions, not engaging, lack of differentiated materials, among other problems.

Before TPT, most teachers created their own materials. We usually didn’t have editors either, and some of us were particularly error-prone as we rushed to the photocopier during planning periods or at 4 p.m. Not all of us were gifted with formatting or graphics either.

I had an elementary school teacher who always taught the same lesson on the same day every year. She’d dust off her January 8 file folder, take out the worksheets, and start teaching. Expectations for current teaching are different. We need to differentiate for learning differences, grade-level learners, and high achievers. There’s an expectation that learning activities will vary and that children will spend more time doing than listening. If teaching isn’t engaging, both students and parents are dissatisfied. At the same time, there’s very little money to buy pre-packaged curricula and materials to facilitate this shift. Imperfections aside, TPT isn’t going anywhere because it’s a relatively inexpensive and time efficient way to get the materials that teachers are expected to stock our classrooms with.[/quote]

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