SEATTLE – Some teachers are now buying and selling their lesson plans online, creating a debate over whether it's ethical.
Justin Lim is a high school English teacher who always looks for better ways to reach his students.
"Whether or not a student is a visual learner or an auditory learner, sometimes they need to see things in different ways so when I look for, when I create lesson plans, that's something I would have in mind," said Lim.
Sometimes, he goes online for ideas and has even bought lesson plans created by other teachers. He started selling his plans, too.
"I did feel really good about what I was making because I thought, 'Hey, you know what, other teachers are finding this useful,'" said Lim.
The plans are bought and sold on sites like "Teachers Pay Teachers" and "We Are Teachers." Each plan typically sells for a few dollars, although prices can go higher. Bob Lowry is an administrator who sees the trend growing and has mixed feelings, but does see some benefit.
"Potentially, it could be a good thing for school children if good products are developed and shared rather than everyone trying and sort of reinvent the wheel on their own," said Lowry.
But Lowry says there is concern that some teachers could become distracted and devote more time to a side business than the job of teaching, and he objects to the monetary gain.
"Developing and sharing materials with colleagues for free without charge is part of building the profession," said Lowry.
And if money is going to be made, should schools get a cut since these plans are part of the job? Lim explains he makes the plans in his own time, after hours.
"So far I've made about $2,700 and I think, with most of the money, what I've probably done is put that back into the classroom actually. I buy a lot of things. I buy a lot of books. I'm always trying to build my classroom library. I have a copy machine now and I have paper and toner," said Lim.
The National Education Association has no policy on selling lesson plans and experts say it's so new, most districts have yet to address the issue. Parents we talked to appear to be mixed.
"Each teacher is individual and they have their own gifts and talents that maybe they're losing some of that originality," said Jill Kelsey, mother.
"If you're a teacher and you're good at what you do and you feel you've got something that you can have to help other teachers teach in that same capacity, capitalize on that," said Sonali Patel, mother.
Washington state doesn't appear to have any policies on selling or buying lesson plans.
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