I was having a conversation with a non-teaching friend (Yes, I have those) and I had casually mentioned (Not casual at all) that I had been nominated for two Edublog Awards (That you can vote for here and here). The following is a recap of the conversation,
Non-Teacher Friend – Cool, what do you win?
The Nerdy Teacher – Well, I win a free Edublogs Campus subscription for one year and one free Edublogs Pro subscription for a year!
NTF – You don’t win cash?
TNT – No, just those prizes I guess.
NTF – How about a plaque or something to hang in your classroom?
TNT – No, but I get a badge I can put on my website.
NTF – Do you make any money from your website?
TNT – I use Google AdSense, but I haven’t made a cent from that.
NTF – You spend all of this time on a website and attending these conferences and you are not making any money from it? That sounds like a ton of work and money for a hobby.
TNT – Well, it’s not a hobby, it’s my job.
NTF – No, you get paid for your job. You take days off and go to conferences you pay for. That’s a hobby. It’s a well intentioned hobby, but it’s still a hobby. When you start making money, then you can call it a job.
Posting for Pennies is not something I set out to do. The one thing I can say about teachers is that we did not get into education for the money. I think it is safe to say that teacher bloggers definitely did not enter the game for money either. Money should never be the driving force in education. It’s a terrible motivator as it will only get people to do just enough to earn what they want. Passion is what is needed to make education better for everyone. Money will never create passion.When I read other blogs, it’s the passion that engages me. Using that passion to make education better for everyone is what I love to do.
I’m working with another school on setting up some Professional Development for their teachers second semester. I never thought this would be something I would do. I didn’t seek people out to make this happen, they found me. I have an opportunity to take my passion for learning and share it with others. Those teaches will then take what I showed them and share it with their students. The fact that I have a chance to reach more students is exciting. If I make a few extra pennies to buy a comic or two, that is great. However, money will never be my motivator. That’s the one thing that makes cents to me. (Puntastic!)
- @TheNerdyTeacher
It makes cents to me too :)
ReplyDeleteI think many of us have had these conversations with out teacher and non-teacher friends.
We are life-long learners and blogging is one way that contributes to that process.
Thanks for sharing.
Agreed...many of us have had these conversations with colleagues and friends. "What, you post online all of your training stuff for others to use for free? No wonder you're poor!" It's just what we do...
ReplyDeleteBTW, I just punched your Google AdSense link for you...a penny for your thoughts.
Hmmmmm Hey didn't you just just write a post about how wrong it is to pay money for grade because it is the wrong motivation? Hmmmmm.
ReplyDelete#didyourfriendgetpaidformakinggoodgrades
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ReplyDeleteReminds me of what Dan Pink says about motivation.
ReplyDeleteAmanda - I love the comment.
ReplyDeleteNick - I've had similar conversations with my wife (then, she became a mom-blogger and we understand each other's obsessiveness). We don't get paid monetarily. I have made $5.76 from AdSense, although they won't pay me until I hit $100.
We do get paid, though, in feedback, conversations, and relationships. It is hard to understand from the outside I suppose.
I just paid a penny for these thoughts I think by clicking on the adsense ;-) You should have told her you blog to spare others some change in education. Heads or tails you win because one your changing education even without the bang for your buck and if your friend had sense in her head your friend would be able to see your sterling attempt to improve education.
ReplyDeleteSeriously corny to have so many puns I know ;-) but couldn't resist!
I'm glad you don't do this for the money... for the amount you get "paid" the outcome would be pretty low.
ReplyDeletePassion is a better motivator. As a result those who read your blog, and find value in it want to share it with everyone else by spreading the word about it for you...hence the edublog awards :)
Laughing so hard at Shelly's puntastic comment.
Adsense tip: you don't get $$ from those who come to your blog on purpose...we come to read. You get $$ by people who get here by accident looking for something else, so if you throw some adwords at the bottom of your posts, they will click the related adword in attempt to find what they were looking for. I have determined that adwords are mostly for people who don't know how to use the Internet. I think of the ads at the bottom of my posts public service. :)