[referring to Husch, 20 May 99] You're preaching to the choir. I grew up in a two-teacher-income family, so I know how much teachers don't get paid. I've walked picket lines with my parents for higher teacher salaries.
And that's probably one of the reasons this issue is such an important one to me. My mother is a great teacher and a great designer, too. I have seen her work days and nights designing units then, like you, giving them away for free at local workshops.
I think you've hit it on the head when you say it's a matter of values. As a nation we value capitalism. We point to the entrepreneur who has designed a valve for a drilling rig, sold it for a bazillion bucks, and retired at age 35 and say "Good for you." But capitalism doesn't seem to count when it comes to teachers who design. We expect them to give away their designs and subsist on "pride in having someone emulate what you've done." We don't value teachers, and, honestly, I think sometimes they don't value what they do themselves ("Who's going to pay me for this?")...so they give it away for free.
According to the Texas Education Agency's budget, the state of Texas plans to spend $184,312,250.00 on instructional materials for school year 2002-2003. Teachers who design shouldn't let the textbook companies get all of that.