Teachers sell lesson plans on eBay

NEW YORK, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Thousands of U.S. teachers make money selling lesson plans for class exercises online, authorities say.

A lesson plan is a teacher's detailed description of course instruction for an individual topic. They routinely used to be handed down freely, but now many lesson plans are being sold by teachers on auction sites such as Craigslist and eBay, The New York Times reported Sunday.

Money from the sales goes, in many cases, to buy books and supplies. Other funds go to personal use such as trips, mortgage payments, home renovation and credit card bills -- which has led some school districts to question ownership of the material being sold.

"To the extent that school district resources are used, then I think it's fair to ask whether the district should share in the proceeds," Robert N. Lowry, deputy director of the New York State Council of School Superintendents, said.

"Teachers swapping ideas with one another, that's a great thing," he said. "But somebody asking 75 cents for a word puzzle reduces the power of the learning community and is ultimately destructive to the profession," Joseph McDonald, a professor of teaching and learning at New York University, said.