Classroom Heroes: Sharing best practice through resources

Hi, I’m Chez. A self-proclaimed entrepreneur, part-time dreamer, full-time over-thinker, and creator of educational resources that sometimes sell. I say “sometimes” because if I'm being honest, if I converted my earnings from selling resources into an hourly wage… I’d actually owe myself money.

Yes. I'm talking less “girl boss” and more “why did I spend 14 days working on a PowerPoint that earned 89p?” And yet, here I am. Still making resources. Still sharing them. Still convincing myself that fonts do matter and yes, children will learn better if the worksheet is colour-coded.

So why do I keep doing it? Why do any of us keep sharing our ideas, lesson plans, and beautifully crafted PowerPoints for others to use, adapt, and hopefully not butcher?

Because it matters. Because resource-sharing, even when it’s unpaid and far from glamorous, saves time, reduces stress, and keeps us from reinventing the wheel every Sunday night.

Let’s start with the obvious: Time is a myth

Between planning lessons, replying to emails, confiscating banned snacks, and explaining for the tenth time that yes, you really do need to show your working out, we are busy.

When we share resources, we gift each other time, actual, precious, unbothered time. Not having to plan a lesson from scratch means you might finally drink a hot cup of tea. You might actually print something before the photocopier jams. Miracles.

No one teaches in isolation (even if it feels like it sometimes)

There’s this weird myth that sharing your resources is showing off. Like you're trying to win Teacher of the Year with your laminated group tasks and tidy success criteria. But honestly, most of us are just tired. We’re not showing off. We’re surviving. And if something I made helps you get through your Year 9 double period without crying in the cupboard, then I’ve done my bit.

We need to stop gatekeeping good ideas and start swapping them like they’re teacher Pokémon cards. You have a “Time-Filler That Actually Engages Teenagers”? I’ll trade you for a “Revision Game That Doesn’t Feel Like Work”.

Sharing builds connection, not competition

Somewhere along the way, we were made to feel like collaboration was only for CPD days and awkward icebreakers. But actually, the best ideas I’ve ever had didn’t come from a training day. They were from WhatsApp group chats with fellow teachers and late-night panics about lesson observations.

When we share what works (and what flopped spectacularly), we remind each other that we’re in this together. And that the perfect lesson is a myth created by someone who’s never taught a Year 7 class during the last week of term.

It’s not just about us, it’s about them

At the heart of it, we all want the same thing: for young people to learn, grow, and maybe even enjoy it along the way. And when we share resources, we raise the standard for everyone. We expose students to new ideas, new approaches, and new ways of seeing the world.

So yes, I might technically be losing money. Yes, my resource empire consists of three Google folders and a dream. But if something I’ve made can help a student stay curious, a youth leader save some prep time, or a teacher finally leave work before 6pm… I’ll keep going. I’ll keep sharing. Keep creating. Keep believing that maybe. Just maybe, the next resource I upload will go viral and pay for my printer ink.

Or at the very least, a decent coffee.

Thank you for being here, and thank you for sharing your magic too. Now go download something useful, adapt it, and pretend it only took you five minutes to make. I won’t tell if you won’t. 😉

Chapter Two: coming soon.

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