I’d like to take a moment today to say THANK YOU!
Thank you to all of my faithful subscribers and readers. And a special thank you to those of you who have chosen to use my curriculum in your homeschools. My family has been greatly blessed by your generosity and encouragement. I whole heartedly pray that my printables have blessed your family and your homeschooling endeavor.
Thank you!
To those of you who have gotten caught up in the popular groups that condone illegal file sharing, today my prayers go out to you.
Unfortunately there are groups of homeschoolers who are choosing to come together and “share” files they are not permitted to share. It greatly saddens my heart to think that homeschoolers would do something like this. Maybe you simply aren’t aware, but hosting and sharing files (paid or free) that were not made by you is illegal without the express written consent of the author. Downloading these files is also illegal. What you are doing is called “stealing” in the online world.
You may have even justified your actions due to your budgetary constraints, or simply out of the desire to “get a good deal.” I wonder how many of you would be able to walk up to your child and say “Honey, I really wanted this curriculum, but wanted to save money, so mommy stole it.” Conversely what would you say if your child did something similar? I hope you can understand there are no excuses for this type of behavior.
Homeschooling isn’t just about academics, but instead it is our way of imparting our character, values, morals, ethics, spiritual beliefs, and life skills onto our children. Today my prayer is that you would be encouraged to check your ways and think twice before participating in these “sharing” groups. What you are doing is not only illegal and unethical, but you are also taking advantage of all of the bloggers and homeschooling companies that have put their valuable time and energy into creating products to help your homeschooling be more successful.
My pastor has always said that “compromise always leads to more compromise.” I pray diligently that you do not allow this small compromise to creep into other areas of your life. And most importantly I pray you are not passing down these values to your children.
Instead I encourage you to trust God to provide for you as He has lead you into this homeschooling journey. He will provide for your needs and make your paths straight. ~ Proverbs 3:6
Now may the God of peace…make you complete in every good work to do His will. (Hebrews 13:20-21)
Not everyone who creates pintables shares your view! I’m a public school teacher and whenever I upload things to teachers pay teachers I post them as free. I don’t create things for personal gain, I do it to help kids learn, and teachers teach. If a teacher downloads something I created and shares it with her teammates then kudos to them for collaborating. My teammates and sometimes find free stuff together online when we plan, but instead of wasting time and downloading it multiple times we do it once and share it. We don’t share paid stuff at least I don’t… but free is free. Sharing saves time!
Kate,
It is illegal to share a PDF file directly with another person unless given direct permission by the author .. FREE or NOT.
People this is US Copyright Law!
I think it’s really sad that some here would question the salvation of other believers just be ause they themselves wouldn’t do such a horrible thing. We have ALL sinned! Perfection doesn’t gain you salvation. Belief does. Lets have a little grace.
How ridiculous for people to steal something that is free or dirt cheap since all of your wonderful curriculum is one or the other. However it is just like those types of people to be offended for being called out. I am on your side and will be requesting FaceBook “man up” so to say and reinstate your profile. 🙂 Hang in there.
Oh my goodness- I am so sorry this happened and caused you any stress what so ever! Your work is so affordable and professional- how could anyone not see this as stealing? Shame on them and THANK YOU for all your work, ideas, and support!!
I am saddened that this happens as well and join you in prayer for those who are involved. I love your products and have purchased a few of them, including LOTW. I often send my friends to this site to see what you have because I think it is a great resource for homeschoolers. Thank you for all you do!
I just realized that this is an older post. I just saw it today though. I am still sorry about what happened and thankful for you and the work you do for homeschoolers!