Am I A Blogging Dinosaur?

Well folks, I officially head back to work tomorrow. Goodbye dear summer. Goodbye sleeping in. Goodbye waking up slowly while sipping a fresh cup of coffee. Goodbye midday gym classes. Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye. It's been grand, but it's time to join the land of working adults again.

I have enjoyed my summer SO much this year. I completely took a break from school. I read some books sure, but ultimately I did...basically...nothing. And it was fabulous! Sometimes, you just need a break, ya know? I even had all these big plans to blog and you know what?!?  I didn't really do it.

**Sighs**

But, you know what I've noticed? Blogging has really changed over the past three years. I don't know if I'm the only one who sees it this way but... When I first started blogging it was a true community of educators.  It seemed like people really connected with other teachers around the nation to share ideas, experiences, and inspiration. I would leave comments on blogs and those teachers would email me back often extending the conversation and generating full on email correspondence. I learned so much from so many people!

Now, it seems comments are few and far between. It makes you wonder...is anyone reading the post or just stopping by through pinterest to grab a freebie?  And if I don't have a freebie, is it worth reading to others?  Do people just skim?  Hmmm.... I don't know.

I know I read blog posts. I enjoy hearing about how things are used in the classroom and if I read your post, I almost always make it point to comment because I think comments are important. It's feedback. Just like with our students, we all need feedback and responses to know our work is being heard and valued. So, right here, right now... I would like to thank all those conscientious readers out there who read, respond, open a dialogue, and are part of the blogging community. I truly appreciate you!

Just a thought, but ...maybe blogging is slowly dying out?? Just like ICQ or Napster, it had it's 15 minutes of techy fame and now the world has transitioned to pinterest, instagram, twitter, and a more snapshot style of getting information.  And I don't even have a Facebook page for my blog. LOL! You legitimately have to come to my blog and read it or at least follow through some sort of online reader. Ha! I'm SO old school! I'm like a blogging dinosaur.

We live in a fast paced world where reading long posts and frankly writing long posts is time consuming and who's got the time?? I get it, but it makes me sad. I miss the days where blogging wasn't about advertising your newest bundle on TPT (although, seriously congrats to all those teachers making BANK! out there) or promoting a product, or running a giveaway. I miss the days of conversation and connecting with other amazing educators around the country and the world. 

I've even started cleaning out my blog reader and deleting blogs that only post about products. I know that's terrible, because those products are probably great and those bloggers are great, but when I sit down to read blogs I'm looking for content, substance, and community...not more advertising. I feel inundated with special offers, sale signs, and buy me, buy me, buy me. So, I am sadly unfollowing people and cleaning out my blog feed because I also can NOT legitimately read 499+ blog posts every time I log in. Ha, it's just not possible. With our busy lives in this busy world, I suppose it's time to pick and choose.

With that being said, if you read my blog, THANK YOU! I hope you have gotten some ideas you can use, tweak, or develop upon and use in your classroom. I'll continue to post what I can, when I can, and share my journey along the way.

Happy teaching!!