I believe being a writer is one of the biggest gifts you can give to your students. ~ Stacey Shubitz
This month I am participating in the Slice of Life Story Challenge. Thanks to Two Writing Teachers for creating a space for me to share my corner of the world.
We are twenty-three days into the challenge. Ideas for posts are becoming more difficult to find, and the neglect of other responsibilities in order to read and comment on slices may be at an all time high.
Sometimes I feel as if my computer has a suction hose and is keeping me attached to the screen and keyboard. I begin reading slices and commenting and find that hours have passed. I have forgotten to start dinner, left laundry in the washer, and stayed in pajamas until noon...all because I was reading and commenting.
Then the guilt sets in. There are so many new slicers that I have yet to "meet" and regular slicers that have been forgotten, just because there is not enough time. We all know that it is the comments that fuel the writing. When our writing has been acknowledged, we are motivated to continue. That is the beauty of being a part of this community. But it is also the time consuming part.
If it takes four minutes to read and take in the deeper meaning and to leave a thoughtful comment on every slice, it would take 1,140 minutes for all 285 slices. When you divide that by 60 minutes, it would take 19 hours!
Even if you are a quick reader and take just three minutes per post, it still takes over 14 waking hours! If it is a commenting challenge weekend, you might take two minutes, BUT that still means 9 hours of commenting in a day!
And that my dear slicers, is a little commenting math to think about as you read and comment today. Now, to get back to that laundry!
I love how you put math to this. It would be amazing if we could all comment on each other's! I too, get sucked in to poking in and out of the blog posts.
ReplyDeleteThis. Is. Awesome.
ReplyDeleteI tried to comment on 60 blogs over the weekend, and found that between weekend stuff and the time it took to comment, I was close, but couldn't make the magic number! Comment is hard when you want to leave a thoughtful comment! My students are figuring this out as we speak with a "commenting challenge" of their own! :)
Thanks for doing the math for all of us!
You feel guilty? Oh my goodness! Please don't.
ReplyDeleteI FEEL GUILTY! I have enough guilt for both of us!
In the old days, I used to be able to visit every Slicer's blog three times. This year there are still some folks I haven't gotten to even once. And it's heartbreaking for me. I could blame the new baby. I could blame my wrist/shoulder pain. I could blame the fact I am teaching grad school again. But, ultimately, I just blame myself and not having enough hours in the day.
Once upon a time, it was possible to visit all the slicers, but no more. The good news is more teachers take up the challenge, therefore, making a difference in the way writing is viewed and taught. I was feeling guilty, but since you did the math and now I know it is impossible, I'll rest a little easier.
ReplyDeleteWow! Those are some crazy numbers. How amazing if we could all read and comment on each blog...but clearly not a possibility!
ReplyDeleteI like that you took the mathematical approach and showed the challenge of commenting. No need for guilt. Let's celebrate all the comments we are able to give, all the connections we have been able to make!
ReplyDeleteThis made me smile! I had actually been wondering the same thing! I've found that I'm not leaving deep and profound comments (well, no surprise there) but I am typically commenting on about 8-10 slices rather than 3! I am addicted and there are so many that pull me in...I do enjoy it, but I also agree that it's taking over at times. Now off to visit that dishwasher that wasn't unloaded yesterday and is crying out for attention...
ReplyDeleteInteresting approach. I guess the numbers don't lie. In past years, I felt the guilt. But last year and this year, I've let it go and do what I can. I signed up this year for the first time to be on the welcome wagon committee. We do what we can without the guilt. Happy commenting! 😉
ReplyDeleteOh wow, you just put it into perspective. Loved these lines: "Sometimes I feel as if my computer has a suction hose and is keeping me attached to the screen and keyboard. I begin reading slices and commenting and find that hours have passed." So true. At least it's only for a month! Ha.
ReplyDeleteI do try to visit some new posts every day, and the people I know, but it is taking loads of time. Now that you've figures this out, it's a little daunting, and I've done it a lot of years! And now I'm retired! But I did it before too, just don't remember how! Hope you do get dinner and laundry, too!
ReplyDeleteSo funny! These types of things are what I think about while laying awake at night! I think if you are really trying for it, commenting on each blogger within the challenge is totally doable. Each day? Not so much!
ReplyDeleteAh, the mathematical approach. You can tell I'm an English teacher because my approach is "Well, that's a lot, and I know I can't do it all." Feels scientific to me. :)
ReplyDeleteLove this mathematical view. Think of all the minds you've put at ease with this post. I can certainly relate to the suction hose of the computer. My family has learned that I'm just a bit crazy during March SOL and that's even with being retired. We do what we can and we move on!
ReplyDeleteI love this post! I don't think mathematically but it is always entertaining for me when someone takes a creative spin on math.
ReplyDeleteThank you for such an inspiring post.
https://tammysreadinglife.wordpress.com/
I loved this so much. I did the 60 comment challenge last weekend, and I thought I would never finish. It took me two full days, working on and off, to get those 30. Can't imagine trying to get through 200+!! I know just what you mean about getting sucked into slicing, commenting on slices, drafting little snippets that might turn into future slices, and suddenly hours have passed and I've completed a grand total of none of my responsibilities.
ReplyDeleteHoly moly!
ReplyDelete