Moxie's Commentary

Visit this page regularly to read 

Moxie's commentary on various issues.  

July 31, 2013

Maree Truelove FancifulFall label using Picmonkey.com

I visited my friend's , Michele's (Jackson in the Middle), blog today and could not agree more with the message in her post.  It has to do with the quote above.  Because I couldn't say it any better, I invite you to read it here.


July 26, 2013

Why did this happen?

     "In this temple, as in the hearts of the people for whom he save the Union, the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever." Beneath these words, the 16th President of the United States sits immortalized in marble as an enduring symbol of unity, strength, and wisdom.

     For 91 years, millions of people have visited the Lincoln Memorial. But, today, someone desecrated it with green paint.  What kind of person plans and commits such a despicable act? 

     Assuming that there are no mental health issues involved, did this person not learn the lessons related to Abraham Lincoln's life and contribution to our country?  Would there be such a thing as the "United States" without Lincoln?  In fact, would slavery have ended when it did without him?  Does this person not know that that Marian Anderson sang there in 1939 after she was not allowed to sing at Constitution Hall because she was black?  Or that Martin Luther King stood before Lincoln's monument and gave the most famous speech in Civil Rights history, "I Have a Dream?"  Is there no ounce of respect within this person?   I think not.  

     Malice is often born from ignorance.   Therefore, this act deserves a punishment that should include a few, hard, life lessons.  First, they must be made to clean the monument themselves.  In fact, when I was there last summer, the whole place could use a good-old-fashioned scrubbing.  Second, they must devote themselves to studying Lincoln's life and the history of the Lincoln Memorial while in jail.   Their release should depend upon an assessment given by a Lincoln scholar such as Doris Kearns Goodwin.  Third, the vandal's release should be contingent upon 416 hours (8 hours a week) of community service at the Lincoln Memorial for one year.   Are you listening, Judge? 

     The National Park Service stated today that the monuments of Washington D. C. have rarely been vandalized.  Therefore, an example should be made using this case.  If 91 years common decency and respect is not enough of an example to deter this type of act, then perhaps they need to learn the hard way.

July 14, 2013

Are You Lovin' Bloglovin'?

I'm so confused!  I hopped on the bandwagon and switched to bloglovin' to follow all my favorite blogs.  I would be seriously  distraught if I had to find them all over again.  It sounded good, so I jumped in with both feet. 

I've been trying….really trying…..to get used to bloglovin'.   But, I just can't get it to work for me the way I want it to.  Here are my issues:

1.  My general feed only shows me 20 blogs and I can't refresh to 
     see more.

2.  It will only show me a list of about 25 of my followers.

3. When I visit a blog, the URL remain an extension of bloglovin'. 
    I'd like for it to open in a new window.

4. If a visit a blog from my blog post feed, I have difficulty pinning
    an image.  And I don't get the variety of images to choose from.

5.  No category for education blogs.

6.  I have written bloglovin' several times for help, yet have never 
    gotten a response.  Grrrr.

I needed to find another way.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered my favorite was to read blogs is still there and is not going away.  I feel so, well, stupid.  

Turns out I wasn't even using Google Reader.  What I was using was Blogger's Reading List.  AND, Google Friend Connect is still active so I can follow blogs and they can follow my blog.  I'm so excited!  It's like putting on comfy slipper after walking in stiletto's all day.  Here's more info:

I'll still keep the "follow me on bloglovin'" button.  But, I'm sticking with Blogger and Google Friend Connect!

July 13, 2013

Big Box Blogs

Have you noticed a trend in our blogging world recently?  I call it the Big Box Blog phenomenon.  You may recognize the term "big box" as related to retail stores like Walmart, Target, etc.  How did we ever live without them?  

What is a Big Box Blog?  Basically, it is a collaboration blog where a group of bloggers get together to contribute to one blog. Clever, right?  Most have themes like grade levels, bloggers from one state, or types of curriculum. They are convenient for followers and have great content.  The combination of the number of followers of all the collaborators creates tons of traffic.  It's genius.  Just like Walmart.  

Unfortunately, the existence of Big Box Retailers soon pushed Main St., mom and pop stores out of business.  They just couldn't compete.  Will this happen to smaller, non-collaborating blogs?

I seriously doubt it. But consider this…..the number of teacher blogs has exploded over the past year.  It is getting more and more difficult to stand out in the crowd.  The more blogs one follows, the more difficult it becomes to visit them all.  

This is where I believe the Big Box Blog's have really thought ahead.  Let's say you follow 100 blogs and 30 of them create a Big Box Blog.  Instead of visiting 30 individual blogs, now you only have to visit one.  And which one are you most likely to visit first?  Very slick marketing!

Why does this matter?  It matters because we want to keep our Main St. community of teacher blogs alive and growing.  The level of talent and creativity out there is amazing.  We all benefit from each and every blog's unique view point.  The more the merrier! 

The Big Box Blog's have a lot to offer.  But let's not forget where our blogging community started…..on Main St. 

here.