Milestones: 15 000 views on the blog. A reflection)

Today is the day: 15 000 views of my blog, almost on the blog’s birthday. Soon it will be three years since I started the life of some funky socks and some dragons. To be honest, I do not have any (as in: ANY) idea whether 15 000 should generate a ‘WOW’ or an ‘Oh dear!’ from me. I suppose, it is something close to nothing compared to millions of views on youtube or TicToc. On the other hand, perhaps, it is not so shabby for an educational EFL blog…I tried to read some clever articles related to the online presence and tools but got bored very quickly and decided that since that is not my bread and butter, earning my keep, but rather my Nutella that I splash out on from the regular salary, I will not bother anymore. Instead, here are some things that I have learned and found out about based during that 3-year-long and 15 000-views-rich journey with the socks and the dragons.

• I like writing and I like writing about teaching. This blog has given me an opportunity to publish everything that I want to publish and when I want to publish it, without having to wait for the editor-in-chief answer. As a writer, I have written hundreds of contribution letters and I have received hundreds of rejection letters (actually, a recjection is pleasant, normally the publishers do not reply at all) and it is such a joy just to have the idea, to give it shape and to publish it here.
• It has helped to improve my writing. That is easy. The more you do, the better you get and that, certainly, has been the case here. Or so I hope.
• I have got a better understanding of the content that I want to publish here. I have also developed the skill of finding the best format (Dare I say ‘the best genre’?) for the things that I want to include. Not all the posts are the same and it is not only about putting the ideas into words.
• As a result, it has allowed me to produce some real articles that have actually been accepted by some real editors-in-chief and published, for the joy of having your name in print and, also, sometimes, for the joy of some monetary rewards.
• I have made huge progress in the area of proofreading and editing. It is not perfect yet but I have worked on creating a routine and a procedure and I do not hate it as much as I used to.
• I have realised that the visual side of the blog is very important to me. I love taking photos for the blog, selecting them to match the posts. I enjoy working with images a lot.
• The blog is a fantastic incentive to experiment with the activities, to record the events in the classroom and to keep my eyes open in class. Last but not least, I have improved the way of keeping notes from and organising the materials I produce.
• And then – there is my audience. They usually keep quiet, not really commenting but they are here. You are here, dear readers. It is also my guilty pleasure to check the traffic and t find there Canada, Tunisia, Israel, Russia, Spain, Egypt, Malyasia, Australia, Korea, Japan, Poland, Singapore, Belgium, Estonia…I love to find the returning visitors and every comment is like a little Christmas. Thank you for being here.

The top 10 posts (A.D. 2023) are these:

1. Colourful semantics: about the uses of the speech therapy tools in the EFL world
2. Teaching English through Art: Why you might want to start?. Self-explanatory.
3. Crumbs #10: Silly pictures: One more of the speech therapy tools that I love using in my YL classes
4. The invisible student and why you might want to have one? (Pasha, my boy, you are doing great!)
5. All you need is…a picture: one of my favourite posts ever written, about the multiple uses of visuals in the EFL classroom with young learners and not only.
6. A to Z of homework for Very Young Learners: all the basics related to why and how to deal with the homework for the youngest students
7. The first VYL lesson survival kit: I like the thought that, maybe, thanks to that post, some teachers our there went into their first lesson a little less panicky, a little less stressed and a little less anxious.
8. About the human behind the words: aka about me
9. Much Ado About Nothing: realistic flashcards vs illustrations and the EFL world. Oh, this one I am really proud of. It is a perfect case when I was researching to learn.
10. Crumbs #6 The easiest craft in the world or don’t you just love a circle About one of my favourite craft activities.

Instead of a coda

Blogging is not quite for free. Once a year I have to pay ‘the rent’ for the privilege of residing here, on this platfrom. Every year, when the day is approaching, I sit down to have a serious conversation with myself along the lines of ‘Are you happy with how it is going?’ and ‘Do you still want to do it? Can you commit yourself to one more year of typing, researching and sharing ideas?’

I think I do. Until the next post, then!

Happy teaching!