Give the Gift of Expansion!

When you were given the gift of membership in DKG, how did you feel? What an honor! Was your heart full of emotion, joy, and excitement? Perhaps the feelings were much like that of a child opening a very special gift.

There has been much discussion about giving this gift of membership and the joy, support, and honor that can be experienced by a new member. But perhaps there is more that can be given. Have you considered expanding membership into an underrepresented area of your state organization?

There is a resource available to identify areas in your state organization that may have the potential for new members and new chapters. You can find a chapter locator map on the International website: www.dkg.org Sign in and click on the My DKG tab. Find the Chapter Locator option. Have some fun exploring the areas of your state organization.

Once you have given some time for exploration, you may have some questions coming to your mind. Why don’t we have members in a particular area? Are there sufficient number of educational institutions in this area? Are there qualified educators who would benefit from the gift of membership? Are there enough to sustain a new chapter? Will there be diverse levels of instruction available, cultural diversity, or the potential for distinctive service in any field of education?

Should your state organization consider expanding into a new area? Perhaps a current chapter would like to separate into two (2) chapters? Chapter expansion requires some planning. Research the need to organize this new chapter. Evaluate the information that is collected and make a recommendation to your state organization leadership. Planning involves: orientation of new members, financial considerations for the chapter and new members, chartering, induction, election/installation of officers, and mentorship of the new chapter for several years.

The 2020-2022 International Expansion Committee is developing some tools to assist you with the process of expanding chapters. Many states have a state organization expansion plan. If your state organization does not, the committee would be happy to be a resource for you. Committee members’ contact information can be found on the website under the About Us tab and then under Committees. You are encouraged to reach out to the committee and to give the gift of expansion.

"Unveiled Truth: Lessons I Learned Leading the International School of Kabul" by Gail Goolsby

 

       The winner of the DKG Educator’s Book Award for 2020 is Unveiled Truth: Lessons I Learned Leading the International School of Kabul by Gail Goolsby. Gail is a member of the DKG Beta Rho Chapter of the Kansas State Organization.

       Susan Perkins, Kansas State Organization Webmaster and Editor and Past Kansas State Organization President wrote this about Unveiled Truth, "Gail Goolsby has written a book that tells the story of her time as the leader of the International School of Kabul and the challenges she faced as an educator and woman living in Afghanistan.  Her accounts of the experience allow us to view a different culture and how challenges like this make us a better person…”

      The committee selected the book for its readability and shared topics  with the other books reviewed and recommended by the committee this year.  Included in those topics were women’s issue of equality, inequities in educational opportunities based on financial status, engaging the reader in using the Socratic Method of inquiry, and a story of inspiration of growth through both failure and success.

    The Educators Book Award Committee encourages members to read this book and highlight it in newsletters, websites and at chapter meetings.  Using it in a book discussion would introduce members to the Afghan culture and people.  Gail’s questions at the end of each chapter would also encourage members to think creatively about their own lives.

DKGIEF: Foundation Outtakes #1 – January/February 2021

The 2020 recipient of the DKG Educators Book Award, Gail Goolsby, member of Beta Rho Chapter in Kansas, shares how supporting the DKG International Educators Foundation (DKGIEF) supports women authors who are publishing educational research relevant across the world.  

“I was delighted when a chapter member encouraged me to enter the Educators Book contest. I believed other teachers and administrators would relate to my school experience. Winning this prestigious award took my world into a new dimension. Members have purchased hundreds of books, and I have enjoyed the opportunity to speak via Zoom to over a dozen chapters and groups around the country. I am so grateful for this award and that our member support projects like the book award that can help authors find validation and support.”  

Follow this link to donate to the Educators Book Award Fund or any of the other funds under DKGIEF. Donation envelopes were also included with the most recent issue of the Collegial Exchange.  

Come and Get It!

 

     I love to travel! It’s so much fun to see in person the places that I have read about or seen in pictures. As I travel, I love to try new restaurants…not the chain variety but hole-in-the-wall places like those featured on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. One of my sisters jokingly says that I like to eat my way across the country! When you dine at a new restaurant or maybe at your favorite restaurant, do you just order rolls and water? I certainly don’t!

    In Delta Kappa Gamma, we are presented a smorgasbord of goodies (think benefits) of membership. Here’s a “sampler platter” of those benefits:

• Fellowship and learning through a local chapter
• Leadership training
• Scholarships and grants
• Networking with educators around the world
• Staying informed on legislative issues and concerns
• Forums for presenting and publishing
• Professional conferences and conventions
• Supporting Early-career Educators through chapter projects in local communities
• Making a difference by supporting Schools for Africa
• Participation in projects to benefit our communities, our state, and our world

    Although fellowship with other DKG sisters may be high on the list of why you value your membership, you’re missing out on some of the other treats if that’s the only thing you sample. Just as “there’s no free lunch,” you can’t enjoy the benefits if you don’t “take a “seat at the table” and “dig in!” Offer your support and assistance to “the top bananas” (aka chapter officers) as they make plans for the chapter to “cook up a storm” with tantalizing programs. Although we all have “a lot on our plate” these days, make the effort to participate in meetings and to have “your finger in the pie” by participating in projects. Reap “the fruits of your labor” by celebrating your chapter’s accomplishments. Invite other key women educators “to the table” by sponsoring them for membership. Make plans now to attend the 2021 international conferences, virtually if necessary. There you’ll spend time with the “cream of the crop” women educators from around the world who will impress you by their professionalism, knowledge, and skills. I hope this menu “whets your appetite” for the “feast” that is available to you through membership in DKG. Hope you’re hungry!!

"Teach Like Yourself" by Gravity Goldberg

 

Teach Like Yourself by Gravity Goldberg, the educational consultant, coach and teacher, is a “manual” for teachers for mastering the facets of teaching which are important for a career and developing productive relationships with students. This book was in the top five of works considered for the Educators Book Award.

Even though the author somewhat criticizes self-help books, this book seems to be one. Using her wide experience of teaching and working with teachers, she guides the readers to find their own way in the teaching profession. She doesn’t give any recipes or instructions, but through teachers’ stories, experiences and reflections she shows how they have found their answers, and how they found their way. These reflections make you think and look for answers in yourself.

The author takes you step-by-step through the mental exercises to find yourself as a teacher. The value of the book is that it offers certain practical activities and questions that guide the readers through the process of exploring their teaching potential.

Even more than a teacher’s self-help book, the book has value in teacher education (pre-service as well as in-service). The book gives well-described tasks and activities that enable teachers to reflect on their regular teaching practice and look for new ways of teaching. The book is valuable for younger teachers who are still looking for their way or the experienced teachers who might be standing on the crossroads or face the identity crisis and are looking for opportunities for changes or for deeper sense-giving of their professional life. 

Why Membership Matters

 

Have your ever pondered why your membership in Delta Kappa Gamma matters? Our vision statement clearly defines why our membership matters: Leading Women Educators Impacting Education Worldwide.

Annie Webb Blanton believed in the power of education and members across the world are impacting the lives of students today around the world.

DKG believes in our members because we provide scholarships or grants to further their personal educations on the chapter, state, and international levels. International and state organizations created foundations to provide money for our members and non-members to attend conferences, purchase resources for classrooms, work on advanced degrees and certifications. Members in DKG donate and fundraise to support these worthy programs.

Another focus of the Society is on Early Career Educators. Chapters around the globe encourage beginning teachers by providing notes of encouragement, treats, school supplies and money to these young educators. Yes, members are impacting students around the globe by supporting and mentoring early career educators.

Since 2010, DKG has been supporting Schools for Africa by raising awareness of the needs of children in Africa. Members provide programs and raise money to send to this worthy cause. Caring members are encouraging students we have never met but are creating a better environment for others.

The DKG Emergency Fund has provided our members with $500 when they have been affected by flood, tornadoes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters.

In 1979, to celebrate the Society’s 50th Anniversary, the Golden Gift Fund was established. This committee sponsors the Leadership Management Seminar, DKG Ignite, to train our members to be stronger leaders.

Membership matters because members are passionate about making the world a better place to live and work. Members matter because your dues and donations create a ripple effect that spreads globally.

Bang #4 Scholarships

Are you pursuing an advanced degree? DKG is here to help you financially with your goal!

To endow scholarships to aid outstanding women educators in pursuing graduate study and to grant fellowships to non- member educators is the Society Purpose #5 and one the Society supports every year.

A scholarship fee is no longer a part of a member’s dues. Scholarships are supported through contributions, bequests and income from investments. Thirty (30) $6,000 USD scholarships are available to members working toward a master’s degree and thirty (30) $10,000 USD scholarships are available to members working on a doctorate degree.

The scholarship application is on the web and is due February 1, 2021. There is a Scholarship Application Tip Sheet that can be found under Resources and Scholarship Tools. 

Many members have benefitted from this generous resource. Will you be the next recipient to receive “More Bang for Your Bucks?”

For the Scholarship Tip Sheet or Scholarship Application log in to the website and:

    🠞Click on “Resources” then “Scholarship Tools”

    🠞Click on “Apply/Submit“ then “Applications”

"Think Like Socrates" by Shanna Peeples

 

Kids always have questions—often to the dismay of parents and teachers.  However, utilizing their questions is a way for kids to become leaders in their learning. Shanna Peeples, 2015 National Teacher of the Year, advocates the Socratic approach to learning in her book, Think Like Socrates. The author highlights how engaging students through their questions enhances learning.

Students are more confident and focused; better discipline is a byproduct.  Their questions are validated; they learn about topics that matter to them.  Teachers get to better know their students as they listen and respond, while adapting those questions to the assigned standards/curriculum. This approach can also help parents in the discovery process of learning while homeschooling or engaging in family activities.

            While this is not the “answer” for good teaching, it is another productive tool in the teacher’s toolkit, as highlighted in the design of the book.  The introduction outlines the book and allows the reader to quickly access the information sought.  Pages 8 & 9 provide a brief description of what is the focus of each chapter—Chapters 1-6 to develop the theoretical foundation, Chapters 7-12 to apply in specific disciplines, Chapter 13 to apply the approach to the real world, and Chapter 14 to examine the potential for professional development.  It concludes with more than 40 pages of detailed resources and tools for educators to use.  All chapters include examples from actual classrooms.

The 2020 DKG Educators Book Award committee awarded this book honorable mention.

Facts and Forms

 

Forms! Forms! Forms!

Have you ever wondered why all of these forms are necessary? Facts about the members need to be kept accurate so that all parts of the Society can function properly.

Finding the forms you will need is easy. Go to www.dkg.org and sign in. Select Forms and then select Membership. Some of the forms you will need are as follows: Form 27 Change of Address Form (Chapter Use Only); Form 81 New Member Form (Chapter Use Only); Form 83 Reinstated Member Form (Chapter Use Only), and Form TR-A Transfer Request. Those forms marked with "chapter use only" are not to be sent to headquarters.

When a member is dropped for any reason, other than non-payment of dues, treasurers are to complete Form 18A Report of Dropped Member found in the Forms section of the DKG website under Treasurer, as well as in their Chapter Connect. Members are automatically dropped and coded for non-payment of dues, so no Form 18A is needed to send to HQ for those members.

Timely updating of membership information saves leaders at all levels of the Society time. Planning for budgets, events and activities is more effective with valid membership data, as well as receiving important notices from HQ and publications. Sadly, occasionally, chapters decide to unofficially dissolve their chapter and don’t pay their dues but haven’t taken the proper steps in dissolution. This simply makes more work for everyone. Accurate membership information plays a vital role in membership data.

Chapter presidents or treasurers are to complete Form 6 as soon as possible for a deceased member. Chapter Necrology Report -Form 2 is to be completed and is due February 1 of each year to your state organization. The Necrology Report is no longer required to be sent to HQ. Go to www.dkg.org and sign in. Select Forms for the Chapter Necrology Report-Form 2. Form 6 is found under Membership in Forms and can also be found in your Chapter Connect for chapter presidents and treasurers.

Facts and forms not only keep the membership numbers up to date but also help with other duties of DKG. Membership numbers are studied and discussed to seek helpful suggestions and recommendations for the state and chapter organizations.

Facts and forms are the only way that the Society can keep accurate records and better serve its members. Please do your part by completing the appropriate forms and submitting them in a timely manner.

"Suffrage: The Epic Struggle for Women’s Right to Vote" by Susan L. Poulson

 

            It has been 100 years since women were granted the right to vote.  Standing at 2020, it is sometimes forgotten that women fought for 72 long years before receiving the right to vote in 1920. In 1848, women and men gathered at the first Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York. This event is often identified as the beginning of the struggle for the right to vote.  Through the years many women would work tirelessly to convince the country that women should have voting rights in all elections. Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone, Alice Paul and others would speak, write, travel, and campaign for this fundamental right. 

            In her book, Suffrage: The Epic Struggle for Women’s Right to Vote, Susan Poulson tells this story in a highly readable style with amazing detail.  She tells of the famous women who led this movement and also some not so well known like Virginia Minor and Mary Elizabeth Bryan. The reader will be engaged by this book and close it with a greater understanding of this epic struggle and a new appreciation for the women who have gone before.  Among these, of course, was DKG’s own, Annie Webb Blanton.

            Suffrage by Susan Poulson was awarded an honorable mention by the 2020 Educators Book Award Committee.

Virtual Mobility: A New Term for Many Members

 

When you read the article Going Multicultural: Benefits of an International Society in the DKG News, you will notice the term “virtual mobility,” an expression that’s probably new to most members who live outside the Europe Union (EU). Virtual mobility is often used to describe teachers and students in higher education who virtually study in countries other than their own.

In this article, Author Eija Liisa Sokka-Meaney, the European representative to the DKG International Communications and Marketing Committee, offered two examples of “virtual mobility:” create opportunities for virtual mobility by inviting members beyond their chapter, state or country to a virtual gathering or replicate an experience like this one: a member from Iowa recently joined a Finnish chapter for an online meeting. 

The term “virtual mobility” certainly pertains to DKG International as members throughout the world share information. Case in point: Who knew about virtual mobility until you read Eija Liisa’s article or you live in Europe? And, "blended mobility," watch for more to come.

Read more about virtual mobility.