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.