DKG

This past weekend I went to the annual statewide convention for Delta Kappa Gamma (DKG). DKG is a international honor society for women teachers.  Over 500 people were in attendance at this state-side conference.  DKG started as a Civil Rights organization in the 1920s for women teachers when women teachers needed some Civil Rights. Fortunately, through the efforts of organizations like DKG, women teachers finally got some Civil Rights in the form of better pay, more satisfactory working conditions, and the like. DKG, like so many volunteer organizations, is now seeking a new cause. It’s not been easy, but it seems like DKG is trying to become active in state politics by influencing state legislatures to keep supporting quality education.

It is not easy for a volunteer organization to survive in these times, especially volunteer organizations where the main participants are overworked teachers. Like many volunteer organizations, we are an aging group with fewer and fewer members who still have their original hair color! Every year, a few local chapters are disbanded due to lack of participation/interest or death.

I do not know what volunteer organizations need to do to attract and keep members, but I’m sure it has something to do with the purpose of the organization. While camaraderie and friendship are noble, it’s not enough to make an organization like DKG work. What started out as a civil rights organization for women teachers need to re-form it’s purpose. Maybe, influencing legislators will be the new guiding light. A new purpose is needed, and until it has that new purpose completely synthesized into the structure of the society, it will flounder.

SO, we worked on what legislation we want to support in California. We went to sessions. I even gave a presentation. AND, we had a lot of fun.