DKG California Support Team for Emerging Professionals

The support team for Emerging Professionals has had a very busy and enlightening biennium. We have written articles, attended International, State and local conferences, added to our blog and are ready for our second “Penne Party” to honor the Penne Ferrell Grant recipients. We had successful Tuesday Teacher Talks/tips on important educational issues as well. Thank You DKG for supporting our team's efforts. CHRISTINA CLEMONS I am a recovered & "non-math person"! I've been teaching Middle School math for 9 years but I started out as an early elementary teacher so that I wouldn't have to teach, what I considered to be, "math". After teaching 2nd grade in Florida, and through lots of twists and turns, I was offered a teaching job in Oakland, California in January of 2015. I took over a 5/6 GATE class and 6th grade math after their teacher had left in November. I began taking as many math courses as I could from City College of San Francisco and ended up...

It has come to the attention of the Support Team for Emerging Professionals that there   are many “new” books on Black History and Awareness.   We would like to share the website linked below which has a list of some of these titles and authors. Our  hope is that these books will be added to classroom libraries or used for educators to increase their own knowledge and understanding.     https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Black-Lives-Matter-Booklists.html?soid=1101431245776&aid=CMzYxYSQyiI

  It has been a rewarding and totally interesting experience to be part of a Middle School classroom. There have been many changes that have occurred since the Covid-19 Pandemic. Our students have begun to us their laptops as “second nature”. Many of us were using Google Classroom before, it is now expanded and more user friendly for teachers and students. Our students are doing many multi-media presentations using their laptops. There is a plethora of sites available where they can find graphics and photos in order to complete their projects. Students can also evaluate and score their lessons in Google Classroom. Yes, each district may limit availability of some sites for student protection, but most students have what they would need. Some things have not changed. Some students forget their laptops, some forget their chargers. Others may state they cannot find their lessons! We are in the classroom after all. I implore you to visit a classroom. Students from grade 1 to 12 are eff...

 Books have always been a central part of my life. I experienced so much through books as a child and as a young adult. I learned of many places in the world through books, feeling as though I had experienced them in real life. When I finally did get to experience them, I felt a familiarity. Books also helped me to focus on my topics of curiosity. How others lived at the turn of the century, how religions grew in society, who the Maori are, which countries speak French, I found all the answers in books. As educators, we must be careful of the books we choose to ban. There may be a life inspiring or life changing event for your students in a certain book. We never know until the magic happens. Think of your favorite book. Think how it made you feel. Think about how it made you THINK! -Gloria Brown Brooks For more information about banned books, please visit the ALA website at: https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks

School is starting in the next few weeks in California. There are many undertakings at the present time to address class size, curriculum coverage and teacher availability.  Prior to the Covid-19 Pandemic, California began losing teachers at a higher rate than in previous years. At the present time fifty percent of teachers are leaving the profession within the first five years. There is also another statistic that is equally alarming. There were 100,000 less students enrolled in the public school system in our state last year. Where are these students? How can we return them to the educational system? If they were in High School, how do we graduate those that have not been in school? What effects does this have on the Community College and the four year Colleges? The shortage of teachers + the shortage of students does not = quality educational experience. What happens if one third of the missing students show up? Will we have the ability to educate them given the teacher statisti...

 Please read and enjoy this reflection on the DKG International 2022 Convention by our STEP chair Gloria Brown Brooks: I was honored to be a greeter on the first day of our Delta Kappa Gamma (DKG) 2022 convention. Although tired from their travels the majority of the participants had warm greetings and friendly hellos. One particularly enthusiastic greeting was “Alpha Alpha in the house!” The greetings carried throughout the lobby, as many sisters had not seen each other in a few years due to Covid-19. As soon as my volunteer time in the lobby was done, I went to a “NEWBEE” meeting. The NEWBEEs were first time International convention attendees. There were approximately 200 of us in attendance. There was also a room set aside for us to ask questions. My greeting partner was also a NEWBEE and we go to see each other again. I also met many new sisters in that room. I particularly enjoyed the Parliamentary procedures and the interactions and different points of view different states. ...

 Over 1 million people in America have passed in the last few years from Sars Covid-19 and or complications from the disease. We are a nation in grief.  Not just grief from the Covid situation, but many of us are grieving the changes that occurred in our lives during that time. Not being able to see our loved ones or going about our daily habits, such as going to the supermarket or going to work and or to worship.  Educators across our country had an extremely challenging time with the readjustments to their jobs. Some areas of the country chose to have no school at all. In California we had to instantly adjust to online learning. This was a hard problem for many, causing another grievous situation.  Babysitting while teaching, cooking while teaching, learning all the latest programs and how to deliver the curriculum caused grief for many others as well.  Families suffered as well. I will save that for another time.  Covid is not gone. We are still working ...

     The STEP Committee would like to celebrate two of our local female heroes in education, including one of our own DKG California members. Krystal Lomanto, Superintendent of San Benito County Schools Superintendent Lomanto is in her 33rd year in education. Krystal started her career as a high school science teacher, coach, class advisor and a teacher on special assignment.  Krystal was offered an Assistant Principal position in 2004 at San Benito High School District that served close to 2,900 students. She was in the Assistant Principal position for four years. During this time, she was also a North County Joint Union School District board member for six years and a volunteer coach in community.  Krystal moved into the principal position at San Benito High School in 2007. She led the site during the last recession helping to close the achievement gap for English Learners and Latinx students. Krystal was a champion for equity, access and inclusion for all stu...

                                   I never thought that I would start writing with a definition from Wikipedia. I was so happy that the definition shown there included the word feminist. In my generational growth, the “Glass Ceiling” was spoken of quite often in magazine articles, women’s magazines in particular and even movies. A glass ceiling is a metaphor used to represent an invisible barrier that prevents a given demographic from rising beyond a certain level in a hierarchy. The metaphor was first coined by feminists in reference to barriers in the careers of high-achieving women.  Wikipedia The two women we will read about next, had dreams, goals, families and the drive to shatter the                “ Glass Ceiling” Indra Nooyi,  When I first read about Mrs. Nooyi I was quite moved. I personally have not agreed with many of her outspoken state...

                       This Month brings us to the Intersection of two very important months. The completion of “Black History Month and the start of “Women’s History Month. I will post, in regards to two very important, women who have helped shape our history. Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer stood against all injustices in the United States. As an uneducated woman from the American South, she chose to speak out! This was a time that “A COLORED should be seen, BUT not heard”. Mrs. Hamer used her voice to address the injustices and plights of rural Blacks in Mississippi. She spoke about Voting rights, Food rights, and the right to a Quality Education. On Education and Black Power, she stated “What we mean by Black Power, is we mean to have not only Black political power, but Black economic power, to have a voice in the educational system that our kids will not only know the Black kids, but the White kids should know the contributions made...

Bob Moses was a Civil Rights leader, an educator exemplar, father, and husband. He was also the "father" of the Algebra project and fully endorsed Quality Education as a Constitutional Right. Read his article here: Returning to 'Normal' is Not Good Enough , posthumously published by The Imprint online news magazine today, Tuesday, August 24th, 2021,  https://imprintnews.org/ opinion/returning-to-normal- in-education-is-not-good- enough/58069  

The organization TODOS: Mathematics For All has an interesting and important take on the discussion happening currently around learning loss.  Please look at the article they have written on the subject here: TODOS article After you read the article, we would love for you to add your thoughts in the comment section below. 

  Penne Ferrell Awards as a Recruitment Tool                Penne Ferrell was a longtime member of Epsilon Omicron chapter in Orange County. She had a great passion for education and literacy, mentoring new teachers and Delta Kappa Gamma. In honor of her love for our organization, California State received a bequest from her estate that was used to create the Penne Ferrell fund. Non-member educators in their first three years of assignment are eligible to apply for a Penne Ferrell grant for reading resources. The Penne Ferrell fund ensures that every single year many emerging educators have a resource to help establish their libraries. We know that the size of a teacher’s classroom library has been linked to the level of literacy achievement for their students so nothing could be more important than building those libraries as quickly as possible. The Penne Ferrell awards are a great potential resource in ...

  In 2001 Larry Cuban wrote Oversold and Underused (978-6674011090). The book acknowledged teachers not having the power to use technological resources to teach and empower their students. Teachers were mostly told what curriculum was acceptable and had to follow strict guidelines for computer usage. Dr. Cuban would go on to do more research in this area and the area of reforming curriculum throughout the school systems. His articles span the k-15 level inclusive of special education. In the magazine The Journal (vol. 34, no. 6) printed in June 2007, the article on how to keep the cords and wires neat in the classroom setting caught my attention    The entire volume was devoted to technology in the classroom that was relevant at the time. There were articles on computers, in the classroom as well as how to use an interactive whiteboard. We have gone past cords and wires. We are no longer fascinated by whiteboards.   We have promoted to Chromebooks and laptops. W...

 Two of our STEP Committee members have recently had the honor of sharing inspirations to kick off our 2019-2020 DKG California Celebration and our 2021 Winter Leadership Planning Session. We wanted to share their inspiring words with you here. 2021 Winter Leadership Inspiration, written by Gloria Brown Brooks THERE ARE SO MANY BRIDGES TO CROSS I believe in the majority of the premises our country was built upon although many of them did not apply to me as a woman of color.  I know that there are bridges now connecting our rights to the original premises. America is making the connections, crossing bridges to help its citizens understand the beauty and worth of our country. We are available to make 2021 one of the best years.  WE HAVE TO HELP EACH OTHER. Starting now we can achieve the power-filled, equity based understanding to make 2021 better, for teachers, students, families and communities. CROSS THOSE BRIDGES!!! 2020 DKG California Celebration, written by Lisa Mac K...

Sometimes the little comments and snubs made in class can stunt a student's educational progress. The comments, looks, or snubs could be characterized as microaggressions. Sometimes they are totally unintentional, like calling a student by another name, OR Calling upon the Asian students in Mathematics class when no one answers a question. Another example of microagression takes us to educator talk online or in the common area. Many educators are prejudiced against a look, how students dress, a behavior and how students express themselves in class. Many of the above behaviors are meant to be harmless, let us become more aware of how we react and interact. Here are some references for further study; BUILD AN ANTIRACIST TOOLBOX https://www.ibramxkendi.com Ibram X. Kendi #1 New York Times Bestselling Author. Named to Time 100’s Most Influential People of 2020. New Book ~ Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 See Books → www.ibramxkendi.com https://www.t...

The DKG California STEP committee has created 3 more social justice presentations for your enjoyment, reflection and personal/professional development. These presentations can be used by individuals or groups or even for chapter programs.  Please read the following descriptions to learn what each presentation has to offer: How To Be an Antiracist Ally View this presentation to learn what you can do to be an antiracist ally. Are you unsure about what is entailed with being an antiracist and/or ally? This presentation will help to clarify the terms as well as give you ideas of actions you can take.  Racism This presentation answers the question: What is racism? It also explains how race is a socially constructed concept rather than biological fact. It encourages you to consider the role of race and racism in your life.  Teaching With the Social Justice Standards This presentation provides information about what the social justice standards are and where you can find them in...

The DKG California STEP committee has been working hard this summer to create our first set of social justice presentations. These are meant to be used by individuals for their own personal growth or by groups of people who want to learn and explore these topics together.  If you are a DKG member, each of these presentations could be used for a chapter program.  In the future we will be creating more presentations on the topics of: Equity and Equality, Teaching Using the Social Justice Standards, The Digital Divide, the Academic Achievement Gap and more. When new presentations are created they will be shared via this blog.  You may want to explore the presentations in this order, but please feel free to watch them in any order which makes sense to you: Love and Inclusion Explore the concepts of love, diversity, inclusion, acceptance and empathy. This presentation offers lots of chances for reflection and/or discussion.  You can view the presentation here.  Uncon...

We are all watching the demonstrations happening right now in response to the many years of discrimination and oppression of people of color and wondering what we can do as educators to help ensure that our society does better moving forward. As educators we have the power and the ability to be part of the solution. There are many resources available that can help guide us on that journey. We hope that the books,websites and resources below will empower you to help make the change that is needed right now.  We must also acknowledge that every teacher comes to issues of race differently based on their own experiences and identity/ies. White educators have a special responsibility to increase their own understanding and to listen when they are fortunate enough to hear about the experiences of their colleagues of color. However, we must ensure that the burden of informing others about the history and experience of racism does not rest on the shoulders of our colleagues an...