DKG Alpha Epsilon

Local educators were treated to an evening out Thursday, November 14th. Reach Them to Teach Them is a Knoxville based organization started by Amy Crawford in 2005-2006. Amy is a retired teacher from both Knox Co. and Maryville City School Districts. She started with a dream of blessing teachers back for their love and service. Her mission, for teachers to fully realize the power they have to make a difference in the lives of the students they serve and the lives of each other. Through local faith based organizations and help from Food City, Amy has succeeded in celebrating teachers annually with her Reach Them to Teach Them event. Traditionally, the event has been hosted at the beautiful Tennessee Theater. This year, the event was moved to Faith Promise Church, Pellissippi Campus. Several hundred of our closest friends in the business gathered to enjoy the laughs and wisdom of Gerry (Gary) Brooks. Gerry did not disappoint, reminding us all of the “passion profession” we chose, and we need to focus on accepting everyone. He challenged us to stop focusing on changing what is different about others, and the need to focus on changing ourselves. He went on to remind us to preserve the dignity of others, the least of which, the students we serve.

Reach Them to Teach Them, to me, is another example of an organization that celebrates educators (all educators from the custodians to administration) and seeks to help educators know their importance and worth. From the hundreds of educators that attended Thursday’s “UNITE” event, the need for such organizations is alive and well. (UNITE-Understand Not Everyone is the Enemy)

Please continue to share our organization, DKG, with fellow female educators. The need is great, the desire to connect is there, and the opportunity to make a difference in each other’s lives and those we serve is priceless.

Respectfully submitted,

Melissa

On December 3rd we will again hold our SILENT AUCTION benefiting the Family Resource Center.

The community will be invited this year to join us and bid. As you begin to deliver your auction items this week (Nov. 18-22) to ORHS, LINDEN OR JEFFERSON; please include with your item a description of the item, as well as a minimum bid.

Past items have included services, vacations, gift baskets or gently used collectible/vintage items.

Nancy Byrge will serve dinner ($20) and the wonderful Ensemble will provide holiday music.

Diana sent the link below to RSVP for dinner. Please remember to do this no later than Tuesday, November 26th.

https://forms.gle/43PhU7vwjZdmU7vS8

If you haven't looked at the Leadership Links sent out recently, here is the link again. It hold many important deadlines for workshops and the newly corrected dates for our Sewanee Convention.

I am reaching out to you concerning our sister, Gayle Boroughs. She lost her husband a few weeks ago. He had been on hospice and had multiple myeloma for years. Gayle is in NHC for the second time, and they are still trying to determine the root of her illness (possible bladder problems). She can have visitors. Please help lift her spirits as you are able.

- Library bill of rights is the basis for what Caramia does and it was started in 1938 in response to growing intolerance and suppression of freedom of speech

- Library bill of rights includes the following: books and resources provided should be for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people, materials with different viewpoints of current and historical issues should be available, privacy and confidentiality should be maintained, libraries should challenge censorship

- Question Asked to Caramia: “What type of backlash have your received from communities at Oak Ridge High School?” Caramia “None, we are fortunate to have a very supportive community”

- Question Asked to Caramia regarding privacy and confidentiality: “Have any parents asked to know what books their child has checked out?” Caramia “No but if they did we would have to tell them, because they are minors”

- The American Library Association documented a huge uptick in book challenges in recent years

- The difference between challenges and bans is that challenges means it has to go through a process to determine if it is to be pulled from the shelf whereas bans are when it has to be removed from the shelves. The general public can challenge but not ban books. Legislation, school boards, maybe city councils can ban books.

- 2024 is on track to have fewer book challenges than 2023. Caramia attributes this to “soft challenges”

- “Soft challenges” are when librarians or others curating books refrain from ordering books that might be considered controversial to avoid backlash.

- Public libraries receive more challenges nationwide than schools.

- In 2022, The TN Age appropriate materials act TCA 49-6-3801 passed which required all books available to students be posted online and that books were age appropriate and follow the educational mission of the school.

- Caramia noted that this act initially caused very few changes to the ORHS collection but required teacher libraries to be cataloged.

Trunk or Treat was a great success again! The high school students organize this each year and our mission is to participate in the community and help any parents sign up for the "Imagination Library" if they have not already done so. We handed out between 15-20 applications to new parents that evening and buckets of candy!!

In October my husband and I took a bus trip organized by Yes-Go Travel to Boston, Salem, Cape Ann and the JFK museum was on the Boston part of the trip. (If you want to see witches, go to Salem in October!) It was great not having to worry about traffic, parking, lodging, restaurants and basically worry-free. Check them out. They are affiliated with Collette and other travel planners.

As always, please send me your Member News and any corrections or updates. nwitick@gmail.com