Organizations

I have "belonged" to many organizations throughout my life.Some have been for a short time ; others have been very long associations.These affiliations have influenced me greatly, as I surmise is true for a majority of people.I guess it is human nature to want to belong and to find an assemblage of like-minded people for a particular purpose or interest.From a very young age, my parents encouraged my membership in 3 particular groups. Of course, the primary one was MYF ( Methodist Youth Fellowship), of which I became the president.I mention I was president not to "boast" per se but to show my level of commitment.You don't get to be an officer of an organization unless you WANT to be the nexus and work hard at it.However, in my case, once I've "been there, done that" I tend to move on and "join" another circle. The 2nd group my parents advocated was the American Legion auxiliary. My dad, being a vet, was an active member of the American Legion, and therefore, the children enjoyed the benefit of that membership. Dad's chapter had property with a lake, playground, camping,dining facilities and an entertainment venue.Needless to say, those components appealed to me. However, I didn't enjoy the weekly meetings for the kids- stodgy and banausic, so I never attempted to become an officer; I just wanted to go swimming.However, the whole family participated in this weekly event, so this tie provides many happy memories of family time.The 3rd prodding by Mom, was joining the Camp Fire Girls( member from 3rd to 5th grade)and Mom was the chapter's sponsor. Camp Fire Girls ( now called Camp Fire because it eventually became coed) is similar to Girl Scouts, but was never quite as well- known as GS. I really liked that Tribe or Troop identity and we collected beads- not patches for our accomplishments. I wanted to get all ten large beads( each large bead represented 10 smaller beads) of assorted colors. I achieved that goal, and then, I wanted to quit; I kept that necklace of beads.After these three involvements,I continued to find other groups to join.Oh and because of my Great Aunt Helen's persistence, I am a DAR member based on my family history on my Mom's side.In my 5th and 6th grades, I was in the Safety Patrol and became a lieutenant, so you can see that I was highly motivated. When I reminisce about this I understand now that this was rather like a fascist group (I admit that I was a naive, gullible lemming)in which I excelled.I realize that I liked the idea and ability to " control" other kids' behavior, which must have been the genesis of my classroom management style. As the saying goes, a little bit of power can be dangerous. Fortunately for me, I couldn't be in the Safety Patrol past sixth grade, so that taste of tyranny ended. During junior high school I was very involved with three groups which saved me from an otherwise abysmal prepubescent school life. First I was evaluated and deemed worthy to join the gifted program. This is when the gifted program consisted of the "chosen ones" getting to take lots of wonderful field trips. This was a step into another group MENSA. It was a coup, but it was something else as well for me.I came to view a membership as a way to meet quality people - not just achieve a personal "goal" within an organization. The seed of a lifelong friendship with Ruth S. sprouted from this program. The second group was the school orchestra; I loved playing cello, and I had to be 1st chair of course. I love classical music and symphony concerts to this day....This activity was shared with my brothers and sister, although we all reacted differently to the participation. I met a lifelong friend- Linda K.who played the French horn.We were inseparable. The 3rd group was the Candy-stripers which Linda and I joined together. I thought I wanted to become a doctor so I volunteered regularly at the hospital. I wanted to reach the award level of 200 hours so that's what I did, but it also helped to clarify that I wasn't cut out for the medical field. However, I learned that I like volunteering for worthwhile activities and I still do love volunteering through my church ties. When I was in ninth grade I joined the "Man From U.N.C.L.E." fan club and became the local chapter's president.I liked being "in charge" and I loved loved that show. I did the same thing with "Dark Shadows." Kids are made to see an us vs them mentality - you either are loyal or you aren't - like with sports teams and schools and politics. This, I think, can be unhealthy and self- limiting. But I am rather programmed this way - rooting for U of M teams, rooting for my political candidate of choice, etc. Go Blue.... In college, I didn't want to make time to join any organizations, because I was immersed in my studies so I could finish early, but Preceptor Alpha Omega called and that was a very important part of my life until just about 8 years ago ( this will need a separate post.)Eventually,when I started teaching I mandatorily joined the teacher 's union.I did NOT like this because I could not have any say in how my dues were spent, such as for Democratic politicians. Let me just say that I vote mainly Republican but I have voted for many individual Democrats. I just don't like when my money goes to someone or some cause which I can't support and that is why I no longer belong to AARP.We do not have teacher unions in Georgia and I'm fine with that, but I digress which I frequently do. I currently sing in the church choir, play Bunco and Bridge so I am still involved in organizations of my choosing but I prefer one- on -one relationships. Bunco and Bridge only meet once a month so that's fine , and I view the choir as my small worship group.I just don't feel the need to be so committed to particular groups , because - you know how this is- the more you do, the more "they" want you to do and I'll let others milk that cow, unless a compelling cause comes along and I'll probably make another commitment....