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From the Editor

Of Passion and Purpose...

“Passion” is in fashion nowadays! Motivational speakers and personal development experts encourage
listeners to “follow your passion”… some even going so far as to note that, as Mark Twain suggested long
ago, if people pursue what they love, they will never work a day in their lives. Indeed, some attribute
the rise in digital entrepreneurship—the evolution of countless “influencers” and promoters on social
media—to what they are calling “the passion economy.” They point to “digital platforms emphasizing
users’ individuality” and the fact that—in part because COVID-19 drove so much of life online—many
nowadays earn by doing something they are passionate about rather than working to pursue passions in
their free time [Passion.io, 2024)!
I would argue that educators—and particularly DKG members—are (although rarely entrepreneurial)
among the original passion workers: choosing teaching not simply as a “job” but as a vocation or “calling”
based on an innate desire to share their love of learning or of a subject; to nurture minds; and to shape the
future. Founder Annie Webb Blanton, driven by her own passion to improve the status of women teachers,
captured this mindset in the song that became the DKG anthem. She wrote of “women teachers, to the
calling, firmly rally, never palling” –i.e., never giving up in their purposes—and urged that members be
“forward moving ever.” And, as authors in this issue illustrate through their inspired and inspiring work,
that passion for education and for DKG abides.
Appropriately, new International President (and 2024 International Achievement Award recipient) Dr.
Beverly Hall-Maughan leads this issue urging members to pursue the Society’s Vision of “key women
educators impacting education worldwide” with passion and purpose. As she discusses her own passion
for DKG, Hall-Maughan challenges readers to consider the energy that they bring to their chapters and
beyond… and, in linking passion and purpose, she also raises the “chicken and egg” dilemma of whether
passion fuels purpose or purpose fuels passion! As a counterpoint to the emphasis on passion, in fact,
American businessman and TV personality Mark Cuban (2012) has urged, “Don’t follow your passions;
follow your effort. It will lead you to your passions and to success, however you define it.” Cuban believes
that, as one works toward achieving a purpose, accomplishment fuels enjoyment that in turn leads to greater
passion. In the context of DKG, as members pursue the seven Purposes and the ultimate purpose captured
in the Mission to promote the professional and personal growth of women educators and excellence in
education, their energy for the Society grows exponentially. Their focus on purpose fuels their passion.
Perhaps author Jack Canfield resolves
this push/pull dilemma best when he
writes, “Passion is about pursuing the
things that make YOU happy, while
purpose is using your unique talents and
passions to make OTHER people happy”
(2024). As articles in this issue illustrate,
the beauty of membership in DKG is that
the Society provides opportunities for both
passion and purpose to expand within a
structured, international network bound
by the genuine spiritual fellowship of key
women educators.
Judy Merz, EdD
Editor

4 · Volume 91-2