How much are you expected to know about your founders?
 

In light of a few recent threads :) I thought I'd throw this out...

I'm sure it's no secret that most GLOs require their new members/pledges/associate members/etc. to take a knowledge test covering things they've learned in new member education - when and where the GLO was founded, who the founders were, what the colors and symbols are, etc. But just how much are you expected to know about your founders? Maiden names, married names, middle names, ages, bra sizes, shoe sizes, ...? Also, same question for information on chapter founders and national officers.

We were required to learn all the founders' maiden names, but not married names. For national officers, we had to learn their current names (if they were married, we didn't have to also know their maiden names). We weren't quizzed on chapter founders because we were the chapter founders, but I don't think NMs in my chapter today are even quizzed on it. All this info is in the NM manual, though (as are the founders' bra sizes, which I could share, but then I'd have to kill you :p ).

Founders full names (including maiden)
National President's name
no chapter founder names :(

I learned the first, maiden, and married names of DPhiE's Five Founders. I also learned a little bit about their careers. They were in law school in 1917 which was rare for women back then. I am not sure how much we were required to learn.

Re: How much are you expected to know about your founders?
 

Actually, in years past there was a membership test that was administered annually to each chapter member by the chapter adviser ....YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS ago (try 50 years).

I didn't have to take one in 1981 :). We learned all the important stuff because we wanted to, but there was no test :).

Re: Re: How much are you expected to know about your founders?
 

What happened if you failed?? <visions of the chapter advisor yoinking pins off people's blouses> :eek:

Last names and what office they held

You know, looking back, I wish we got tested on Founders (and other pertinent history) information AFTER we were initiated -- not just taking the NM Test.

For the NM test we needed to know all 11 Founders' First, Sometimes Middle, Maiden, and Married Name (if any). The information we learned about them came straight from the NM Manual, and usually it was what they were most remembered for: First Grand President, first Alpha Gam Baby, missionary, "First Founder", expert in heraldry, pianist/songwriter, etc.

It wasn't until Maria's daily AGD FunFact thread (and early issues of the Quarterly ) that we started learning lesser known facts about our Founders and early history.

Names - but just maiden, not their married ones...so Frances E. Haven, etc.

Re: Re: How much are you expected to know about your founders?
 

We still have one annually, however, if you fail, you just have to take it over again until you pass.

Why not be required to Learn the Founders Names! It is part of the History of Your Organization! Those that are not interested, well why are they there!?????

What about Local Founders? Should they not be recognized also?

Is not it all History! If it was not for those few, where would you be?

My chapter is at an engineering school. I think they find it more important that we learn the stress levels of composite materials than memorizing the SIXTY-FIVE names hanging on our wall...learning 100 years of local history on top of Gamma Phi Beta history is definitely enough to try and cram in six weeks on top of school.

We learned our founders' names as they were when Theta was founded, and who our first president was.

Besides why they founded the Fraternity, we have to know their full names (thankfully we only have two) and what their professions were (a doctor and a judge.)

We had to learn all twelve founders first, middle/maiden, and last names and spell them correctly.

The year after I pledged, Pi Phi nationals changed the new member test, however. Now new members only have to place a check beside the correct 12 names out of a list of however many names. I thought that that was really silly.

We learned the founders' full names, current grand council and other local international officersl, and the name of our chapter's founding president for our international exam. Per our international chapter operations book, All collegiate ADPi's take this exam yearly prior to officer elections to remain in good standing with the sorority.

We are moving to a new system. The exam will still be given yearly, but new members will receive a modified version that is part online/multiple choice and part written (local history, etc)

ETA: Through the course of new member education, we talk about the time period we were founded in and discuss the lives of the founders. However, members are not expected to memorize the biographies of the founders. We focus instead on the founders' legacy, which is the modern day sorority, its basic history, terms, symbols and officer hierarchy/governing and geographic structure.

At least when I took the test, we had to know the full names (first, maiden, married) of our 6 founders, and the full names (first, maiden, married) of our International Officers. For our chapter history, we just needed to know the number of sisters who chartered the chapter rather than their full names and the different organizations we were affiliated with.

I will never forget some of the ways we remembered our founders names:
EPT test (Ella Pierce Turner)
OAR: Octavia Andrew Rush
I think there were a few more, but it's been a while for me to remember our little "memory tricks".

we have a written history that has 5 paragraphs that we have to memorize and know by heart but we aren't formally tested on it though- but its a requirement for initiation- but we had 35 charter members- and we don't have to knwo their names- i wish we did though- we have this amazing picture taken before our house was built (on the property) with the 35 founders and dr. degroat who helped finance and build our house- its a really cool picture

We had to know full names (including maiden), why they founded the fraternity and then we had to know how our particular chapter was founded. We didn't need to know names for that, though I did know 2 of our chapter's founders. Kind of cool.

I heard that requiring aspirants to take tests for membership is considered hazing. :confused:

I think that's just if the test is absolutely ridiculous (like what was the founder's mom's maiden name and also her second favorite color) - I'm pretty confident most of the fraternity guys at my school could pass our history test after about 10 minutes of cramming, it's very basic info about us.

In our chapter the new members have to know the 7 National founders maiden and married name, the national council (maiden and married names) and the 17 founding sisters of the re-chartered chapter (maiden and married names).

I am sure people may think the 17 founding sisters is a bit excessive but since we are a commuter school and the re-chartered chapter is only 12 years old it is quite easy to run into a sister around the neighborhood and it would be really embarrasing if you don't recognize names of the chapter founders if you run into them.

We learned our four founders names, where they were from, and what they did for AOII and their community and some of their educational background. My NME educator (was called a pledge trainer back in my day in 1996), made us little fact sheets with pictures of our founders and some other group pictures of them. Our NME education books are also very informative. I've also read up on our founders and some of our early fraternity leaders from our AOII History book. I find it fascinating and I remember being so excited to learn that one of AOII's founders was from New Orleans (just like me) and that our second chapter, Pi, was founded at Newcomb College of Tulane University in New Orleans.

I think all NMs should learn about their founders, regardless of how many founders they have. In order to understand your organization and to carry out its ideals you have to know your founders and why they came together. Anyway, that's just my 2 cents.

I know our new members could use their new member materials when taking the exam, like an open book test. We had to know our five national founders, dates, etc., and our chapter required us to know the local chapter founders, what they were before they were D Phi E, and all the local dates of importance. Now, it's not NEARLY that much.

Founders-first, maiden, married
And then i guess you could count Wilma Wilson Sharp, "founder" (writer) of the creed....
And the restructurization info, I guess you could count that as "Founding stuff"

Wow, did i have to learn a lot,

Maybe it was just a part of the process and they really didn't expect us to know everything but we were asked questions about:

1 degrees earned and from where
2 all schools attended
3 how they died(mainly for the two who collapsed suddenly without warning)
4 wife's names and how many children they had(especially for the one who actually had a legacy
5 books one of them published
6 careers
7 birthday and date of death
8 who did what during the founding
9 rooms they lived in during college


just a few of the things we were required to know

about chapter founders mainly who was what during the first year of being chartered, who was president, first initiate, thousandth initiate of the chapter the 100000 of the whole fraternity stuff like that.

We learn first, maiden and married names of the 10 founders. They have little bios on them on line and in the reflections book, but we don't have to know that !