International Dot Day Activities Coming To Limestone On Friday, September 18

The Educators Rising organization of Limestone University will host International Dot Day on Friday, Sept. 18, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. on the front campus.

Educators Rising will have snacks, games, and multiple creative activities going on for that three-hour period on Friday. Educators Rising is a national student-led organization that advocates for education focusing on recruiting, retaining, and developing highly skilled educators and diversification of the workforce. 

“This is a student-led event that encourages everyone to make their mark in the world and get creative,” said Limestone Assistant Professor of Elementary Education/Coordinator of Elementary Education Dr. Virginia Scates. “Imagine the power and potential of millions of people around the world connecting, collaborating, creating, and celebrating all that creativity inspires and invites. We hope our campus community will join the growing global community of creativity champions using their talents, gifts, and energy to move the world to a better place by participating in this Friday’s event.”

Every year, millions of students and educators connect on International Dot Day to celebrate creativity, courage, and collaboration. International Dot Day is staged to encourage people of all ages to harness their creativity.

The inspiration behind the event is the children’s book “The Dot” by Peter H. Reynolds. It relates the tale of a teacher who challenges one of his female pupils to take courage in her abilities. From a dot on a page, the youngster goes on to make her mark. Real-life teacher Terry Shay brought this book to his class in the late 2000s and it was this that sparked Dot Day to life. It has grown from this one classroom to now be a worldwide celebration each year.

Teachers can encourage students to get busy on the day with writing, drawing, painting, or other creative outlets.

Limestone University’s Educators Rising chapter has a leadership team consisting of Madison Galloway, President; Christian Bryant, Vice-President; Patrick Cook, Secretary; Cody Rackley, Treasurer; and Addie Hopper and Brooklyn Coggins, Recruitment Team.

Students do not have to be Education majors to join, they just need a desire to learn more about the teaching profession and how to advocate for students, teachers, and the education field, Scates explained. Students can learn more about membership and the mission of the organization by reaching out to one of the leadership team members or to Scates, who is the Advisor for Limestone’s chapter.  

For more information on International Dot Day activities, contact Scates at vscates@limestone.edu.