TACTics Journal

A Publication for and by TOC for Education Practitioners

November 24, 2000

 

CONTENTS

CONNECTIONS

   (1)     Response to Peter Senge’s Quote, Zzippi Margalit

    (2)     The 5th Annual TOCFE International Conference/The TOC for Education Student’s Conference, Cheryl A. Edwards

ELEMENTARY TACTICS

  (3)   Student Samples: Saturday Enrichment School, Judy Holder

QUOTE

   (4)      Author Unknown

EDITORS’ NOTES

   (5)     Kay Buckner-Seal, Cheryl A. Edwards

 

CONNECTIONS

(1)      A Response to Peter Senge’s Quote

 

"Of all the dominant institutions in society, none is more completely a creature of the Industrial Age than the modern school system.  We stand today at a crossroads: either we continue to try to revive the industrial age system of education or we acknowledge the need to think anew."

—Peter Senge, TACTics, 11/17/00

 

Dear Kay, Cheryl and Everybody,

This letter coming by e-mail through the net, is a very good example of the democratic opportunities that the net can offer to education.  Schools are still trying to keep the old "input-output" conception and in referring to Peter Senge's quote.  Thanks to the net technologies and the post-modern reality, we are already after the Industrial Age.  As we all know, the TOC tools can contribute a lot to the changing processes in the field of education and help everybody “to think anew".  Thank you, Eleanor and Cora for your interesting reports

Yours,

Zzippi

 

(2)      The 5th Annual TOC for Education International Conference and The TOC for Education Student’s Conference

From Cheryl A. Edwards

 

Date:                      June 25-28, 2001

Location               Detroit, Michigan USA

Flight Information:               Detroit Metropolitan International Airport (DTW)

 

Visit the following websites to learn more about the Metro-Detroit area, its life, culture, and history. 

http://metroscope.com/detroit.html

http://www.detroit300.org/

 

ELEMENTARY TACTICS

(3)     Student Samples: Saturday Enrichment School

From Judy Holder, United Kingdom

 

I have been doing some work at Galena Dolya’s Saturday Enrichment School in Enfield, London.  I told two groups of children that I was so impressed with what they'd come up with that I would see about contacting you to share their ideas.  So here goes!

 

Group 1

The first group were about a dozen 7 and 8 year olds.  I was late starting their session because of a fight between two older students in the corridor.  They had heard the disturbance, so taking a deep breath, I abandoned my lesson plans, and gave them the story line:

 

The story happens at Saturday School.  Someone got punched and hit their head on a wall.  It hurts.  The person is angry.  The person wants the puncher to be expelled.

 

After we sorted out what expelled meant, I showed them a smiley face, and we agreed that this is how we all want to feel.  Then they came up with the rest of the cloud together:

 

A:    Smiley Face (FEEL GOOD)

B:     No fighting

D:    Puncher) be expelled

C:     Likes coming

D':   Don't be expelled

 

Assumptions B-D:

        I won't get hurt again (if he is expelled).

        It won't happen again (if he is expelled).

        There won't be any messed up lessons (if he is expelled)

Assumptions C-D':

        Not get told off

        No other club

(They were clear that we needed to break the cloud on the B-D side, because there is no other Saturday School.)

 

Injections:

        Put them in different groups

        Tell the person who is supposed to look after you to keep an eye on him

        Do a behaviour cloud.

 

In the course of the discussion we looked at the puncher's internal dilemma.

Earlier in the morning the students had been involved in a first incident.  The child he punched had earlier struck him with some equipment during a circus skills session, and he felt aggrieved.

 

A:    Smiley Face (FEEL GOOD)

B:     Get my own back

D:    Punch

C:     Not get expelled

D':   Don't punch

 

Assumptions B-D:

People will make fun of me if I don't (I understood this to mean take advantage of me)

Assumptions C-D':

        Might get into trouble

        Might get black eye/bandage

        Might get punched back

        Not get told off

 

Injections:

        Tell one of the grown ups

        Talk your problems over-use a cloud.

 

While we were at it, there was time for a very elementary negative branch.  I put a smiley face and a frowning face on the board and asked them to work out which one punching had led to.  We arrived at: I need to get my own back and I punch. —> So I hurt someone. —> So I get told off. —> Then I feel guilty. —> Then I feel sad".

 

The logic is not perfect, but these very young children were fully engaged and thinking.  And all of them recognised the punch/don't punch dilemma.  It really rang bells.  We did resolve the issue between the two boys that prompted the session.  Guess which injection we used?

 

Group 2

The second group were about a dozen 9-12 year olds.  I wanted to introduce them to the ambitious target tool.  I borrowed an idea from Kathy Suerken (Thanks, Kathy).  She had told me about the response she gets when she shows children a map of the world with all the places TOC operates.  They relish the idea of being connected to something bigger than themselves.  I also remembered hearing Eli Goldratt talk about his early goal of teaching the world to think.

 

So I played them a tape of a choir singing Vivaldi’s, Gloria.  It happens that my own daughter was singing in the choir.  I told them that I knew she was there, and that even though I couldn't hear her voice above the rest, her voice, in combination with all the others was needed to produce that magnificent sound.  Then I showed them a map of the world, with flags for all the countries where TOC has started to teach and explained that each of our voices, however small, was part of the work.  I also said that what they did was particularly important because they were pioneers.  (We did have to stop to discuss what a pioneer is!)

 

Then I told them a story about the way TOC started: with someone who had a goal to teach the world to think.  I asked them why the idea would never work, and wrote down their ideas:

 

Might offend religions/cultures

Have to travel too much

Not see his family

People are not willing to do/accept.

How will he tell everyone to think?

He may not know how to think himself.

There's just one of him.

He may not have enough lifetime.

There are too many people.

People are always being born and dying; he will have to keep re-teaching.

No money

Have to learn all the languages

 

Then I asked them how they would fix these problems:

        Teach many cultures: find out what the cultures are and a way to teach                        without offending.

Build a community.

Write letters, e-mail.

Pay them money to learn.

Make it interesting.

Learn to think himself

Build a community.

Inspire followers…

 

We did not have enough time to finish, but I made time to ask them which one he would have to do first.  Someone immediately told me that the first thing he would have to do was learn to think himself.

 

Well, I told them I would share their work, so I have.

 

QUOTE

(4)          "Thankfulness sets in motion a chain reaction that transforms all around us including ourselves.  For no one ever misunderstands the melody of a grateful heart.  Its message is universal; its lyrics transcend all earthly barriers; its music touches the heavens." —author unknown

 

EDITORS’ NOTES

(5)            A round of applause for the children at the Saturday Enrichment School!  Judy, we are always eager to share the work of children.  We, too, are impressed and look forward to sampling more.  Zzippi, thanks for the relevant connection to Peter Senge’s quote.  To our entire TOCFE family, we do love sharing.  Send your contributions to Cheryl A. Edwards, 2253 S. Hill Island Rd., Cedarville, MI 49719, USA.  Or, send hyperlink to <redwards@sault.com> or <bucknek@resa.net.