TACTics Journal

A Publication for and by TOC for Education Practitioners

October 13, 2000

 

CONTENTS

CONNECTIONS

   (1)   Precious Stones/Netherlands Update, Eleanor May-Brenneker, Netherlands

    (2)      Update from Israel, Gila Glatter, Israel

   (3)     Want Ad, Denise Meyer, USA

QUOTE

   (4)   Anonymous

EDITORS’ NOTES

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

 

CONNECTIONS

(1)  Precious Stones/Netherlands Update

By Eleanor May-Brenneker, MA, Netherlands

 

Have you ever actually found some precious or semi-precious stones on one of your travels?  It’s easy, just look (or listen) for them and they’ll come to you.  Then, pick them up and pocket them to share their beauty with others. Right now I’ve three to show you:

      1.    At the world EXPO 2000 in Hanover a catchy tune caught my ear in the Australian Pavilion.  When I listened to the lyrics I realised they could have been written with the fledgling TOCFE in the Netherlands in mind: “We are young, we are tomorrow, so much to learn, so much to say…” I’ll soon be reporting on how much we have to say!

 

2.      Travelling back to UK through Belgium, I saw a motor way billboard poster to encourage drivers to walk, cycle or use public transport.  It could have been designed for TOCFE: “You can also do it like this (the TOC way).  You’ll get there more easily.”

 

3. Back home I heard an interview on Auntie Beep (BBC) with Adrian Nichols, the free-flight world record holder.  When asked if he ever felt he was taking a risk, he said, “The greatest risk one can run in life is NOT to seize an opportunity and live it!” 

With these thoughts in mind, I would like to share the achievements of IOs with the young, active TOCFE organisation in The Netherlands.

 

We convened on 10th Sept. 2000 in the centre of the Lowlands for a day’s Ambitious Target Update and to make a PrT for a new TACT course to be held in Jan. 2001.  The Target, set at the end of the 1st TACT course is:  We get TOCFE/NL successfully off the ground in our country.  So far:

     The steering group has appointed a coordinator in the person of Nel Hofmeester, and other group members have taken on specific tasks,

     The texts of the 5 session-manuals have been translated into Dutch by some of our members, and I’m very grateful to them.  The lay out is being worked on by a TOC friend (AGI) and will be ready this month.  The task of executing copying the manuals is taken on by one TOCFE group member,

     A new TACT course is being organised to run from 8-12 Jan. 2001 at the University of Utrecht.  The target group is educators working in secondary and higher education, including those who train teachers.  A suitable location for this course is organised, and cucumbers are listed.  A flyer and registration form has been designed to distribute in target group environments.  Every group member is canvassing for candidates for TACT courses, now that the flyer is ready,

     One group member, Geerte van de Groep, is presenting a buy-in at a 2-day Montessori conference on 5 & 6 Oct. 2000 and hopes to enlist some course candidates.

     An end-of-course evaluation form is designed and a follow up meeting for our TOCFE/NL is being held on 8th Oct. 2000 to check all details covered in the PrT and mentioned in the minutes of the previous meeting.

     TOCFE certified teachers are being trained to train others, also in Jan. 2000. (HTT course).

     New TACT courses are being planned and PrTs for those are being submitted by HTT candidates.  HTT candidates will be given the opportunity to demonstrate that they can apply the TACT skills.

     Due to sudden illness of an appointed specialist, I was asked, on the spur of the moment, to run a 2-day study skills course for 13-year-old dyslexics. I took on the challenge, working out a programme using TOC tools and I set time aside in the programme to teach the pupils a simple “motivation tree,” a positive branch.  They loved it and the parents commented later on how brilliant that tree was!  One parent wrote to me: “My child is now much more confident and highly motivated!”

 

TOCFE/NL is alive and kicking!  Watch this space!  Our best wishes to you all, wherever you are, whatever you do to spread the TOC word!

 

(2)      Update from Israel

From Gila Glatter, Israel

 

I'm working with Rami on improving the teaching of the Transition Tree.  We have some insight about the way the workbook should be written.  We are hoping to have a better guide to empower ourselves and students in achieving missions.  We have worked on the order we should follow, in order to get a Logic Tree and do it much easier than we are doing it now.  I have a good feeling that we have reached a breakthrough!

 

(3)      Want Ad

From Denise Meyer, California, USA

 

I am working on a project to train English teachers in one of my high schools to use the cloud in their curriculum.  If anyone in the TACTics family has examples from high school literature, please email me: Denimeyer@aol.com or publish it in TACTics.

 

QUOTE

(4)     The quote this week is sent to us from Bev Brown, Ohio, USA.

“Great people talk about ideas, average people talk about things, small people talk about people.”  —Anonymous

 

EDITORS’ NOTES

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

Thanks to all for your contributions to TACTics this week.  If you would like to share, don’t hesitate to do so.  Send your contributions by mail to:

Cheryl A. Edwards

2253 S. Hill Island Rd.

Cedarville, MI 49719, USA 

Or send hyperlink to:

<redwards@sault.com>

or

<bucknek@resa.net