TACTics Journal

A Publication for and by TOC for Education Practitioners

April 27, 2001

 

CONTENTS

Elementary/Secondary Tactics

    (1)     Clouds in Literature, Denise Meyer

Connections

    (2)     News from The Netherlands, Eleanor May-Brenneker

    (3)     5th Annual TOCFE International Conference/First Annual TOCFE International Students’ Conference, Cheryl A. Edwards

Editor’s Notes

    (4)     Kay Buckner-Seal

 

 

ELEMENTARY/SECONDARY TACTICS

(1)        Clouds in Literature

From Denise Meyer

 

I have just completed a booklet entitled “Clouds in Literature.”  It is designed to teach students to analyze dilemmas and conflicts in literature selections using the Cloud.  Because I only go into the classroom for short periods and don't develop a whole unit on any piece of literature with them, I had to select short stories or chapters that had some appropriate dilemma or problem.  I began by feeling quite frustrated by the lack of "conflict" in the stories I was reading.  As I delved deeper into it, I began to see the implied conflicts everywhere.  The first selection I chose was a book by Maya Angelou.  Here is a brief description of the first few paragraphs:

 

Maya tells how her grandmother used to send them to the well (warm or cold) to wash up before bed.  They didn't like it because it was dark and cold.  If they didn't do a very good job and the bottoms of their feet were still dirty, their grandmother would wake them up by hitting the bottom of their feet as they slept in bed.  They then had to get up and wash all over again.

 

At first I completely skipped over this section looking for the obvious conflict.  But then I realized that there are many conflicts in this simple narrative:

           Send them out in the cold to wash by the well / Don't send them out in the cold to wash by the well.

           Wash carefully / Don't wash carefully.

           Hit the bottom of their feet / Don't hit the bottom of their feet.

What surprised me more than my discovery, was that the students had no trouble and seemed to enjoy finding the conflicts in such simple narratives.

 

There is a term that I hear all the time in listening to "lay" persons talking about conflict resolution programs—"managing conflict."  Students who function in schools as mediators are often referred to as conflict managers. I think it's called this because that's how people see conflict.  As something to be managed not resolved.  It's the living with it that makes it sometimes so difficult to see.

 

It's quite amazing, some of the clouds that come out of these simple selections, like the "hit them on the feet / don't hit them on the feet" one.  It gets children to look at the whole philosophical question of punishment.

 

CONNECTIONS

(2)  News from The Netherlands

From Eleanor May-Brenneker

 

Dear TOCFE Friends Worldwide,

Some news snippets about TOCFE in The Neth!erlands:

     I've just received detailed evaluation sheets on the TOCFE sessions 1, 2, and 4 over 3 days training, followed by 2 practice days given at Utrecht University NL January 8-12 '01.  The course organiser, Geerte van de Goep, designed excellent evaluation sheets, compiled the responses and worked out the ratings.  Candidates considered written answers to 11 questions and rated 7 aspects of the course on a scale, resulting in an overall 83% quality product.  The ratings criteria follows below:

The content of the course met my expectations:  86%

The course structure enabled me to work well and with pleasure:  92%

The standard and level of the course was right for me:  86%

I've encountered unexpected experiences and discoveries:  80%

The course will influence my functioning at school:  72%

Facilitation during the course by Eleanor:  92%

I found the material good to work with:  74%

 

The written responses were very encouraging and full of praise for the course, the set up, the role of the cucumbers, the prospects for the future of TOCFE in NL, and the workability of the course content.  This thorough evaluation result will enable us to improve or POOGI the course next time round.

 

Part 2 of the course (sessions 3 and 5) will take place 15/16 May '01, also in Utrecht.  Because of the resounding success of this course so far, many inquiries on TOCFE and requests for more courses have poured in.  The result is that a new course will run in Utrecht again in Sept. '01.  Rotterdam University has a department that re-trains teachers and they will organise their first TOCFE course, also in Sept. ‘01.  Discussions are held to list TOCFE as an optional module on the teachers' training course in Rotterdam.  An article written on the Jan. ‘01 course will appear in June in a highly regarded education magazine called “Educare.”  It is written by one of the course candidates who works as a planning officer for International Youth Relief Work (Kosovo, Sierra Leone etc.).

 

To illustrate the success on the shopfloor with one example:  Whenever there's the slightest conflict in the offing at Carl's school, pupils now say, “You know what?  You two had better go and see Mrs. Carl; she'll help you to help yourselves to sort out your problem.”  Overnight the number of conflict situations has decreased in Carl's school and the TOCFE cloud method is famous!  I reckon they're ready to set up a Peer Mediation structure next......

 

Running alongside the basic TOCFE days in January, mentioned above, was a “How To Teach” held in the evenings.  Candidates for this course will hopefully be in a position to qualify as trainers once all the necessary requirements have been fulfilled after they have attended the second part mid in May '01.  There will be enough cause for double celebrations then— new TOCFE teachers and new Teacher-Trainers.  The champagne has been ordered!

 

     I've just returned from a most successful and tiring conference in York where I presented a very well attended workshop on TOCFE with specific Dyslexia applications.  Many delegates stopped me following this workshop and expressed their appreciation with remarks such as, “Such a simple and elegant way to clear conflicts out of the way… It seems totally non-invasive… No judgements seem to be passed on student's behaviour… When will you run your next training course?”

 

I've had an invitation from Sweden to consider running a summer course in August.  A colleague from Barbados will be next.  Then there are the Dutch courses lined up for September.  There's a lot to discuss when I will finally see you all again in June.

 

The York Conference organisers invited presenters to email their 'paper' to them to compile a CD-ROM for worldwide publication.  In the last 4 days I've worked round the clock to add a professional modern technology touch with the help of some friends, so that I could meet the deadline which has left me dead beat! 

 

Yet no time for the wicked.  I still need to prepare some overhead transparencies in Dutch for the course in May.  (Next week, I'll be away for a break for I've worked 7 days a week for the last 7 weeks.)  One day before the Dutch course our TOCFE.NL group will attend a one-day course on Socratic teaching in Amsterdam.  We want to teach TOCFE more explicitly Socratically and we'll add this as an additional feature to our training.  There's great demand for this in the Netherlands and “Socratic” is the buzzword.  I've already ploughed through 4 books on the subject and it's not particularly bedtime reading either!

 

My eyelids need matchsticks right now, so till soon.  Good luck with the conference preps and the anthology. (Kathy, I'm working on that one too!)

 

Love and thanks,

Eleanor May-Brenneker

 

 

(3)  5th Annual TOCFE International Conference/First Annual

TOCFE International Student’s Conference

Cheryl A. Edwards

 

The best way to predict the future is to create it through TOC."

TOC for Education, Inc. presents the 5th Annual TOCFE International Conference and the First Annual TOCFE International Student’s Conference!

 

Date:                                June 25-28, 2001

 

Location:                                Detroit, Michigan USA

 

Hotel:                                Northfield Hilton

                        5500 Crooks Road

                        Troy, Michigan 48098

                        248. 879. 2100

The Northfield Hilton is adjacent to Interstate 75 at Crooks Road, Exit 72

 

Reservations:                                1. 800. HILTONS

                        Ask for TOC for Education’s special room rates.

                Single or Double Occupancy

Per night $139.00 U.S. + Tax (6% Michigan Sales Tax and 7% Occupancy Tax).  This rate includes breakfast for two.

 

Transportation:                                Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW)

 

 

EDITOR’S NOTES

(4)           Kay Buckner-Seal

 

For those who are planning to attend the 5th Annual TOCFE International Conference in Detroit, I am sure you will enjoy a visit to Detroit’s Cultural Center.  The Detroit Cultural center is home to the Detroit Institute of Arts, a magnificent museum that contains the fifth most comprehensive fine arts collection in the United States.  It also features the Children's Museum, the Museum of African-American History and the Detroit Historical Museum where you can stroll back in time through the cobble-stoned streets of "Old Detroit."  Nearby is the Detroit Science Center, which features "hands-on" exhibits ranging from experiments with optics and sound to models of some of America's space achievements, including authentic space capsules.  The Detroit Science Center's domed Omnivax Theater is popular with adults and children alike. 

 

Denise and Eleanor, thanks for sharing in this weeks TACTics.  For those who wish to share with us, send your ideas by mail to Cheryl A. Edwards, 2253 S. Hill Island Rd., Cedarville, MI 49719, USA.  Or, send hyperlink to <redwards@sault.com> or <bucknek@earthlink.net.

 

 

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visit the TOC website at: www.tocforeducation.com