TACTics Journal

A Publication for and by TOC for Education Practitioners

September 26, 2003

In this week’s issue:

Connections

(1) A Short, True Story, Kathy Suerken

Editors’ Notes

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

CONNECTIONS

From Kathy Suerken (suerken@cox.net)

A Short, TRUE Story

by Kathy Suerken

Prologue

If I know how to solve problems on my own, then I won't have

to give up on my Goal.” —Yani, THE STORY OF YANI'S GOAL

Riding the train with a “little engine that could” to Eli’s business

conference in Cambridge, England, it doesn’t occur to me that the longawaited

delivery and release of our children’s story will also move TOCFE

toward the goal in more substantive ways than even I dare to dream.

A Beginning

"The question makes Yani aware of possibilities in life of which

he has never even dreamed." From THE STORY OF YANI'S GOAL

As usual, the ways begin to crystallize for me because of a question! As I

excitedly place the CD-ROM into Eli Goldratts hand, he asks, “How much

time do you need to present the e-learning package to this conference of

businessmen?” I instantly regret the limitation I give myself with a too

hasty answer: “30 minutes.”

Can you imagine me explaining ANYTHING in a mere 30 minutes? Is this a

scary Ambitious Target or what?!

How can I meet my responsibility to you to share this package of TOCFE

materials so that your work, purpose and vision for children is personified

through my mereand succinct!words? I don't want to do this ALONE!

I get by with a little help from my friends.”

Yani does not like being all by himself. He begins to

think he should have brought a friend. ‘I’m all alone,’

he says to the Teacher. I need help. I want to go back

to get a friend.’”

I don't need to look far or long for a friend(s). After all, I am at a TOC

event! Rami Goldratt offers technical assistance and advice for the

presentation and then a precious presentis delivered from a new friend,

Alan Barnard, a TOC business consultant from South Africa:

Kathy, when I received an advance copy of the UK version of the Yani

package a few weeks ago, I presented some of it at a company where I

am doing TOC consulting. One of these clients asked to take the CD-ROM

home to review.

Alan proceeds to tell me that this client-parent doesn’t make his children

read it. This father is really Socratic! (Good job, Alan!) As the parent

reads through the story, his children notice and come to watch. On their

own initiative, they then use the cloud to very effectively resolve a

conflict over a toy. The father notes that the identification of their needs

was a real eye-opener and would not have been possible without the tool.

As Alan shares this wonderful testimonial, my intuition tells me this Alan

needs to be included in the presentation. As it turns out, there is an

additional value-added comment from this client-parent and Alan

generously “passes it on”:

Not only does the Yani story work with kids,” says the client-parent, “It

also works with me. This is the first time I ever really understood the

cloud!”

In learning, you will teach. In teaching, you will learn.”

Yani, you sound just like a teacher.”

—Peter, The STORY OF YANI'S GOAL

The next morning I receive the following note that makes me realize the

truly wonderful synergy that exists between education and business and

that everyone at this conference is my (our) friend. Just like Yani, I do

not need to go someplace else to find a friend. I only need to open my

eyes! I use them to read the words of Ravi Gilani of India:

I compliment TOCFE for the excellent work you have done for teaching

thinking processes to the children. In fact, I find it so useful that I intend

to use the same (Yani) to teach the thinking processes to adults. Keep

up the good work!”

I hear his idea and enthusiasm echo from others, including Julie Wright,

who works with the British Health Care System and who tells me she too

plans to incorporate the Yani story into her TOC trainings.

Thus, the supply for CD-ROMs quickly exceeds the small supply I have with

me. In the queue for them is Rong-Kwei Li, a University colleague of

Francis Su of Taiwan. He said he will order the CD-ROM

(www.tocforschools.com) and hands me a donation of (USA) $100 with

the comment, “We love TOCFE in Taiwan!”

A TOC Viable Vision Through Collaboration

“Solving problems with the help of friends can be a lot of fun and it also

helps me to do a better job.” —Yani, STORY OF YANI's GOAL

There are lot of people from this conference who are seriously committed

to helping get TOCFE into schools and they are already following through.

You’ll be hearing more about all of them but here is one example e-mailed

from Satoru Murakami of Japan:

…I believe that your TOC for education is very good for Japanese

children and parents. I brought your CD-ROM, Yani's Goal,” from

Cambridge and saw it with my wife and children in detail. We all thought

that this is very nice and easily understood the way to teach the thinking

process. I strongly believe Yani's Goalis just fit to Japanese children…

So I think, is it possible to translate into Japanese?

It will not come as a surprise that the focus of Eli’s conference is on how

to create and implement a viable vision. By now, I am beginning to feel

very encouraged that our package will help to unleash the needed

marketing, qualitative delivery and financial support that will most

unequivocally ensure our TOCFE viable vision in education.

The “package” is both a global and local means to this vision as evident in

an evaluation from educator, Carolyn Reynolds, who lives in…Niceville,

Florida! Carolyn has a lot of experience in working with children of all

ages within a traditional school system. She writes:

The Yani materials available for site use at the school-based level are

exciting and unique in that all faculty members, parents, and students

become skilled with the same problem solving language and tools.

Communication between home and school will be greatly facilitated while

empowering our students to take on the personal responsibility of

problem solving in a cooperative manner.

It has been my experience that teens and adults enjoy the delightful

interactive storybook format of teaching the tools. It appeals to all ages

and levels of personal sophistication.”

Carolyn’s testimonial is based on the combined Yani package, which

contains:

· 3 Units for Parents/Counselors on TOC in Behavior

· 3 Units for Teachers on how to teach existing curriculum through

TOC to achieve measurable academic Standards and Benchmarks

· Yanis story for children (of all ages), includes content lessons

If we agree that the “vital triangle” of students, teachers, and parents

has a domino effect on society, then…

Definitely Not the Ending!

"…And if so, then the process starts all over again."

From Understanding The Water Cycle, A content example, THE

STORY OF YANI’S GOAL

The plot of THE STORY OF YANI’S GOAL has a moral that is: You can

achieve your goals in life if you think through your decisions so that

they lead to win/win actions.

As Yani learns the tools needed to effectively learn this moral, he

develops the self-confidence to take responsibility for his own

actions…and learning. In the process of discovering what he needs

to know to be a responsible, independent thinker, he also comes to

realize he will have a more positive influence on others and…a more

meaningful life…if he collaborates and learns from them.

According to Yani, “If you plan well and work together as a team, you can

make almost any wish come true.”

 

EDITORS’ NOTES

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

For more information and to order, The Story of Yani’s Goal, please visit:

www.tocforschools.com.

Feel free to share with us. Send your responses, applications of the thinking

processes, lessons, announcements, and etc. by mail to: Cheryl A. Edwards,

2253 S. Hill Island Rd., Cedarville, Michigan 49719, USA. Or send hyperlink

to cedwards@cedarville.net or bucknek@earthlink.net.

Please note that the pdf version of TACTics is attached. You must have

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desktop, launch the Reader, and open from the FILE menu.

You may also view TACTics in its intended formatting, by visiting our web

site at www.tocforeducation.com. Click on “What’s New.”