TACTics Journal

A Publication for and by TOC for Education Practitioners

February 7, 2003

In this week’s issue:

Networking

(1) Children: Seen, But Not Heard?, Eleanor May-Brenneker

Connections

(2) 7 th Annual TOCFE Conference

Editors’ Notes

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

NETWORKING

(1) Children, Seen But Not Heard?

From Eleanor May-Brenneker, The Netherlands

A Serious Question:

As we put TACTics together each week, one of our objectives is to provide articles from TOCFE practitioners that can be used as a catalyst to open our imaginations to more and better ways to use the TOC thinking tools, to help children learn, and become responsible adults. Today, Eleanor has a question:

Dear Colleagues,

The Victorians used to say, “Children should be seen but not heard.”

The following article deals with concerns expressed by TOC-ers in The Netherlands about use and possible abuse of TOCFE (NBr). The text is inspired by voices raised during our latest POOGI meeting and reflects the disquietude on the subject among my Dutch colleagues. We wonder if similar hunches live among the rest of the TOCFE practitioners and we would welcome a debate on the issue.

About a month ago, Philip Bakker hosted our (TOCFE.NL) regular POOGI meeting in Amsterdam. We usually start with the “barometer reading”, when everyone gets a chance to update the group on professional and/or personal points of interest or  concern.  Nel Hofmeester, our chair, aired her views on application of TOC and, possibly unknowingly, manipulation of pupils by some teachers in order to maintain school rules with detrimental effect for the children. She expressed her misgivings about some cases where the Negative Branch may be ill-applied in dealing with children with behavioural difficulties (or differences?), thus exacerbating the cause of the behaviour for the sake of cure the effects. And soon, Nel discovered that the group shared her concerns. The subject of manipulation had previously been touched upon in training sessions.

The conflict is hinged on the following issues:

Do we bend the rules?

Do we bend the child?

I seem to remember Kathy’s cloud in my early training days:

D: break school rules/D: enforce rules

D’: not break school rules/D’: not enforce rules

Maybe this particular issue goes a step further. It is only too easy to enforce the rules and make the child “see sense” and compel it to fit the required pattern rather than to dig deeper and to examine together the cause of the child’s behaviour.

What goes really on behind the disruptive behaviour or the non-co-operative attitude? What lives in the heart and soul of the child that leads to negativity? How do we apply the Negative Branch ethically, elegantly and correctly without harming and/or manipulating the child when thinking through the effect of the negative behaviour? (The latter is even more relevant, though, when a child’s behaviour is publicly analysed in front of a group or a whole class.) Does the child’s integrity (wholeness) and self worth remain in tact during the process? Is it not imperative to find the cause of the effects before trimming the NBr? Would the conflict diagram (cloud) possibly shed some light on obscure and hidden agendas?

Is the child seen but not heard?

Do the above concerns live among TOCFE members elsewhere? Is it a Dutch-only issue or is it worldwide? Would you like to join in the debate?

Eleanor.

CONNECTIONS

(2) 7th International TOCFE Conference

May 16-19, 2003

Ramada Plaza Beach Resort

1500 Miracle Strip Parkway

Ft Walton Beach, Florida, USA

Hotel:

• For reservations, USA toll free: 800.874.8962.

• Please reserve your room under the TOCFE Conference block of rooms.

• Boxed continental breakfast-up to two per room included.

• Blocked rooms will be held until April 24, 2003 (afterward, reservations

only if space available).

• The following prices are for maximum of 2 people per room (additional person is $10/person per night up to maximum of 4 per room).

Standard: $120 (plus tax) per night.

Courtyard: $135 (plus tax) per night

Poolside: $155 (plus tax) per night

Beach Front: $175 (plus tax) per night

Airport:

• Fort Walton Beach, Florida (VPS is the airport code).

• Cab/shuttle service from airport to hotel is about $15.

• Driving information will be shared in a future TACTics.

Conference Fees:

• Daily Rate: $25 includes lunch, coffee breaks and all materials.

• Full conference rate: $125 includes 4 lunches, all coffee breaks, all materials and Special Dinner/Entertainment Event on Sunday, May 18. A Special Event is still being planned for Saturday, May 17!

• 10% discount if registration fees are paid by April 1, 2003

EDITORS’ NOTES

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

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.

You may also view TACTics in its intended formatting, by visiting our web site at www.tocforeducation.com. Click on “What’s New.”