TACTics Journal

A Publication for and by TOC for Education Practitioners

November 21, 2003

In this week’s issue:

Elementary/Secondary TACTics

(1) Aesop’s Fables in the 21st Century, Mike Round

Reader’s Feedback

(2) Cal Haliburton

Editors’ Notes

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

ELEMENTARY/SECONDARY TACTICS

(1) Aesop’s Fables in the 21st Century

By Mike Round, USA

A TOC Rewrite of a Famed Aesop fable

We are all familiar with the fable “The Ant and the Grasshopper.” Mike has

analyze this fable and written the cloud like this:

A: Live a happy life.

B: Enjoy the present.

D: Do not collect food; instead hop around chirping and singing.

C: Prepare for the future.

D’: Collect food for the winter, bearing along with great toil.

Assumption B-D: one cannot enjoy collecting food.

Assumption C-D’: in order to collect fold for the winter, one must “moil and toil”

Lesson: It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.

Now, the really fun part, let’s read on to see how Mike has taken this fable

and given it a TOC twist:

The Jonah-Ant and the Grasshopper

In a field one summer’s day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and

singing to its heart’s content. An ant passed by, bearing along with great toil

an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.

“Why not come and chat with me,” said the Grasshopper, “instead of toiling

and moiling in that way?”

“You hop about, enjoying the moment,” said the Ant, “and surely enjoyment

of the moment is necessary for a happy life! However, you see us working

and call it “toiling and moiling.” Are you sure we’re not having more fun than

you, while also preparing for the future?”

The perplexed Grasshopper squinted and said softly, “ I don’t see how…work

is work, and you have to admit you’re working! I can see the sweat.”

“Sweat? Yes. Work? Yes. I’ll admit both. You believe, though, if one works

and sweats, one has no enjoyment. Do you not hear us as we “toil and moil?”

Do you not hear us singing, “The ants go marching one by one, hurrah,

hurrah?”

“Chirp, sing, and work at the same time? “Present Enjoyment” and “Future

Preparation” simultaneously—while having fun? I hadn’t thought of this! I

won’t have to steal from you this winter like I always do!”

The Injection: Whistle while you work!

Future Reality

(Remember to start reading from the bottom.)

Live a happy life.

“Moil and toil, laying up food for the winter.” AND  Enjoy the present.

Whistle while you work.

READER’S FEEDBACK

(2) Cal Haliburton, USA

This message is in regards to an article published in last week's TACTics

written by Cheryl A. Edwards: "Yani’s Goal: Practice Session Example,"

Endangered Species, “Wild Cats,” p.15, Jo Ellen Moore.

Kay and Cheryl,

Thanks again for producing Tactics. I always find a connection with the

content. Today's is unusual. Last night I was listening to NPR and an

interview with a gentleman who has been researching the status of Big Cats

in Asia. He related his experience in Myanmar (Burma). It seems that this

country has a great deal of mountainous jungle and was once home to

thousands of tigers, but that the tiger population has been reduced to less

than two hundred.

The region is also one of the few places on earth without natural sources of

salt. The native population must spend a great deal of their time and energy

obtaining salt for their diet. It is a life or death quest. One source of salt

is the Chinese merchant who will trade salt foryou guessed it—dead tiger

parts.

Certain parts of the tiger are used in traditional Chinese medicines. So

when we wonder what drives people to kill tigers, it may not be as simple as

we think. How could we short circuit this tiger killing process?

Best regards,

Cal

EDITORS’ NOTES

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

Thanks, Mike and Cal for sharing. Can’t you just see students all over the

world rewriting fables with a TOC twist? A twist that always includes a

WIN/WIN solution! Lesson: WIN/WIN is possible if you just use your

TOC thinking tools.

This week’s TACTics includes graphics, which can been seen in the pdf

version. Please note that the pdf version of TACTics is attached. However,

you must have Acrobat Reader to open the file, which is freely available for

download from: www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html. If you

have the Reader installed but still can't open the file, drag it from this email

to your 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.”

Remember that this newsletter depends on your contributions. We welcome

your responses, applications of the thinking processes, lessons,

announcements, and etc. Send 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. We look forward to

hearing from you.