TACTics Journal
A Publication for and by TOC for Education Practitioners
In this week’s issue:
Connections
(1) A
Quote
(2) Barbara Bush
Editors’ Notes
(3) Kay Buckner-Seal, Cheryl A. Edwards
CONNECTIONS
(1) A
California, Colombia, Mexico,
Ambitious Target with team leader
Francois Moll, Dir. TOCFE
From Eleanor May-Brenneker MA,
Last year’s play, performed at the TOCFE International Conference
in
such a resounding success that
the delegates at the 7th TOCFE Conference
in
The team’s goal was to write, rehearse and stage a play within
three days,
using TOC tools. The first thing I
noticed was that the teenagers were
frantically involved in getting rid of
obstacles on their list by interviewing
some adults with questions such
as: “What would you like this year’s play to
be about?” or “What theme
should feature in our play?” On another
occasion, delegates were kindly and
assertively admonished to submit
information about TOCFE history and
present state of affairs in their home
country and “funny” things that had
happened through or with TOC.
All this information gathered by a half dozen students ended up in
a melting
pot in which Francois dipped to
write the script in 24 hours. That left only
Sunday to rehearse the play…
At
performance in four parts, featuring the
past, present and future of TOCFE.
The main character was
Conde, who related in a hilarious way the birth of TOCFE and the
subsequent
conquest of four continents by Kathy.
This conquest covering thousands of
air miles was not without
hiccoughs, mistaken identities, Asian chickens
under floorboards, African safari
animals prancing around, all superbly
enacted by the students and
humorously narrated by Francois, who also
functioned as light and sound engineer.
There was a serious aspect to the play as well—the teenagers acted
out real
life scenes illustrating teens’
problems and how to successfully solve them,
using TOC tools such as The Cloud,
Logic Branch etc. Very moving was the
last act, entitled Future, where
the young performers quoted sayings by
their peers worldwide, for whom
TOCFE has made a difference to their lives
or in which hope for a better
future was clearly expressed.
Every actor/actress had a personal message for us too:
“I think the future of TOC is made because TOC was born when Jesus
gave
us the Earth.” —Estefania Arevalo (6 years old)
“My personal goal is to learn
more about TOC to solve my problems and
invite my friends to use the tools
to solve their problems.” —Luz del Carmen
Spinola
“We will reach many other countries, involving kids in all of our
projects,
teaching them all the tools to
improve their communication and relationship
with others. —Ana Maria Conde
“We are going to:
1. Improve the kids’ TOC tools.
2. Take the TOC tools to other countries.
3. Teach the other kids that we CAN change the world.
4. Learn more about TOC tools
and teach others.” —
“TOC can help the future by helping us make better choices. I
think TOC
can help my future and the way I
think about things.” —Cera Beltran
“The world is a mess right now
and I don’t want my children to live in a place
where the only stories on the news
are suicide, war, terrorism, drugs and so
on. I want that to end… and we
have the tools. But we need to spread our
knowledge so the people, the youths,
the future parents know the tools and
know that war, guns, or terrorism
is not the solution. The world is a mess
and we have to be the cleaners.”
—Arturo Garza Gonzalez
After the play the tables were going to be turned when I
interviewed the
cast. I asked each of them what
they had got out of setting this Ambitious
Target to stage a play together in three days and achieving it. They were
unanimous in their findings that
although they were teenagers from
different countries, background, age
levels (13-16), they got on very well
indeed and they had become great
friends, supporting each other and looking
after little Estefania
wonderfully. They had learned to express themselves
clearer and better. They also found
that they had the TOC language in
common, which made communication
easier. All of them had become more
confident and competent. By using the
Ambitious Target to stage the play
they had understood that
particular tool much better and they would want
to use it immediately once back
home. The Cloud and Logic Branch, which
formed part of a scene in the play,
had also made more sense to them.
When I asked them about their interaction during the conference
with
adults of so many nationalities, I
learned that adults had regarded them not
as kids but as equal delegates,
making them feel adequate, appreciated and a
pleasure to be with. One observation
was, “I’ve noticed these days that kids
can be adults.” (I hasten to add
that it was fun for some adults to be like
kids too!)
All teenagers were keen to learn more about the TOC tools and to
put them
into practice in their daily
lives personally and with friends. Cementing solid
friendships came up trumps!
I would like to thank the A GOAL ACADEMICIANS and Francois Moll
for
having provided us with a top
quality demonstration of teamwork and team
spirit. The parents and guardians
of these 6 youngsters, Francois—the team
leader cum director—and all the
spectators, who marveled at the
competence with which the play was
performed and who heard the TOC
message that was loudly and clearly
transmitted, can rightly be proud of
teenagers like these, who ARE our
future.
QUOTE
(2) “Believe in something bigger than yourself.” —Barbara Bush
The young people of
they work together to complete
the necessary actions to achieve their very
ambitious targets. What they will
achieve will be bigger than all of them and
all of us. —Cheryl A. Edwards
EDITORS’ NOTES
(3) Kay Buckner-Seal, Cheryl A. Edwards
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the thinking
processes, lessons, announcements, and
etc. by mail to: Cheryl A. Edwards,
to
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