TACTics Journal

A Publication for and by

TOC for Education Practitioners

3 March 2005

In this month’s issue:

Connections

1.     8th TOCFE International Conference-Update,

Kathy Suerken, President & CEO TOC for Education

    1. International Essay Competition-World Bank

Zana Borisavljevic

A Flying Pig

3.    AGOAL ACADEMY, Kathy Suerken

4.  Leaving A Better World , Francis Mejia

Editors’ Notes

5.    Kay Buckner-Seal, Cheryl A. Edwards

CONNECTIONS

1.  8th TOCFE International Conference

"Building a Viable Vision for Education"

Kathy Suerken >suerken@cox.net

Dates: Thursday, Aug 11-Sunday Aug 14, 2005

Venue: University of Washington

Seattle, Washington USA

Accommodations: University of Washington

Keynote Speaker: Dr Eliyahu Goldratt

Presentations will include:

o       "A TOCFE VIABLE VISION in Colombia through AGOAL Academy" Ana Maria Conde

o       "A TOC Math-Science Textbook" Mike Round

 

o       "A New TOCFE Initiative: Online Games and Simulations…or Getting to know your Blogs and Wiki"   Tom Warchol

o       "A Generalization Process" Dr. Danilo Sirias

o       "Raising Test Scores Through TOC" Panel

o       "A Preliminary Investigation of an Innovative School

Budgeting Format" Dr. Audrey Taylor

o       "How TOC Enables Bloom's Taxonomy, Differentiated Instruction and Other Best Practices" Panel

o       "A New Publication: Tools of Choice--TOC and Decision Making" Cal Halliburton

o       "TOC Certification Process in a Venezuelan School" Javier Arevalo

Workshops:

    • Analyzing and Improving a System (Administrators)
    • Addressing Layers of Resistance to Change: Intro and Facilitator Training (Administrators)
    • TOC Applications in Content and Behavior (Teachers and Counselors)
    • Mediation Training (Counselors, Students)

Frequently updated information on the conference is now available: www.tocforeducation.com. Click on "What's New". Then click over the globe.

Call for papers/presentations:

If you have a paper or presentation you would like to give, please send a short summary of it to Kathy Suerken at: suerken@cox.net.

(2)International Essay Competition-World Bank

Zana Borisavljevic, Serbia

Dear Friends,

An international essay competition came to my attention for youth 18 to 25 which is organized by the World Bank. I thought some of the youth involved with TOC might be interested.

The questions asked are:

What are the biggest obstacles you face in your daily life?
What practical solutions would you propose to build a secure future for yourself and others?"

The essays should address ways to assist the development of youth amid the world's current crises. They should not be longer than 10 pages (4000 words, maximum) and can be submitted in English, French or Spanish. The deadline for submission is April 15, 2005 and finalists will be announced May 1, 2005. Visit www.essaycompetition.org for more details.

Best wishes,

Zana Borisavljevic

FLYING PIGS- Hard to believe but true Stories!

(3)AGOAL ACADEMY by Kathy Suerken >suerken@cox.net<

A few years ago it became obvious that the future leaders of TOC for Education were beginning to emerge. I refer to those young people whose actions reflect a belief that TOC is a means to achieve something meaningful for themselves and the world--now and in the future.

We in TOCFE need to provide "learning to lead "opportunities for these children in such a way that the collaborative synergy among them develops. Therefore, we launched the Avraham Goldratt "Opportunities as Leaders" (A GOAL) Academy in July 2002 for youth 12-18. This education program is established in the memory of Eli Goldratt's father and, as such,  reflects the TOC moral code in practice and in spirit as well as a commitment to the pursuit of knowledge in order to' leave a better behind.'

 

This Academy does not currently have a physical campus and it is hoped that it will grow into many 'branches' over time. It is also hoped that the graduates of this AGOAL Academy will want to provide continuing leadership in its development and purpose. Participation in AGOAL Academy is not just an event, but a process. In the words of Eli Goldratt, "There is no finish line. The process goes on and on." (THE GOAL)

I hope you will agree that the following letter unequivocally validates these objectives.

(4) Leaving A Better World

Francis Mejia, Columbia

Dear TOCFE Family,

For the last 6 weeks Ana Maria has been working in a proposal called "Leaving a better world" for the project " Young people coexist for Bogotá" or I will say "Young people work for Bogotá". This proposal had to be written and presented to the National University (the first and the biggest public university in Colombia) and to The Mayor Secretary Government. 400 Institutions formed all by young people signed for the summit and they had to be trained for 25 hours, after that every Institution had to build a written proposal talking about the problem they plan to approach, the justification, the objectives, their methodology and the maintenance of the project. Only 186 Institutions completed all this work and finally 36 were chosen ………

I am very glad and proud to communicate that the group A GOAL Colombia had the first place !!!!!!!!!!

What does this mean?

1.     A GOAL Colombia is going to be supported by the Universidad Nacional and the Mayor Office on this three month project.

2.    They are going to give A GOAL Colombia all the materials that the group needs to train the Mediators of the 4 Institutions.

3.    A GOAL Colombia is going to be part of date base data so that any Institution that needs its service can approach Ana Maria.

4.    A GOAL Colombia is going to be able to start an official process to be admitted as a certified Institution.

5.    In the near future A GOAL can continue it’s work with advise of the Observatory of Youth (National University Institution that works with young people projects)

I also want to tell you that A GOAL Colombia has 19 young people and 15 kids involved as facilitators and many as volunteers at 4 schools; that this three month project is going to take place in four Institutions that have 10.000 students and the number of mediators that are going to be train are 80.They are going to have 10 hours of training plus 10 hours of rehearsal on a play that is going to be the final presentation for the community . Today the kids had a 4 hour meeting with the Master Theatre Director who is a very well knowing actor here in Colombia and who wants to be a volunteer in the project.

Francis Mejia

EDITORS’ NOTES

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

Congratulations, Ana Maria! Your parents could not be any more proud of you than your TOC family. With young people like you our world just may become a better place. You give us hope. Keep up the awesome work.

Thanks, Zana, for sharing this interesting opportunity with us. Hopefully some TOC educators will encourage their students to participate.

Conference 2005 continues to grow into an exciting event. Look to TACTics for more rousing information regarding presentations, trainings and guest speakers.

Won’t you consider sharing some of the work you are doing using the thinking tools? REMEMBER TACTics is a journal ‘for and by TOC practitioners’. Don’t hesitate to share with us. We would love to share any new experiences with the thinking skills, any books, related articles, or quotes, any questions or concerns. So, please send your articles by mail to: Cheryl A. Edwards, 2253 S. Hill Island Rd.,

Cedarville, Michigan 49719, USA.

Or send hyperlink tocedwards@cedarville.net or kayseal@comcast.net.

Our next issue will be published on Friday, April 1, 2005. So that means you should try to get submissions to us by Monday, March 28, 2005.

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

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