3) What I learned from Dr. Goldratt
This chapter let's consider the "establishment" and "definition of tools" of the skill system of TOCfE (TOC for Education) as a tool to support the development of children.
In 2003 or 2004. It was when I was having a meal with Dr. Goldratt who came to Japan. I asked the very rude question, "I found the thinking process to be wonderful, but why not use it for the Palestinian problem if it's a versatile method that can solve anything?"
In fact, in 1995, before my question, Dr. Goldratt believed that what we had to achieve was "Educational Reform" in order for people to live in peace for a long time. TOC (TOCfE) for the purpose was launched (Gifted as NPO).
My question, which I didn't know, was ridiculously rude. However, he was not angry and kept silent for a while, smoking the pipe. … And he answered, “Do you know the means of education? Think about how old your 4-year-old child will be after 20 years.”
The actual TOCfE skill system not only realizes peace, but also solves various distortions and problems that education has, and it is an important mission to help children to dramatically improve their thinking ability.
To that end, Dr. Goldratt's scheme was not to educate children directly, but to teach and disseminate TOCfE to educators such as teachers and parents.
The philosophy and role of TOCfE are as follows.
"Education" is to prepare students to enrich their lives and become adults who are responsible for their actions, and in order to achieve this "educational goal", "education" The purpose is to spread "fE tools".
Then, the thinking and communication skills of the stakeholders "children," "parents," and "educators" will be improved, and education will be dramatically improved.
(This is quoted from the TOCfE website: The author added and corrected)
On the other hand, definition of "TOC thinking process", according to the TOC Dictionary 2nd Edition issued by TOC-ICO (TOC International Certification Organization), The TOC thinking process is to achieve the purpose (goal) of the organization, Identify the "constraints" that hinder the process, clarify the points to be changed (what to change), simulate how to change (what to change), and create a reliable execution plan (what to change). It is explained as a series of steps (how to change).
In other words, the TOC thinking process deals with a wide variety of individual events, analyzes various systems (organizations and mechanisms), identifies and solves underlying problems (constraints), and overcomes resistance to change. Tools (five trees) are available for systematic problem-solving to reach consensus from many stakeholders and achieve their goals.
This is my insight, Dr. Goldratt may applied this TOC-TP system of thinking process (sequence) to "educational issues" to create the system of fE. Therefore, in TOCfE, Dr. Goldratt himself analyzes the "core problem (core cloud) common to the educational field", whether to spend time on "thinking education" or how to give results (perfect answers).
The injection into this core problem (core problem) is the definition of TOCfE (goal and DE) that I explained. If think this way, you can understand that the skill set of fE is the definition of "what to change to", that is, the "concrete means" that plays the role of "how to".
For this reason, in TOCfE, "teachers, parents, children" use practical "logical thinking tools" equivalent to "how" to help children "healthy development". So, I think it is appropriate to think that the emphasis is on realizing the flow of "development" to "improve the use of tools and grow humanly (improve problem-solving ability)".
On the other hand, in the TOC thinking process (Jonah Skill), in order to achieve the purpose of solving "problems", "analyze" is done using "tools" called "Trees". And it is the opposite flow to fE, which is to "grow" by thinking and solving "problems".
You might think, "It's just a diffidence of sequence, it's almost the same ...", but I think this is an important difference to understand in mastering the thinking process and fE, in other words, "adults and children." I think it's the difference.
When I think about it, Dr. Goldratt often said "Sequence is very important" at seminars, but I was convinced again that this was the case.
As I explained, the basis of problem solving using the TOC thinking process is to answer all three questions: "what to change", "what to change to", and "how cause the change".
The system of the TOC thinking process "Jonah" answers all of these in order. This means recognizing the time axis of "present," "past," and "future," and the physical space of yourself, the other party, and the organization, and solving problems while using them properly.
However, fE is different from this, and all tools of fE start from "events and thoughts in front of us at this moment". I'm sure there are people who think, "Well, is that so?"
So next chapter, in order to understand why the fE system is like this, I would like to take a look at some features in the child's developmental stage and the role played by the three tools of fE.
TOC Thinking Process and Children's Education (1)~(8)
1) Abstract