The Multi-Purpose Cloud

1. The Multi-Purpose Cloud Theory ofConstraintsfor Education, 8th International TOCFE Conference, Seattle, WA Aug. 12-14, 2005 By Jackie Trimble Seattle, WA area schools

2. The cloud, as I was taught, is a great conflict resolution tool. However, picture this scenario: Johnny and Sara, typical 12 year old students, are disrupting class with their whispering. The teacher whips out a cloud to discuss the conflict (I don’t want you to whisper during class vs you want to whisper during class). A student’s initial reaction is to deny they were whispering and to close the mind to what is being said (adversarial). This resulted in my own internal cloud: D I want to teach the conflict cloud for behavior management and D’ I want to teach the cloud through curriculum. My needs were identical: I need my students to learn to use the conflict cloud on their own. My goal was to make learning more meaningful.

3. In order to make learning more meaningful, I must have my students learn to use the conflict cloud on their own. In order to have students use the conflict cloud on their own, I must teach the cloud through behavior management. • In order to make learning more meaningful, I must have my students learn to use the conflict cloud on their own. In order to have students use the conflict cloud on their own, I must teach the cloud through curriculum. • Considerations: • Conflicts occur in literature, daily news, history • Easy to be detached from the conflict (non-threatening) • If you are one of the parties in the conflict then it can be more emotional • It’s easy to see others conflicts and solutions when we are not involved • I don’t always know where the behavior cloud is headed, but I can easily guide the discussions in the curricular lesson • Emotions play a part and can get in the way • My conclusion: If the cloud is taught in a setting where emotions do not get involved, then it may be learned faster. When students learn how to use the cloud, then they will begin to use it within their own lives. They will see the value of it and realize that the cloud actually helps to defuse an emotional conflict.

4. So, every year I have taught the cloud using classroom rules, literature, social studies, history, and news stories. After a relatively short period of time students see that the cloud isn’t a tool of discipline where I show them what they did wrong, but rather as a way to discuss conflicts where we share a common goal, where we both have needs that need to be met and our wants andnot usare in conflict. The following are some tried and proven lessons using the cloud: the gum rule, a civilization’s choice, a character’s internal conflict in an O. Henry story, and classroom management.

5. As we know, students learn lessons far better when they work through the solution themselves. Using the Socratic method, students pose questions, explore reasons and develop understanding on topics. I have found the cloud a great tool for helping students understand the conflicts in history, the students remember discussions throughout the year. Many times I have had someone say, “ This is just like that conflict that we discussed at the beginning of school.” One cloud that I use on the first day of school is discussing a very simple classroom rule. This rule is one that they are very interested in as it has the potential to give them a freedom. The infamous gum chewing rule.

6. We have the option of whether to allow gum chewing or not. I would prefer not to have it for the obvious reasons, but get tired of wasting class time policing it. Using the cloud, we discuss the following cloud with amazing results. The students are allowed to chew gum and my needs are met that I don’t see it, hear it, or smell it. The students police themselves and set the consequences for breaking the rule. They also feel that I am attuned to their needs. Assumptions: seeing it, hearing it, finding it lodged everywhere, smelling it would be extremely distracting and annoying. I don’t want gum chewed in my classroom I need to have no distractions Common goal: We enjoy school The broken arrowshows there is a conflict These arrows show that the needs are driving the wants My students’ need to have some privileges. My students want to be able to chew gum in the classroom Assumptions: We have few privileges, it makes our breath smell sweet, it helps up focus, keeps us from being hungry.

7. While trying to explain how nomadic tribes eventually settled down and formed civilizations, I use the following storyline: Early nomadic tribes moved from site to site based on food and water resources. They often followed herds migrating or moved to specific locations in order to gather the wild crops growing. If they didn’t keep moving and replenishing supplies, the whole tribe’s welfare was in danger. This was a difficult life to live especially if you were very young, very old, sick or injured. The tribe would want to stop for a few days to allow everyone to recuperate. Assumptions: they don’t have domesticated food, there is no food near, the food (herd) has moved, the only way to get food is to move to the source. D Want: Move now. B. Need: Get food for the group A. Common goal: Survival of the tribe D’ Want: Don’t move now. C. Need: Allow the weak to get stronger Assumptions: moving the weak will result in the deaths of many, we need everyone for the survival of the group, the more people we have the stronger the group

8. The dilemma cloud may also be used for understanding conflicts in literature. Let’s look at the story After Twenty Years by O. Henry. This is also a good example of an internal conflict and has the protagonist, or main character, as a bad guy. The story reads: two friends are to fulfill a promise made twenty years ago to meet at a corner store. However, one friend has made a living in crime and the other in law enforcement. The officer takes a peek at the friend on the street corner and realizes his best friend is a notorious criminal. He must now face the dilemma: arrest my friend or not arrest my friend. Students would use the conflict cloud to understand the layers of the dilemma as posed by O. Henry and practice critical thinking skills. This story is especially fitting for my seventh grade students as they are of the age where peer pressure is intense and whether to “rat” or tell on a friend is an extremely painful decision.

9. He must arrest his friend I need to be a good policeman Common goal: To be happy with himself He must not arrest his friend He needs to be a good friend    Assumptions: They have been friends longer than he has been an officer. His friend trusts him. To be loyal means to not cause harm to his friend. His friend has been loyal to him, he showed up after the twenty years. His friend would probably cause him no harm Assumptions: In order to be happy with himself he needs to be a good policeman and must arrest his friend because: ·         It is his job/duty. He would be letting down the city, police force, victims of the criminal, and himself. He has sworn an oath to uphold the law.   He is the only one who can do it. The crook may do more harm and that would be on his conscience·

10. In case you are not familiar with the story, the main character is a criminal who is recognized by his policeman friend. Because of a coat, hat and scarf covering his face, the policeman remains unrecognized and hurries back to the police station where he gets another policeman to arrest the crook. After reading the story, most students express outrage that a friend would have his best chum arrested and felt that the friendship should have been the most important thing to consider. However, once we have completed the cloud, all students, with a few exceptions, believe that the policeman handled the situation well given the circumstances. I have also noticed that after we have read this story many students will come to me to report a friend who has been responsible for graffiti, cheating on papers, or is thinking of harming themselves. I cannot attribute this to the story and working the conflict but I also cannot say it has not had an effect. After I have used the cloud for curriculum related lessons I begin using it for discipline. The students’ general response is “I remember that cloud thing” and begin helping me figure it out. Consider the following situation:

11. Storyline: My computer class was getting increasingly noisy and out of control. As is always the case with computers, you have many different skill levels. Before I had even finished teaching a new concept, several students begin complaining that they don’t get it while others are complaining that I am going too slowly. We all ended up frustrated. I tried many strategies explaining that I will describe the steps several times with more and more detail; I threatened to keep them after class, after school and during lunch with short-lived success. I was so frustrated and spent a good deal of time trying to think of the punishment that would teach them a thing or two. I felt that nothing, including a cloud would work. However, to survive, I had to try everything. When writing out our wants I had to be careful. I initially wanted to say they wanted to be bad and I wanted them to be good. I know for a fact that isn’t true. I then tried: I wanted to help them all in good time versus they wanted to be helped immediately when called for. My needs were to make sure each student understood the concept. Their needs were to understand the concept and complete the assignment quickly. Our common goal was to have fun in technology class. Let’s see how it looks written in the cloud equation.

12. I want to help them all in good time Make sure each student understands the concepts. Common goal: Have fun in computer class My students need to understand the concept quickly My students want to be helped immediately

13. My side reads: In order to enjoy technology class I must make sure each student understands the concept. And in order to be sure my students understand the concepts, I must help them individually in good time. The assumptions on my side were: I am the only one who can teach it; I must teach all levels at the same time. This is where I stopped, mouth agape and said, “The answer was here all along. Why don’t I teach the few who are quick learners in the first ten minutes of class as others are warming up and then they will be my assistants as I teach? I check their side to be sure I am not missing something. In order to enjoy technology class my students must understand and complete assignments quickly. In order to complete assignments quickly they must have me help each one of them immediately. Assumptions: the more free time available leaves time to work on other class projects or fun. It became painfully clear that I was not addressing their needs and I was misinterpreting their wants. The dual morals of the story is don’t assume you know everything and write it out. If it is an emotional issue, write it out alone and take it back to discuss.  An interesting side note: I still took this to my class to show them how I would solve the problem we were having and they quickly saw the conflict and solved it including who they thought would be good helpers.

14. Key Points • When teaching the cloud through the curriculum: • Teachers feel prepared and know where the cloud should lead • It allows for learning of the benefits without emotional baggage interfering • It takes very little time to teach it and thus we don’t feel that time is taken from the curriculum that we need to teach • Students learn to use it for personal conflicts without directly teaching them to use it for that purpose.