Ed Ford Dec. 19, 1995
To All - The CSG meeting next July IS NOT MY MEETING. Bill asked me to take
the burden off Mary and I did. I presently plan to attend. However, this
meeting is run by group consensus as it always has. Everyone who wishes to
present, can do so. Anyone who wishes to object or discuss may do so. In
short, everyone has input into how the meeting is to be run. I didn't
realize that eventually leaving the net implied a change in the way the CSG
conference is run. I have thought of creating my own conference in the
future and as time goes on, I'm sure I will. Many of those using my program
have suggested this.
Since I first initiated my program with George and LeEdna and later with
Joe, there has never been any criticism of what anyone does. There has been
a lot of questioning as to how what we were doing was working, whether what
we were doing is aligned with the fundamental basics of the program and with
PCT, the theory upon which it is based. There have been lots of suggestions
of ways to improve it. Many from around the country have come up with new or
better ways of improving the program. For example, Joe Sierzenga has come
up with the idea of in-school study time, and together we created a form for
kids to express whether they need that time. Many children can't study at
home becomes of the highly disfunctional family life in which they live. So
to help them learn develop the discipline of study, an in-school study time
might be the answer. I've sent that idea out to many other participants to
try, using the form we devised, with the idea of improving what we are
doing. Another example. I'm working and volunteering most of my time in a
very tough inner-city high school (teachers being attacked, one girl
recently delivered her baby in the girl's restroom, with the assistant
principal helping to deliver). We're starting the program with 450 freshman
students (2,200 kids in the high school and six full-time security guards).
But wherever I work and with whom ever I work, I always look for ways to
improve, to make things better, with many suggestions.
I guess, as living control systems work together, each understanding how
we're designed, you tend to get away from criticism. It is more listening,
asking and re-asking, creatively working together to devise better ways. I
spent a whole week with Joe in Michigan and together we creatively came up
with a way to help teachers create quality time (build strong relationship)
while negotiating plans with their students, thus creating a stronger bond
through helping the child to improve in whatever they are attempting to do.
You have to remember, all these people with whom I work are in the trenches
every day, working with children. For those who are very insecure and don't
have their act together, this program, which demands responsibility from
everyone (and I mean everyone), is not attractive, and, for many, highly
threatening. Those who are very secure, care about kids, like LeEdna and
George, this program is a God-send.
In short, for those on my net to make intelligent comments, they must have
worked in the trenches. To quote my friend, George, when a person is
critical of what we're saying, he'll ask, "Is what you're presently doing
working and improving with time?" or "Is your criticism based on what you're
doing or what we're proposing?" Those who tend to shoot us down are not the
top flight, secure, competent teachers. They tend to be the highly
insecure.
This is not an easy program to introduce into a school, especially some of
the tough urban schools where I work. A lot of work is demanded on
everyone's part. And the tougher the kids, the more demanding it becomes
for your creative juices. Right now, I'm working, much of it volunteer
time, in six inner city schools here in Phoenix. I work in the classrooms,
in the social skills room, with administrators and counselors, demonstrating
and watching others, always looking for more effective ways to make things
better. And I love it. Criticism kills initiative, whether in adults or
children. And if there is no suggestion offered for a better way to improve
what is being criticized, it leaves the person being criticized frustrated.
It's perceived as a disturbance, rather than as an alternative way to close
or reduce and error. I think my total process, which eliminates criticism,
is better. And I expect my net to reflect what we've been doing.
As I said in my message, I'll post my new address and the new net address
when I have access to both and they are in operation. Best to all, Ed.