Re: Criticism

[Myron Tribus <mtribus@home.com>]

At 4:05 PM +0200 10/15/00, Tore Lende wrote:
>
>I would also like to hear from you who are familiar with Choice Theory - =
>  are Deming and Glasser in harmony over that issue?
I cannot speak for Deming but I can say that Glasser and I are 
certainly not in harmony.  Two reasons:

Glasser has said that he sees no application of statistics in education.

Glasser's theory says that if you don't improve it is because you 
didn't want to.  When he says that you choose to depress he denies 
the existence of a subconscious.  He advances an hypothesis which 
cannot be disconfirmed.  What if you don't get well?  Then the 
hypothesis says it was your choice.  And if you do get well, then it 
shows the theory works. For any response, choice theory has an 
answer.  No possibility of error.  (I review a similar example in 
engineering in my book, "Rational Descriptions, Decisions and 
Designs" pp 6-7)

Now his use of "reality therapy" should work with people whose 
difficulties are not too deep.  I have seen Feuerstein work with 
stroke victims, accident victims and child abuse victims.  They do 
not "choose" to be in their difficulties.  They lack certain 
cognitive functions, i.e., neural structures which can be built back 
by someone who knows how to help them.

You should not judge Glasser's work by my comments here.  He has made 
a number of useful contributions.  He has shown a number of teachers 
how to do something different than they now do and for many children, 
his approach is what is needed.

Myron Tribus,  350 Britto Terrace,  Fremont, CA 94539
Ph:510 651 3641  Fax: 510 656 9875   e-mail: mtribus@home.com
Competition brings out the best in products and the worst in men (Sarnoff).