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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>From Carol – “So, </span></font><font
color=red face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:red'>Harrison</span></font><font
color=red face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:red'>, am I to
understand that, if someone physically assaults someone else during an Open
Space meeting, that you would just watch the show? It's not clear that that was
happening in this case, but I was in a situation where it did happen.”</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>Carol, I can’t say that such an occurrence
(physical assault) never happens – obviously it did in your experience.
However in 25 years of Open Space, including not a few very dicey situations, I
have never seen such a thing. And when the temperature rises my immediate
response is to hold the space with greater focus and intention -- and know that
the group will take effective action. As I said, I have been in more than a few
dicey situations – and the group always came through. Will this always be
true? I don’t know, but I would expect so. And there is profound
learning in that moment. The group taking responsibility for its actions and
those of the membership is a lesson all too often aborted, I think. People can
and do get very intense about things they care about – but so long as The
Law of Two feet is fully operational the safety valve is in place and life proceeds
richly and deeply. In the name of “protecting people” from
themselves, I rather suspect that we are often enabling dysfunctional behavior.
And what about the real psychopath? They surely exist, but their percentage of
the general population is pretty low – and when they do show up, once
again the group has always handled it, and they learned something, I think.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>Having said all the above I will confess
that holding space under such circumstances can definitely be a “white
knuckle” experience. I have also found it to be one of the deepest
self-learning experiences. Suddenly you find yourself visiting places in your
being you never knew existed. Can’t say it is pleasant, but it is
profound and speaking just for myself – it is not to be missed. </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>Harrison</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'> </span></font></p>
<div>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=2 color=red face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>Harrison Owen</span></font></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=2 color=red face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>7808 River Falls Drive</span></font></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=2 color=red face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>Potomac,
Maryland 20854</span></font></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=2 color=red face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>Phone </span></font><font size=2 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:red'>301-365-2093</span></font></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=2 color=red face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>Skype hhowen</span></font></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>Open Space Training</span></font><font
color=red><span style='color:red'> <a href="http://www.openspaceworld.com/"><font
face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial'>www.openspaceworld.com</span></font></a>
</span></font></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>Open Space Institute</span></font><font
color=red><span style='color:red'> <a href="http://www.openspaceworld.org/"><font
face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial'>www.openspaceworld.org</span></font></a></span></font></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>Personal website</span></font><font
color=red><span style='color:red'> <a href="http://www.ho-image.com/"><font
face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial'>www.ho-image.com</span></font></a> </span></font></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>OSLIST: To subscribe,
unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives Visit: </span></font><font
color=red><span style='color:red'><a
href="http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html"><font face=Arial><span
style='font-family:Arial'>www.listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html</span></font></a></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>-----Original Message-----<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>From:</span></b> OSLIST
[mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>On
Behalf Of </span></b>Carol Hiltner<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Thursday, November 05, 2009
12:21 PM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> Re: FW: Bullying and OST</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:
.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>So,
Harrison, am I to understand that, if someone physically assaults someone else
during an Open Space meeting, that you would just watch the show? It's not
clear that that was happening in this case, but I was in a situation where it
did happen.<br>
Carol</span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>On Thu, Nov 5, 2009 at 10:08 PM, Harrison Owen <<a
href="mailto:hhowen@verizon.net">hhowen@verizon.net</a>> wrote:</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>"Please say more about *how* you would have
opened more space here?<br>
<br>
:- Doug."<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Doug -- I would have done business as usual. In conversations with the<br>
sponsors/teachers prior to the meeting (all under the heading of opening<br>
space) I would have said -- Folks this is going to be wonderful and just<br>
perfect! I would not have warned them about "the possibility of
chaos" --<br>
which is what they would have been expecting, maybe even hoping for in order<br>
to justify their skepticism that these young savages could do anything<br>
useful without prior instruction and rigid control -- all provided by the<br>
teachers, of course. And in the meeting itself. . . Trust the people. They<br>
will work things out, given the space/time to do so.<br>
<br>
And what about the young lady who was ejected from her own group? Needless<br>
to say I wasn't there and don't know the situation. But a plausible story<br>
could be that she was a bossy, strong minded young person who knew exactly<br>
how the issue she raised must be discussed. As it happened the other folks<br>
in the group had different ideas and also really wanted to discuss the<br>
issue. Ergo.</span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><br>
Harrison<br>
<br>
Harrison Owen<br>
7808 River Falls Drive<br>
Potomac, Maryland 20854<br>
Phone 301-365-2093<br>
Skype hhowen<br>
Open Space Training <a href="http://www.openspaceworld.com" target="_blank">www.openspaceworld.com</a><br>
Open Space Institute <a href="http://www.openspaceworld.org" target="_blank">www.openspaceworld.org</a><br>
Personal website <a href="http://www.ho-image.com" target="_blank">www.ho-image.com</a><br>
OSLIST: To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the<br>
archives Visit: <a
href="http://www.listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html" target="_blank">www.listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html</a><br>
<br>
<br>
-----Original Message-----</span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>From: OSLIST [mailto:<a
href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</a>]
On Behalf Of douglas<br>
germann<br>
Sent: Wednesday, November 04, 2009 9:44 PM<br>
To: <a href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</a></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Subject: Re: Bullying and OST<br>
<br>
Harrison--<br>
<br>
Please say more about *how* you would have opened more space here?<br>
<br>
:- Doug.</span></font></p>
<div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><br>
<br>
<br>
On Wed, 2009-11-04 at 21:19 -0500, Harrison Owen wrote:<br>
> Rose – Sounds like and interesting Go. For me OS is very much like
the<br>
> Rorschach Test – What you see is what you got, and it sounds like
the<br>
> teachers and Principal confirmed that. Not terribly far from a prison<br>
> camp which is where many schools are. God forbid that the inmates<br>
> should become too restless and then get out of control! So of course,<br>
> the forces of reason and right will have to intervene (which they did)<br>
> – thereby substantiating their prior convictions that these
“students”<br>
> were pretty much wild savages requiring a strong hand. Was there an<br>
> alternative? Probably and it wouldn’t have been pretty, but in my<br>
> experience it usually (always) works. Open more Space and treat the<br>
> students like responsible human beings. Expect the best and you might<br>
> get there. I have worked with fighting street gangs, and that was<br>
> always my approach. It did get a little exciting, but nobody ever<br>
> died. In fact, very useful things always took place. Simple fact of<br>
> the matter is that folks will live down to our expectations. That way<br>
> they can avoid responsibility for themselves and their actions. It is<br>
> all OUR fault! Then we can feel guilty and do more of what we have<br>
> always done (control, heavy hand, etc) and predictably get more of<br>
> what we have always gotten which then justifies more of the same –
and<br>
> so on ad infinitum. Or something.<br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
> Harrison<br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
>
Harrison Owen<br>
><br>
>
7808 River Falls Drive<br>
><br>
>
Potomac, Maryland 20854<br>
><br>
>
Phone 301-365-2093<br>
><br>
>
Skype hhowen<br>
><br>
> Open Space Training <a
href="http://www.openspaceworld.com" target="_blank">www.openspaceworld.com</a><br>
><br>
> Open Space Institute <a
href="http://www.openspaceworld.org" target="_blank">www.openspaceworld.org</a><br>
><br>
> Personal
website <a href="http://www.ho-image.com" target="_blank">www.ho-image.com</a><br>
><br>
> OSLIST: To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view
the<br>
> archives Visit: <a
href="http://www.listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html" target="_blank">www.listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html</a><br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
> -----Original Message-----<br>
> From: OSLIST [mailto:<a href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</a>]
On Behalf Of Rose<br>
> Tassone<br>
> Sent: Wednesday, November 04, 2009 6:51 PM<br>
> To: <a href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</a><br>
> Subject: Bullying and OST<br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
> Hello everyone. I’m wishing to share my experience of facilitating
OST<br>
> for the first time. It was held in a primary school in Perth, Western<br>
> Australia. Surveys administered by the principal earlier in the year<br>
> had parents and students report that they were most concerned about<br>
> bullying at this school. The principal identified the question “What<br>
> do we need to do to respect each other and get along?’ 73 students,<br>
> ages 8 to 12, 6 educators and 3 parents accepted the invitation.<br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
> This is what I observed during the OS event: A student was pushed out<br>
> of her group when she went to the breakout space even though she was<br>
> the one who had initiated the topic; students were physically<br>
> fighting, pushing each other and name calling; students who were being<br>
> butterflies chose to run around, disrupt and tease those in the groups<br>
> even though there was a drawing activity available to them; the groups<br>
> tended to compete with each other on how many pages they could fill<br>
> with lists of dos and don’ts of how to treat each other. The
energy<br>
> of the morning was one of palpable violence and two students were<br>
> suspended. Teachers who had been briefed by the principal to allow<br>
> chaos at the event, so that children could self organise, finally had<br>
> to intervene because of duty of care issues.<br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
> Looking through the Book of Proceedings the students appear to have<br>
> all the knowledge of how to respect each other and get along, though<br>
> their behaviour during the event did not depict this. At the<br>
> debriefing the principal mentioned that the behaviours that were shown<br>
> are what normally occur every day in the schoolyard as they self<br>
> organise around individual survival. So it appears that the<br>
> proverbial ‘Lucy’ is more than likely a 10 year old bully!<br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
> I would really appreciate any comments and/or thoughts.<br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
> Kindest regards<br>
><br>
> Rose Tassone<br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
> m: (+61) 0408 944 072<br>
><br>
> e: <a href="mailto:rosetassone@iinet.net.au">rosetassone@iinet.net.au</a><br>
><br>
> p: po box 358 leederville wa 6903<br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
> * * ==========================================================</span></font></p>
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<br>
-- <br>
Best regards,<br>
<br>
Carol Hiltner<br>
Founder, Altai Mir University<br>
206-525-2101 (US)<br>
913-462-6912 (Novosibirsk)<br>
<a href="mailto:carol.hiltner@gmail.com">carol.hiltner@gmail.com</a><br>
<a href="http://www.AltaiMir.org">www.AltaiMir.org</a><br>
<a href="http://www.AltaiBooks.com">www.AltaiBooks.com</a><br>
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