Fourth Millennium

The Fourth Millennium

of the Alph= abet and the

Transaction= al Analysis Diagrams

The PAC’s Meet the ABC̵= 7;ers

Franklin H. Ernst Jr., M.D.

&= nbsp; During the 2,000,000 year history of mankind, it is reasonable to assume that only minor evolutionary changes have occurred in the anatomic, physiologic,= and neurological apparatus of the human. Therefore, the burst of technical skil= ls during the last 3,000 to 5,000 years is the result of other than physical or chromosomal change. It is proposed here that this burst has been the result= of two sets of inventions and that Transactional Analysis may well be a third.= The first is the relative simplification of the information codification proces= s, and the second is the relative simplification of the dissemination of codif= ied information. ¹(Ernst, F.H. Jr., M.D.: “The Fourth Millennium of the Alphabet Fetes the Transactional Analysis Diagram”,= Transactional Analysis Journal, 1:4, O= ctober 1971.)<= /span>

Education is the process of pro= viding skills and knowledge to others and includes techniques for imparting compet= ence in these skills and knowledge. It is often carried out by educators including teachers. Education is also the= field of study concerned with the principles of instructing others. ²(Franz Alexande= r and other recognized writers placed increased emphasis on learning theory, educational, corrective emotional experience and use of the patients' intellectual faculties to bring about his cures in the 1950's and 1960's, American Journal of Psychiatry, Nov. 1963.)

&= nbsp; The invention of the written phonetic equivalents, the phonetic alphabet, about 2000 B.C., and the decimal-zero system of ranking whole numbers, about 500 = A.D. ( completed by Stevin in 1585 with his invention of ranking partial whole n= umbers to the right of the decimal point) have provided the widest range of per&sh= y;sons with a relatively small number of basic symbols to memorize in order to con= vert imagery, spoken words, knowledge and skills into a storable, codified ( written) form which when decoded (read) will evoke similar imagery and acti= ons into the learning of skills and knowledge in another person.

&nbs= p; Compared to the thousands of wr= itten characters to memorize, one for each word in some written languages, the phonetically keyed alphabet offers a drastic reduction in the amount of time spent learning-memorizing and consequently a proportionately much larger amount of time freed to master (read) previously encoded (written) knowledge and then= to write of one's own knowledge and skills gained at the frontiers of informat= ion. This later writing could then be done using the same basic set of phonetic equivalent symbols with their relative universality (within each language).=

&= nbsp; Additional acceleration of information codification and dissemination came about with = the invention in 1440 ( Gutenberg) of the alphabet-letter, movable type for use= in a printing press where it took a supply of less than 100 unique character shapes, the alphabet letters and decimal numbers, to represent the widest possible range of information equivalents, concepts and instructions. (The Chinese invented a printing press with movable type about 200 A.D., but the thousands of characters, one for each word, precluded its general usefulnes= s.)

&= nbsp; A third set of steps in education was started with Juan Luis Vives, 1492—1540, an educator turned psychologist. He studied extensively and wrote of the impediments to successful educating arising from the emotions, “the passions,” impinging into the instructing arena. Freud elucidated the childhood and unconscious basis of “the passions.” These have paved the way for what is here considered the t= hird major set of educating tools, starting with the twin set of three stacked circles, the TRANSACTIONAL DIAGRAM. (See Figure No. 1)

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&= nbsp; In addition to being a method of psychotherapy and an organization, trans= actional analysis is a scientific theory of social behavior and a theory of personal= ity structure. As a theory it meets the criteria of (1) duplicability of result= s by different persons, and (2) teachableness to students. The main advantage of teaching this theory of the pair of three stacked circles is t= hat the complexities of almost any (social) situation can be vastly reduced. The use of this alphabet-type diagram (this schematic representation of human a= nd social events) is worth a “thousand words.” (See Figure No.= 2)

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&= nbsp; The Transactional Analysis Theory with its diagrammatic representation is teach= able, comprehensible, usable, and is assimilated person to person as attested by = the meteoric rise in the numbers of its (untreated) users, users living in alph= abet using countries. English speaking and Spanish speaking countries are the two best known to the writer, although “Games People Play” has been translated into many languages (about a hundred). It continues to be one of= the fastest spreading bodies of knowledge. (See Figure No. 3) after translation into other sets of vocal-imagery equivalents, i.e., into other alphabet usi= ng languages. ³(Berne, Eric M.D., “Transactional Analy= sis in Psychotherapy”, Grove Press, New York, NY, 1961.)

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Education, the process, now has= a simplified, handy behavioral tool with a universality of use by which both instructor and pupil can symbolically represent and gauge the quality of stimulation and response for content of “passions,” the presenc= e of which may be impeding the educating process whether by decreasing the competence of the instructor or by decreasing the rate at which the student gains competence in a skill or both. ⁴(Ernst, F.H. Jr., M.D.: “Third Circle – The Diagramed Parent, Eric Berne’s Most Significant Contribution”, Addresso’Set Publications, Vallejo, California, 2008.)

&= nbsp; The reader, using the pair of transactional stacked circles, can very likely diagram and have imagery evoked with the following (1970) report by a junior high school student about his own educational setting. “They sure bug= you for being late to class. The teachers send you to the dean's office if you = are late three times, and he gives you a lecture and detention and makes you wr= ite sentences. The dean sentences the student to writing sentences. Here the re= bel Child of the student and the disciplining Parent of the dean and teacher ca= n be visualized. (Figure No. 4)

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In this instance the method of Parental disciplining, consciously or unconsciously, was well adapted = to stimulate further rebelliousness and intensification of playing the games of "Stupid" and "Make Me," toward the dynamic of "getting-away-from" school. Could it be that this antiquated schoolroom practice of being sentenced to write sentences as a PENALty contributes to the continuation of writing and reading handicaps? The transactional analysis (T.A.) theory and diagrams can and has been taught to both teachers and pupils in high schools with benefit to both. ⁵= (Ernst, F.H. Jr., M.D.: “Transactional Analysis in the OK Corral – Grid= for What’s Happening”, Addresso’Set Publications, Vallejo, California, 2008.)

&= nbsp; Now we can identify: (1) the "passions" of the Child ego state of the pupil that interfere with learning and the education process in the person = (student), and (2) the corollary Parental involvement by the teacher can be objectifie= d. When objectivity (Adult) prevails, less time will be spent by pupil and tea= cher in “passions,” distracting tangents. (See Figure No. 5)

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&= nbsp; This writer does not advocate complete discontinuance of the expression of the "passions" (games) by either teacher or pupil, because of the bio= logic stroke value derived from the periodic exercise of these. Rather, the use of the transactional diagram tool itself lends to balance in the classroom. A = game with its vitality-stimulating denouement (payoff) leads to the stimulating = and exercising of both the psychological imagery and the physiologic mechanisms= of internal homeostasis. (See Figure No. 6)&n= bsp; ⁶(Berne, Eric M.D.: “Games People Play, The Psychology of Human Behavior”, Grove Press, New York, NY, 1964.)

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&nbs= p; This latter is in the report of= a skilled teacher also versed in transactional analysis (T.A.) especially with the game of “Stupid,” as he good-naturedly asked his class: “Come on! Now, how do kids miss 19 out of 21 spelling words in a test= ? It takes something extra to do that!” A precocious Stupid player (studen= t), quick to raise his hand, brightly responded: “I know, I know, = teach. First you have to practi= ce spelling them not right,” (with laughs around the room) continuing ab= out copying the misspelled words over, “That's not learning, that's copying.” Whereupon this professional educator replied: "Oh, I s= ee. Having you copy, that's really stupid, huh? That would make me a stupid teacher then.” (bigger laughs) This was a Get-On-With dynamic to the event. W= hen the second transactional analysis diagram is added, we can understand the dynamics at work (the social forces). (See Figures No. 7 and No. 8)

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&= nbsp; Grading of student work is a measure of three variables: (1) the competence of the pupil in the particular knowledge or skill, (2) in the transactional analys= is sense, the Adult ability of the pupil to adapt to the-now-and-the-here of t= he classroom, especially the teacher, and (3) the competence of the instructor= at doing his job; i.e. imparting the particular skills and knowledge. Instruct= ors unwilling to grade the performance and competence of a pupil are probably having difficulty with the third variable whether because of Child contamination into the professional's Adult or Parental overlapping into his own Adult. (See Figure No. 9)

&= nbsp; "Schools without Failure" is a laudable concept and probably making a significa= nt contribution to the education process. The seating arrangements and vocal exchange elements of this concept are conducive to an increased level of student activity, movement and conversational exchange. This concept un= ;questionably does lead to a more stimulating classroom experience for the individual stu= dent and when adequately and skillfully guided will be productive of an increased learning rate.

&= nbsp; When, in addition, there is the introduction of explicit transactional analysis d= ata into the classroom setting, then not only is there more activity and learn&= shy;ing, but the participants also know what they are doing and why.

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&= nbsp; The following examples show the use of the Transactional Analysis theory and diagram in two different types of educational settings. The education-in-&s= hy;action use of transactional analysis theory as represented by its diagram, this alphabet-type diagram tool encodes in a simplified, universally understanda= ble form the entelechy of behavior information which can lead to personal, soci= al and technical competence.

&= nbsp; One public high school class observed by the writer was taught basic transactio= nal analysis by the teacher; the class then began to hold group discussions led by one of the 12 member group of students. The teacher did not enter the group discussions but did conduct the post-group discussions of the 12 participants and the 15 other class members who took turns as observers when not group members. The students in this class used the transactional analys= is (T.A.) terminology of "Parent, Adult, Child, Kid, rebel, compliant, natural, nurturing, prohibiting, disciplining, game, get-on-with, get-rid-o= f, get-away-from, and get-nowhere-with" correctly and accurately. Th= ey described new successes with old problems at home and became habitual users= of the transactional analysis (T.A.) terminology. Many had read at least two o= f Berne's works, and some began to teach transactional analysis (T.A.) to their extramural friends. Teachers were able to teach the subject matter more efficiently and the students of this particular class learned the subject matter faster; and in addition knew what they were doing and why.

&= nbsp; Another dimension of using transactional analysis (T.A.) in education has been adde= d by Dr. Groder's initiatives of the Asklepieion Institute. Set up within a federal penitentiary, Dr. Groder began to use the emerging talents of his getting-well inmates to carry on work with other groups of inmates. He then offered the cured inmates the opportunities to refine their own transactional analysis (T.A.) skills and at the same time solidify their personal commitments to staying well by becoming advanced members of this transactional analysis institute. Some achieved faculty positions within the Asklepieion Institute within the particular federal prison. These faculty members under Groder's direction conducted introductory and advanced traini= ng sessions in transactional analysis (T.A.) for professionals and graduate students outside of the prison institution. They also conducted group sessi= ons for outsiders of a contractual nature for transactional analysis (T.A.) education in personal behavior. Some of the outsiders traveled upwards of 20 miles to attend sessions.

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= ( PDF print version )

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Fourth Millennium<= o:p>

of the Alphabet an= d the

Transactional Anal= ysis Diagrams

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The P-A-C’s = Meet the ABCer’s

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Franklin H. Ernst,= Jr., M. D.

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Permission is hereby granted = to any person, magazine, newspaper, other periodical, or media to reprint this monograph in any single issue of the periodical in question, so long as two conditions are met: (1) the monograph is printed word for word, including diagrams, figures, and footnotes, and (2) the following reference is given = at the bottom of the first page on which the reprinted article begins: “= This article is taken from “Fourth Millennium of the Alphabet and the Transactional Analysis Diagrams – The PAC’s Meet the ABC’= ers” by Franklin H. Ernst Jr., M.D. Published by Franklin “Harry” Ernst III, Addresso’Set Publications, P.O. Box 3009, Vallejo, California = 94590.”