HISTORY OF SOT
The training strategy of the School of Thinking is an original Australian design.
It has been developed and evolved by Dr. Michael Hewitt-Gleeson over the past 35 years. It is based on the–“The Scheyville Method”–the unique training method used by the Australian Army to prepare leaders for Vietnam service in the 60s and 70s.
School of Thinking (SOT) lessons have already reached over 80 million people around the world and received wide media support since 1979.
PROFESSOR GEORGE GALLUP, The Gallup Poll, Princeton proclaimed in 1983:
“I believe the School of Thinking’s work in teaching people to think may be the most important thing going on in the world today.”
For trainers, educators and those who are interested in these matters, here is some detailed background on the design and development and on the history and effectiveness of the School of Thinking over the past 40 years that has led to it becoming the largest school in the world.
Australia:The Career Acceleration Program
In Melbourne, Australia in 1970, Michael Hewitt-Gleeson designed the generic Career Acceleration Program (CAP). This was a train-the-trainer technology, for converting knowledge into skill. CAP was based on three simple hypotheses: Alternatives, Leaping, Repetition. In training CAP instructors, six principles were emphasised. To become successful trainers they had to master these Six CAP Principles.
Military Training Strategies
SOT uses two primary ‘Scheyville’ Australian military training strategies:
digital training and daily training.
From 1967 through 1974 in Australia and South Viet Nam, Dr. Hewitt-Gleeson studied The Scheyville Method of leadership under the direction of Brigadier Ian Geddes, as part of his Australian military training and service, world-class army officer training in leadership, survival, confidence training, instructional techniques and military arts. He conducted further experiments while serving as an officer/chief instructor in the Royal Australian Air Force Reserve. As a result of this experience he designed CAP which was well received by trainees, trainers and educators for producing measureable results. Since then, continuous, focused development of the training technology in the marketing, business, and public training applications has brought its evolution to its current stage of development.
USA: The School of Thinking
In New York in 1979, Dr. Hewitt-Gleeson and Edward de Bono founded the School of Thinking (SOT) in the USA. From the first meeting in New York, SOT went on to become the biggest nationwide program in the world ever to teach thinking skills to education, business and public sectors.
Under Dr Hewitt-Gleeson’s direction, the School of Thinking trained many thousands of people around the US and also installed thinking skills into school districts, corporations and government organisations. Within five years ‘teaching thinking’ in US schools had become, according to The New York Times, the biggest new trend in education.
PAUL MACCREADY JR, Inventor of the Gossamer Albatross and father of man-powered flight (1982):
“When first watching an SOT thinking class in action I was amazed that something so simple and so much fun could be so quick and effective in developing a person’s ‘thinking muscle’. We all, as individuals and caretakers of our precious earth, need these thinking skills.”
Australia: The School of Thinking
On 30 May 1988, in Canberra, at a meeting of 700 of Australia’s municipal and federal statespersons, Dr. Michael Hewitt-Gleeson launched the School of Thinking in Australia. He presented the Governor-General His Excellency Sir Ninian Stephen AK, GCMB, GCVO, KBE with a Brainusers Kit. Dr. Hewitt-Gleeson then awarded to the Honourable Robert J L Hawke AK, the Prime Minister of Australia, a special certificate appointing him “Australia’s Number One Brainuser” to symbolise the vast potential of turning-on the power of Australia’s 16 million brains.
The Clever Country
Subsequently, on 8 March 1990, in Brisbane, Australia’s Number One Brainuser, Prime Minister Hawke, decreed: “No longer content to be just the lucky country, Australia must now become the clever country”.
This is now the big chance for Australia’s future - the development of our ultimate natural resourse - our human resources. The School of Thinking in Australia has been working to see that this does happen by pushing for thinking skills to be taught to all Australian kids on the core education curriculum.
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School of Thinking dispute with the de Bono Brothers.
In recent years Edward de Bono and Michael Hewitt-Gleeson have happily resumed their friendship which put an end to a difficult period of 15 years. Because there are still unauthorised and misleading versions of this dispute circulating on the internet SOT lawyers have advised us to keep this statement on the public record to clarify the facts.
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In New York in 1985, due to a dispute over publishing rights and attributions, Michael Hewitt-Gleeson closed down the School of Thinking, which he started with Edward de Bono in 1979.
In 1988, Hewitt-Gleeson re-started the School of Thinking in Melbourne with a new syllabus designed by him and published in his best-selling book, Software For Your Brain (1989).
Since 1979, during the first 5 years of operating the school in New York, Michael Hewitt-Gleeson was also President of the Cognitive Research and Training (CoRT) Foundation Inc, and Managing Director of Edward de Bono and Associates Inc.
It then transpired, in 1984, that conflicting publishing rights had been given by Edward de Bono to both the School of Thinking on the one hand and to Pergamon Press—owned by British publisher Robert Maxwell—on the other hand. There was a conflict of interests and so a legal dispute arose.
Hewitt-Gleeson and the other minor shareholders (Dr Eric Bienstock and Alexandra Jane Noble) produced legal documents from the SOT archives and claimed moral rights but were unable to match Robert Maxwell’s legal funds. Edward de Bono chose to take Maxwell’s side claiming he was Maxwell’s friend.
Unable to pursue the matter in the US courts, these smaller shareholders filed a Complaint with the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1984. The FBI agreed to investigate the conflicting claims made by Robert Maxwell and Pergamon Press. Agent Stan Los conducted the investigation from the Santa Barbara office of the FBI.
The school in New York closed down in 1985 and Edward de Bono was interviewed by Scotland Yard in London. No further action was taken.
Dr Edward de Bono and Dr Michael Hewitt-Gleeson co-authored the Learn-To-Think Coursebook and Instructors Manual (1982 Capra New). This book became the subject of a cover story on all international editions of the Readers Digest in April 1983. Today’s equivalent publicity would be like being on OPRAH.
As a result, 6 of the SOT lessons reached over 68 million readers worldwide. This was the widest ever broadcast of the SOT thinking lessons.
The pictorial icon that featured in this Readers Digest story was the spark that originated the School of Thinking Caps. In September 1983, Michael Hewitt-Gleeson, Eric Bienstock and Edward de Bono were brainstorming ways to exploit the enormous publicity already being created for SOT from the Readers Digest cover story. They jointly developed the idea of ‘coloured thinking caps’ taken from the icon in the magazine. They considered getting baseball caps with the SOT logo or headbands made in different colours.
Edward de Bono suggested that the caps be sold in sets of six and in a summary of the brainstorming sessions Dr de Bono wrote in September 1983: “Each is of a different colour and each bears the logo of the School of Thinking. Instead of caps elasticised head bands could be used”.
Subsequently in 1985, Six Thinking Hats was published by Edward de Bono. In the latest edition Edward de Bono writes: “The Six Thinking Hats method may well be the most important change in human thinking for the past 2300 years”. Yet, there is no academic attribution for the SOT’s origin of the idea to be found in any editions of the book. The matter has been raised by Hewitt-Gleeson with de Bono on a number of occasions over the years but no academic attribution has yet been referenced.
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Peter de Bono
SOT lawyers, have required we post this statement on the public record because of Peter de Bono’s defamatory statement on his website. Peter de Bono is Edward’s brother.
There appeared a strange and absurdly misleading statement on Edward de Bono’s ‘official website’ (dated July 22, 2002), where it is falsely claimed Edward de Bono had no involvement “in the ownership or running of [SOT]”, although he agreed that “there may be material derived from, borrowed, or taken from [his] work”. In that statement, amongst other things, it is also claimed Edward de Bono says: “Michael no longer has any connection whatever with me. He is not authorised to use my intellectual property in any way. Any courses he delivers are not endorsed by me in any way. I shall also take legal action for any infringement of copyright”.
Although Edward de Bono and Michael Hewitt-Gleeson have resumed their friendship years ago, SOT/Hewitt-Gleeson’s legal advisors have advised Edward that this statement, still on the internet, is defamatory. Michael Hewitt-Gleeson has never met Peter de Bono but knew his mother, Josephine de Bono, and was her guest for several weeks in Malta in 1984. Josephine de Bono was an enthusiastic supporter of Michael’s work and the School of Thinking.
Since 2002, Edward de Bono has given repeated verbal and written assurances to SOT that he has tried to have the statement removed and has requested Peter de Bono to withdraw the statement which he has failed to do. Regrettably, SOT lawyers in Melbourne are considering what legal action can effectively be taken against Peter de Bono.
We invite Peter de Bono—or any interested party who can supply any factual information backed by any evidence on any of these matters—to comment below.
For further information contact:
Dr Michael Hewitt-Gleeson
Principal
School of Thinking
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April 17th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
I wished to add some thinking skills from your interlectuals capacity, and if possible enclose also with some thinking tips and quotes,
wish to learn more from you.
sorry for my inconnvinience.
January 11th, 2008 at 4:13 am
I feel very interested by this “thinking” stuff and wait to see what it is about… but my language is french or portuguese, so i sometimes don’t completely understand the concepts
January 3rd, 2008 at 10:09 am
I was told about ‘de Bono Six Hat Thinking’ in a design lecture and looked up to see how the hell I spelt it, and stumbled across his co-founded creation along with you, so it seems there is more than first meets the eye!
A very interesting story, although the history and ownership of the concept is less important than the application of the concept itself so I’m glad you’ve put the past behind you.
Think I will try out these lessons then!
July 30th, 2007 at 1:05 am
Interesting! If Dr deBono and you are trying to change the world (through thinking habits) then most of the material should really be copyright free, so long as the source is acknowledged.
I appreciate your 10 free lessons. Hope the remaining is reasonable cost.
July 10th, 2007 at 10:26 am
i like to learn but struggle with the language and hope i can understand the conzept.
July 5th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
I feel happyto get introduced to SOT. I am a Retired Principal of a senior secondary school in India. I have read some books of Edward de Bono, Lateral thinking, Critical thinking,Creative thinking. Beautiful Mind, New thinking for new the millineum etc. I have done some work on creative thinking in the school where I worked.Generally People are slowly losing the power of thinking. Nice to know you have started an institute for thinking which is the top power of man. All my wishes and support to you in your work.
With Regards,
P. Vijayachandran.
June 14th, 2007 at 3:30 am
I am very intrested with the history of the school of thinking. I was introduced this website by my lecture at my university. He said that this website is very good for your softskill. In my opinion, the idea of the school of thinking is very amazing. Everyone needs it, especially in amusing mind and situation.
May 28th, 2007 at 10:27 am
I happy to be introduced io SOT. I have read three books by Dr Eward De Bono and found his works lucid, entertaining and provocative.Any institution or programme that caters to human thinking and the training of the mind fascinates me greatly and therefore has my interest and support.I am excited and I am ready to do the lessons and also to share them with others.
May 23rd, 2007 at 5:09 pm
his story her story
Maybe where we are going is abillion times more important than where we have been
and peoples descriptions
of
April 26th, 2007 at 4:44 am
I am teacher of computer since in Poland
I know how important are methods of thinking in process of education
We are living in different patern and often stupid social conditioning
All we should do - free our minds and observe our emotions than we could se everything clearly
April 25th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
CAUSALITY*
April 25th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
Nothing just appear, and a sense of History allows us to appreciate casusality. Thanks for the perspectives.
December 27th, 2006 at 7:01 am
stage school…
Interesting post. I came across this blog b