tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224377669164135329.post3953943462420124805..comments2023-03-27T10:54:13.350-07:00Comments on Winston Smith: An Inflammable SituationWinstonSmith33http://www.blogger.com/profile/15780806194174659730noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224377669164135329.post-18837276263464829802010-12-16T10:05:42.218-08:002010-12-16T10:05:42.218-08:00I once worked a shift at a youngster's support...I once worked a shift at a youngster's supported housing project over Christmas Eve. A youth tried the same thing on me - holding a cigarette lighter and an aerosol, flicking the lighter and grinning that grin. I abhor violence and I'm probably not very good at it but I do look like a right hard-case. This chap was obviously used to the touchy-feely regulars and was testing his barriers Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224377669164135329.post-32061146006560224612010-07-01T12:41:01.533-07:002010-07-01T12:41:01.533-07:00@ Winston - LOL Yeah I know! We've replaced ou...@ Winston - LOL Yeah I know! We've replaced ours a few times. The one we have now is about 4 inches thick with a lock on it the size of a small family car! It gets a token kick now and again but that's it. I like to think it's because we're doing some good work with the kids rather than it being the result of their defeatist attitude :)))Alexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224377669164135329.post-89663713892288818332010-07-01T02:49:19.698-07:002010-07-01T02:49:19.698-07:00Be interested to hear your comments on my recent p...Be interested to hear your comments on my recent post, relating to being punched during my shift working in adult supported living. Click on my name to link to my blog "4 Kinds of Cloud". Have been very interested to read all your posts - very articulate and brave - and wish you all the best. Thank you.<br /><br />Charlie Bluefish.Charlie Bluefishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16941238623876556868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224377669164135329.post-51702999005465188252010-06-30T08:17:21.207-07:002010-06-30T08:17:21.207-07:00One thing I am sure of is that putting loads of fu...One thing I am sure of is that putting loads of fucked up kids togethter in one place causes more problems than it solves. They tend to sink to the lowest common denominator. <br /><br />The trouble is Winston, that while you have identified the problem you offer no clear solution other than being stricter. This becomes another race to the bottom when each intervention that fails leads to a Top Catnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224377669164135329.post-25698237374537933932010-06-28T10:37:06.191-07:002010-06-28T10:37:06.191-07:00@Alex above. He had managed to kick through it on ...@Alex above. He had managed to kick through it on another shift a few weeks prior to that but I wasnt working that day. Since that a tougher more robust lock was put on it and it was a fairly sturdy door anyway.<br /><br />Kids kicking office doors down or trying to is very common place from my experience in care homes.WinstonSmith33https://www.blogger.com/profile/15780806194174659730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224377669164135329.post-91032474542169968902010-06-27T15:54:45.842-07:002010-06-27T15:54:45.842-07:00Compulsive, hard-hitting and very depressing stuff...Compulsive, hard-hitting and very depressing stuff Winston.Thank you for showing me that I am not the only bloke in England who thinks that the world has gone mad. I used to work in a primary school where the fawning drips who managed ( I use the term loosely)the "behaviour unit" also rewarded bad behaviour and ignored boundaries. Let the little shits hurl bricks from the roof and they&Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224377669164135329.post-56628833806429374192010-06-26T07:29:05.142-07:002010-06-26T07:29:05.142-07:00I'm impressed with the office door withstandin...I'm impressed with the office door withstanding being kicked by 6"1' 15 stone Liam for an hour! What have you got on there - plate steel!Alexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224377669164135329.post-50758320044805633112010-06-21T04:38:33.996-07:002010-06-21T04:38:33.996-07:00"...criminalising the teenagers..."
He ..."...criminalising the teenagers..."<br /><br />He is a criminal (Threats to kill, affray, criminal damage and a number of minor offences all described in your post) he needs to be punished. Yes the police will be annoyed to be called because you can't control the youth and the advice you get will be the same that we give to those parents that call us with some paraphrase of "I Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224377669164135329.post-60847547492382535442010-06-20T06:10:56.076-07:002010-06-20T06:10:56.076-07:00Winston:
"Why didnt I call the police someon...Winston:<br /><br />"Why didnt I call the police someone asked? It was up to the manager on shift..."<br /><br />That may well have been in the terms and conditions of your employment Winston, but it is a contravention of your human rights. Your employer has no right to expose you to danger, and deny you the normal protection of the law.<br /><br />MontyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224377669164135329.post-36646725271189849102010-06-20T04:34:29.789-07:002010-06-20T04:34:29.789-07:00This isn't just a NuLabour thing, althoug it i...This isn't just a NuLabour thing, althoug it is a PC thing.<br />I have a friend in worked in one of these 'homes' in the era of John Major.<br />What is interesting is how the state apparat has been taken over by the PC left, regardless of which party is in political control. These PC policies carry on! I wonder how a Conservative government could change that.Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224377669164135329.post-24380826266725475242010-06-19T08:59:10.782-07:002010-06-19T08:59:10.782-07:00*hugs*
You're very brave for continuing with ...*hugs*<br /><br />You're very brave for continuing with the work you do.stopbeingstupidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14860866633957025571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224377669164135329.post-78927514169519682622010-06-18T06:40:47.303-07:002010-06-18T06:40:47.303-07:00Hi Richie,
Sadly I think that you are right and t...Hi Richie,<br /><br />Sadly I think that you are right and there are some kids usually male that are bullies and need to be put in their place.<br /><br />Firstly, with kids of this extreme disposition I think it would be good to firstly remove priviliges and only use 'superior physical force' as you put it, in a measured and appropriate way so that they get the message that if they use WinstonSmith33https://www.blogger.com/profile/15780806194174659730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224377669164135329.post-83742683781562356002010-06-18T06:07:33.329-07:002010-06-18T06:07:33.329-07:00'I could burn you and there would be nothing y...'I could burn you and there would be nothing you could do about it' The guy tries to *burn you to death* he faced no consequence? Even if your managers care nothing about care workers then surely they should care about the other residents.<br /><br />I get the impression that care workers are not treated with the respect they deserve in most sectors. They are the ones who spend the rielouisehttp://rielouise.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224377669164135329.post-47240172761767526722010-06-18T03:32:37.470-07:002010-06-18T03:32:37.470-07:00Thank you so much for your blog, Winston. I had co...Thank you so much for your blog, Winston. I had considered social work as a future profession and now I'm so glad that I didn't go down that path. <br /><br />What they are doing to these kids is just wrong. The Labour government was so obsessed with the human rights of these children to the extent that they seem to have missed two obvious points: that human rights of the staff are being Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224377669164135329.post-82641595920286297532010-06-18T01:23:32.894-07:002010-06-18T01:23:32.894-07:00Just wanted to say I love reading your blog. I hav...Just wanted to say I love reading your blog. I have a relative who works within the childcare system and everything you say is spot on. My relative is constantly amazed at the way the children are allowed to do whatever they want with no responsibility. They are allowed to run riot with no consequence and are indeed rewarded for bad behaviour. The worse culprits with the rewarding system are Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224377669164135329.post-57773886717512737382010-06-17T14:21:05.781-07:002010-06-17T14:21:05.781-07:00Why is this 'liam' not dangling on the end...Why is this 'liam' not dangling on the end or a rope?TonyFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14356306581977054156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224377669164135329.post-49933830843494682122010-06-17T11:39:44.302-07:002010-06-17T11:39:44.302-07:00Winston
You write
"Whats my solution for th...Winston<br /><br />You write<br /><br />"Whats my solution for the likes of Liam? Tough discipline with hard consequences for agressive outbursts. Care and support and praise when it is valid but boundaries and effective authority. Removal of all priviliges for violence and abuse and then having to slowly earn them back. This type of thinking is anathema to social services though."<br /RichieRichnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224377669164135329.post-60522805317429151152010-06-17T07:53:16.713-07:002010-06-17T07:53:16.713-07:00Can I raise a point here, maybe its a bit controve...Can I raise a point here, maybe its a bit controversial, but Social Work is historically a feminine discipline which hasn't managed to shake off the whole Laura Ashley stereotype. Modern social work is also heavily influenced by public choice discourses. <br /><br />What Anonymous points to, with the construction industry example is that approaches drawn from a strongly masculine environmentNeil80https://www.blogger.com/profile/07327090565101437836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224377669164135329.post-1968026026563770572010-06-17T03:25:28.462-07:002010-06-17T03:25:28.462-07:00I worked on a construction training scheme for you...I worked on a construction training scheme for young people who were not able to access education and training through the normal route. One of the rules (yes "rules") was that if the trainee did not attend they lost that days allowance. This rule was strictly imposed, so if they were off "sick", tough. If they missed the bus, tough. If their alarm didn't go off, toughAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224377669164135329.post-61897984180098291542010-06-16T17:09:29.841-07:002010-06-16T17:09:29.841-07:00Why didnt I call the police someone asked? It was ...Why didnt I call the police someone asked? It was up to the manager on shift that day and she and the company and social services frowned upon criminalising the teenagers.<br /><br />When managers weren't present and things kicked off we the support workers would ring the police who more than often were not happy to be called and would have a go at us for not controlling the kids. I WinstonSmith33https://www.blogger.com/profile/15780806194174659730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224377669164135329.post-67965531859816034582010-06-16T16:15:06.172-07:002010-06-16T16:15:06.172-07:00Blimey, that all sounds very intense. What I'm...Blimey, that all sounds very intense. What I'm interested in though Winston, is what your solution would be. From your previous posts I can tell that, with good reason, you take against the moral-relativistic approaches of modern social work, but what do you feel should be in its place? The past in terms of care homes is equally as bad as the present.Neil80https://www.blogger.com/profile/07327090565101437836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224377669164135329.post-79500991260734042442010-06-16T15:47:55.707-07:002010-06-16T15:47:55.707-07:00Glad to have you back.Glad to have you back.MagnificentFiendnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224377669164135329.post-16990588558696609102010-06-16T14:38:19.692-07:002010-06-16T14:38:19.692-07:00Winston
I'd be interested to know whether, in...Winston<br /><br />I'd be interested to know whether, in your view, the duty manager in your story suggested ignoring behaviour rather than intervening because she was scared to follow the latter option or because she was philosophically committed to the former. I suspect it might be a bit of both, but one has to ask how anyone can remain committed to such an approach when it clearly just RichieRichnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224377669164135329.post-3607332199881791572010-06-16T13:19:25.475-07:002010-06-16T13:19:25.475-07:00I'm an ex-policeman and spent my youth in Cent...I'm an ex-policeman and spent my youth in Central Africa where my Mother still lives. On a recent trip back to see her I went with her to see an orphanage run by some Nuns and which my Mother helps to support. I was amazed to discover that the Nuns still used corporal punishment. Then I found out that they'd used it once in the last five years. The mere presence of the possibility of Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5224377669164135329.post-58425913864369086832010-06-16T12:41:09.584-07:002010-06-16T12:41:09.584-07:00please feel free to debate residential child care ...please feel free to debate residential child care @ www.residentialchildcarenetwork.com There are a lot of good homes out there that do a great jobAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com