Today Amanda Hutton was found guilty of the manslaughter of her son Hamza Khan.
Today the soul searching and finger pointing starts.
Today the City of Birmingham were told they are in the last chance saloon as far as protecting the vulnerable children in their city is concerned.
Well here's the truth.
With a system that promotes poor education of officialdom and a system that gets people with little academic and less practical knowledge in to educate those officials are we really surprised?
Take for instance the way that social workers are educated. They are now expected to gain a degree in Social Work before they start practice. However they are often being taught by people with diplomas and no real academic prowess or understanding of people. They may teach them about how forms are filled out or how to cover their own backs but they do not teach true critical reflection or how to look at the reality of what is a really difficult job. And only the enlightened realise that it is about people skills and understanding how people interact that really pass on worthwhile knowledge.
At the same time as that they are sent out on practice placements where they will hardly ever see the blood and guts of a real situation.
This is similar to the way doctors are taught in their first three years. All book work no people work.
We need to be creative with our thinking we need to have a different idea on how we deal with difficult issues
http://alcoholdebate.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/when-blind-drunk-lead-those-who-would.html
If one single person had had the courage to do something rather than mess around in teams sharing information and having a few pretty discussions then maybe Hamza, Baby P, Daniel and Victoria may all still be alive today.
Voltaire said it best:
"With great power comes great responsibility"
We often put masses of power in the hands of individuals that have no idea how to handle it. This needs to be completely rethought. That way we may find a more creative solution to the ills of the world. This way we might learn and this way we may stop such awful situations from arising in the future.
Thursday 3 October 2013
Friday 19 July 2013
Its rough up North part 2
This commentator is unfortunately unhappy again. Well where have you seen that before?
http://tseniortfte.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/whats-in-name.html
This was my take on Katie Hopkins and her attitudes towards names. Now she's started on accents.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/katie-hopkins--stephanie-mcgovern-and-northerners-sound-stupid-131026114.html#VpTiGmV
Please excuse me but which rock did you crawl out from under?
When I married my wife my accent changed from the broad Yorkshire to one of more like that great Huddersfield actor Patrick Stewart. Oh did I speak with such eloquence, with such vigour and my Richard III was magnificent (Did I tell you that I was quite a thespian myself? No I didn't think so and that is for a different time perhaps)
Now though, because I'm divorced, I speak au naturelle with a proud Yorkshire accent (although I do a fair West Country one having lived in and around these parts for years now) I could never do Scouse, even though I lived in Liverpool for several years, go'ed you say, but no sadly I could never quite master it. Unlike Jan Molby the great Liverpool and Danish footballer who I met on several occasions at Anfield or clubs or bars around the City. He really did master the Liverpool accent but funnily enough most people who I met thought that was charming or mildly amusing but certainly not horrible.
But does it matter?
For years regional accents were frowned upon particularly at the BBC. Even when I was a child and won a poetry competition that led to my first radio appearance I noticed that Radio Leeds had all proper speakers around me. My Geoffrey Boycott accent wasn't really that wonderful I might add. And so once again I got into a mind set that said I hard to speak proper and there was nowt else to be done.
Yet now I look on things somewhat differently for as someone who has grown up in a diverse world I have come to appreciate that diversity should be celebrated. So Katie Hopkins you can take your thoughts place them in a tin and go away. As one member of the Royle Family might say 'My arse!'
After all whilst I love Patrick Stewart's Jean-Luc Picard I'm delighted to say
We shall not be assimilated we have no wish to be Borg!
http://tseniortfte.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/whats-in-name.html
This was my take on Katie Hopkins and her attitudes towards names. Now she's started on accents.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/katie-hopkins--stephanie-mcgovern-and-northerners-sound-stupid-131026114.html#VpTiGmV
Please excuse me but which rock did you crawl out from under?
When I married my wife my accent changed from the broad Yorkshire to one of more like that great Huddersfield actor Patrick Stewart. Oh did I speak with such eloquence, with such vigour and my Richard III was magnificent (Did I tell you that I was quite a thespian myself? No I didn't think so and that is for a different time perhaps)
Now though, because I'm divorced, I speak au naturelle with a proud Yorkshire accent (although I do a fair West Country one having lived in and around these parts for years now) I could never do Scouse, even though I lived in Liverpool for several years, go'ed you say, but no sadly I could never quite master it. Unlike Jan Molby the great Liverpool and Danish footballer who I met on several occasions at Anfield or clubs or bars around the City. He really did master the Liverpool accent but funnily enough most people who I met thought that was charming or mildly amusing but certainly not horrible.
But does it matter?
For years regional accents were frowned upon particularly at the BBC. Even when I was a child and won a poetry competition that led to my first radio appearance I noticed that Radio Leeds had all proper speakers around me. My Geoffrey Boycott accent wasn't really that wonderful I might add. And so once again I got into a mind set that said I hard to speak proper and there was nowt else to be done.
Yet now I look on things somewhat differently for as someone who has grown up in a diverse world I have come to appreciate that diversity should be celebrated. So Katie Hopkins you can take your thoughts place them in a tin and go away. As one member of the Royle Family might say 'My arse!'
After all whilst I love Patrick Stewart's Jean-Luc Picard I'm delighted to say
We shall not be assimilated we have no wish to be Borg!
Wednesday 17 July 2013
So you're the worst child in the country - Official!
Yes the coalition are at it again and this one is quite possibly the icing on the cake as far as them wanting an elitist society
"Children will be ranked in academic ability from the age of 11 for all to see!"
So who is going to tell the poor little mite at the bottom of the league table that they are the thickest individual in the country and for how long will that stigma continue. Well long enough to roll out the mobile gas vans!
Yes this commentator is seeing more about Nazi Germany circa 1933-38 in this country than Great Britain 2012, the land of the Olympics, the land of aspiration and inspiration. I wonder how Danny Boyle would film this. And why didn't he have his National Health Service piece finish on mass murder and burning of the corpses (Oh sorry that's what the coalition would have you believe about the so called failing NHS trusts)
I am genuinely frightened for my child, already shell shocked by the news that Gove has announced the removal of coursework from final exam marks and my twelve year old son's year are the guinea pigs, and wonder should I take him out of the country completely.
When are we going to wake up or have we already sleepwalked our way into a catastrophe so huge that we can no longer escape the black hole that this Government has created.
Billy Joel's song "We didn't start the fire" could so easily be adapted by some clever lyricist at this time and I'm sure we would see words like bedroom tax, close the Trust, take from the sick because it's only fair and just, creeping into the song.
I am British I am proud and I say no more. We didn't build this nation to trample on the ideals of the great reformers. We built this nation to be Great.
Right now it feels more like Little Britain as ruled by Edmund Blackadder without the laughs or irony!
"Children will be ranked in academic ability from the age of 11 for all to see!"
So who is going to tell the poor little mite at the bottom of the league table that they are the thickest individual in the country and for how long will that stigma continue. Well long enough to roll out the mobile gas vans!
Yes this commentator is seeing more about Nazi Germany circa 1933-38 in this country than Great Britain 2012, the land of the Olympics, the land of aspiration and inspiration. I wonder how Danny Boyle would film this. And why didn't he have his National Health Service piece finish on mass murder and burning of the corpses (Oh sorry that's what the coalition would have you believe about the so called failing NHS trusts)
I am genuinely frightened for my child, already shell shocked by the news that Gove has announced the removal of coursework from final exam marks and my twelve year old son's year are the guinea pigs, and wonder should I take him out of the country completely.
When are we going to wake up or have we already sleepwalked our way into a catastrophe so huge that we can no longer escape the black hole that this Government has created.
Billy Joel's song "We didn't start the fire" could so easily be adapted by some clever lyricist at this time and I'm sure we would see words like bedroom tax, close the Trust, take from the sick because it's only fair and just, creeping into the song.
I am British I am proud and I say no more. We didn't build this nation to trample on the ideals of the great reformers. We built this nation to be Great.
Right now it feels more like Little Britain as ruled by Edmund Blackadder without the laughs or irony!
Tuesday 9 July 2013
What's in a name?
Well a lot it would seem if you have seen this you tube piece
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edZjdgU0asM
Katie Hopkins is without a doubt one of the saddest individuals on this planet if she thinks that you judge a person by their name. Sadly she may be right as I believe that there are many individuals out there who are exactly like that, even sadder I've bedded a few of them in the past.
Now that might seem like a childish statement however the psychology behind it is rather more fascinating. For it is the psychology of class, power and sex.
We like to believe we live in a classless society where everyone is equal. I'd like to put an academic spin on that if I may for a second:
What a load of bollocks!
Oh I'm sorry if you're offended but after all I'm just showing my class as so to speak.
You see I am most definitely working middle class. My mother and father both worked hard and when I was born they gave me a wonderful name. So wonderful that I ditched it as soon as I could.
For they called me Tracy.
Now growing up in a rough tough Yorkshire school with what was always perceived as a girl's name meant that I was gay! But hang on I couldn't be gay because homosexuality wasn't acknowledged in Huddersfield then. Ask my best friend Paul, he hid his homosexuality for years due to the fact he was not only gay but mixed race. And I thought I had it hard with a girl's name. I also found it hard to get off with the girls I fancied too because of it. Because they thought I must be gay too. So I was ostracised by the boys for being worthless and the girls because I was well ...... worthless.
So how did I overcome this? Well I changed my name to Trace, (everyone thinks I'm American now) and went about bedding as many posh women as I could. I played cricket and wore a blazer with my whites. I played badminton and golf because it was a great way to distance myself from my background. I even learned to sail because I thought it was a good way to better myself socially (This is what watching Howard's Way does for you), oh and I also learned to mix cocktails and speak with a Noel Coward accent. The reason why I was so successful was because these women never saw me as a threat, or a serious companion, just an interesting shag with a bit of rough as so to speak. Either that or they were trying to find out if I was gay and could be turned!
And there lies the problem with Katie Hopkins. She is by no means alone when she says that she judges a child by their name. I see it all the time. Interestingly enough I see it with my youngest son now. The number of times he is judged because of where he lives and what I look like. You see I tend to dress down most of the time, scruffy some would say. And I pick my son up from school so I must be unemployed. No I just happen to earn a living in a different way to others and chose not to act like a fashion model all of the time. I am also highly intelligent with a string of letters and awards after my name.
And this is all about bullying for want of a better name. People are so insecure with their own lives that they have to turn it on the most defenceless in our society, our children. A child doesn't know the significance of a name unless an adult smears it in some way. And then a child will copy that act from the parent.
So is there something in a name, well yes if you listen to your parent's views. Children are not born thinking ooh you're named after a type of wine so you must be getting ready to appear on the Jeremy Kyle Show. They are born wonderfully untainted and it is adults who use them as pawns in the chess game of life.
And for your information Katie when I was younger I believed that the only way to better myself was to Roger some posh bird. That is until I quickly realised that they were so caught up in their own mediocrity and self importance that they could never understand what the act of making love was all about. So I learned to understand people and in particular women. I learned about making love, not shagging. And I learned that actually when we are all naked and with our lovers class doesn't mean a thing nor does a name.
I am so glad that I grew up Katie, isn't it about time you did too?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edZjdgU0asM
Katie Hopkins is without a doubt one of the saddest individuals on this planet if she thinks that you judge a person by their name. Sadly she may be right as I believe that there are many individuals out there who are exactly like that, even sadder I've bedded a few of them in the past.
Now that might seem like a childish statement however the psychology behind it is rather more fascinating. For it is the psychology of class, power and sex.
We like to believe we live in a classless society where everyone is equal. I'd like to put an academic spin on that if I may for a second:
What a load of bollocks!
Oh I'm sorry if you're offended but after all I'm just showing my class as so to speak.
You see I am most definitely working middle class. My mother and father both worked hard and when I was born they gave me a wonderful name. So wonderful that I ditched it as soon as I could.
For they called me Tracy.
Now growing up in a rough tough Yorkshire school with what was always perceived as a girl's name meant that I was gay! But hang on I couldn't be gay because homosexuality wasn't acknowledged in Huddersfield then. Ask my best friend Paul, he hid his homosexuality for years due to the fact he was not only gay but mixed race. And I thought I had it hard with a girl's name. I also found it hard to get off with the girls I fancied too because of it. Because they thought I must be gay too. So I was ostracised by the boys for being worthless and the girls because I was well ...... worthless.
So how did I overcome this? Well I changed my name to Trace, (everyone thinks I'm American now) and went about bedding as many posh women as I could. I played cricket and wore a blazer with my whites. I played badminton and golf because it was a great way to distance myself from my background. I even learned to sail because I thought it was a good way to better myself socially (This is what watching Howard's Way does for you), oh and I also learned to mix cocktails and speak with a Noel Coward accent. The reason why I was so successful was because these women never saw me as a threat, or a serious companion, just an interesting shag with a bit of rough as so to speak. Either that or they were trying to find out if I was gay and could be turned!
And there lies the problem with Katie Hopkins. She is by no means alone when she says that she judges a child by their name. I see it all the time. Interestingly enough I see it with my youngest son now. The number of times he is judged because of where he lives and what I look like. You see I tend to dress down most of the time, scruffy some would say. And I pick my son up from school so I must be unemployed. No I just happen to earn a living in a different way to others and chose not to act like a fashion model all of the time. I am also highly intelligent with a string of letters and awards after my name.
And this is all about bullying for want of a better name. People are so insecure with their own lives that they have to turn it on the most defenceless in our society, our children. A child doesn't know the significance of a name unless an adult smears it in some way. And then a child will copy that act from the parent.
So is there something in a name, well yes if you listen to your parent's views. Children are not born thinking ooh you're named after a type of wine so you must be getting ready to appear on the Jeremy Kyle Show. They are born wonderfully untainted and it is adults who use them as pawns in the chess game of life.
And for your information Katie when I was younger I believed that the only way to better myself was to Roger some posh bird. That is until I quickly realised that they were so caught up in their own mediocrity and self importance that they could never understand what the act of making love was all about. So I learned to understand people and in particular women. I learned about making love, not shagging. And I learned that actually when we are all naked and with our lovers class doesn't mean a thing nor does a name.
I am so glad that I grew up Katie, isn't it about time you did too?
Saturday 30 March 2013
Why Winston and me are entwined forever
I was born on Winston Churchill's last birthday, he died two months later. I have always been aware of his presence in my life, how could I not be? Born on the same day as a man who effectively saved Britain from capitulating to become a Vichy State as Lord Halifax would have had us do. Although some do not believe in astrology, and I have to say I take it with a large pinch of salt, I would say that I share many of the qualities of Winston. I am a romantic, particularly in the notions of history and it's importance to our future, I am obdurate, a more stubborn person you are not likely to find, I am a Maverick, I will not tow the party line for the sake of a quiet life I chose to do what is right, and overall I care. I care passionately about the people around me and the world in which we live. However I am also bestowed with some of the characteristics of my Grandfather, the man who brought me up. He was a proud union man a man who believed in the equality of the person and the right of the common man to succeed and enjoy the simple pleasures of this word. He was more Orwellian in his thought process and he showed me the true sense of humanity.
The reason for today's blog? Simon Schama's History of Britain, "The Two Winstons" He talks about the way in which two completely opposite camps Churchill and Orwell came together to fight for democracy at our darkest time. His belief in the unlikeliest of allies shows me something of today that needs to be addressed in the time of darkness that we approach.
And why are we in a time of darkness? Is it the Euro? Is it North Korea? No not really it is the travesty of what has been unfolding admidst the corridors of power since the present Government took power. The way in which our democratic state has been returning to the prewar status quietly and behind the scenes is defining of Great Britain's fall from greatness. Has Halifax finally won the day? Have we allowed, sleepwalked even into, an Orwellian world where the future is controlled by the state? Were we so naive as to let this happen and can we do anything about it?
Well I for one am willing to stand up. I believe in civilised society, I believe in democracy, I believe in equality of thought, feeling and person. I believe in the human race's ability to overcome injustice and to improve and grow.
We must keep our National Health Service, we must protect those who are unable to protect themselves, we must seek to educate in an open and honest way teaching our children , and adults alike, to be free thinkers and expansive in thought, and we must seek to help the vulnerable, poor and desperate. This weekend we celebrate in the Christian world the festival of Easter, the day one man supposedly died to cleanse us of our sins.
I am not religious however if Jesus truly was the Son of God and he truly died on the cross to be the Savior of mankind then what would he have thought of Great Britain today?
The reason for today's blog? Simon Schama's History of Britain, "The Two Winstons" He talks about the way in which two completely opposite camps Churchill and Orwell came together to fight for democracy at our darkest time. His belief in the unlikeliest of allies shows me something of today that needs to be addressed in the time of darkness that we approach.
And why are we in a time of darkness? Is it the Euro? Is it North Korea? No not really it is the travesty of what has been unfolding admidst the corridors of power since the present Government took power. The way in which our democratic state has been returning to the prewar status quietly and behind the scenes is defining of Great Britain's fall from greatness. Has Halifax finally won the day? Have we allowed, sleepwalked even into, an Orwellian world where the future is controlled by the state? Were we so naive as to let this happen and can we do anything about it?
Well I for one am willing to stand up. I believe in civilised society, I believe in democracy, I believe in equality of thought, feeling and person. I believe in the human race's ability to overcome injustice and to improve and grow.
We must keep our National Health Service, we must protect those who are unable to protect themselves, we must seek to educate in an open and honest way teaching our children , and adults alike, to be free thinkers and expansive in thought, and we must seek to help the vulnerable, poor and desperate. This weekend we celebrate in the Christian world the festival of Easter, the day one man supposedly died to cleanse us of our sins.
I am not religious however if Jesus truly was the Son of God and he truly died on the cross to be the Savior of mankind then what would he have thought of Great Britain today?
Thursday 28 March 2013
What happens when someone in power lies
What exactly does happen when someone in power lies?
Well we all know of what happened to Chris Huhne but I'm not talking about political power for a change as we know that some politicians are born liars but professional or academic power?
Lets take the example of a social worker who makes things up or lies to cover up mistakes? What would happen to them surely there are safeguards in place? Well in professional practice that would normally be true. The General Social Care Council has powers to remove a social worker's registration in a similar way that the General Medical Council can strike off a medical practitioner or the General Teaching Council has the power to disbar a teacher.
However what happens if there is a power imbalance, what if we are talking about an academic organisation who employ qualified social workers to teach and supervise students. What if the qualified person in power lies?
This commentator has a great dilemma here for it has come to this commentator's attention that this is happening with one particular organisation, or should I say one part of one academic organisation within the UK that has the ability to award Social Work degrees. Complaints have been made to that organisation with apparently no response. In fact the individuals concerned seem almost untouchable yet these are people who hold the future of social work practice in their hands. Students are suffering and this has to be wrong.
Let's make no bones about it Social Workers are up there with Tax Inspectors, The Police, Politicians and DSS officials as been one of the most hated groups of people in our society. However the reality is that there is some truly excellent work being done under difficult and at times almost impossible situations. Yet it is these little bad apples who go unnoticed for years that lead to the problems.They destroy lives and they demonise people yet always seem to come up smelling of roses. And the dilemma is how to remove the good from the bad without affecting future growth ?
But remember roses grow from manured earth! But you can always take out the manure and roses will still grow!
Well we all know of what happened to Chris Huhne but I'm not talking about political power for a change as we know that some politicians are born liars but professional or academic power?
Lets take the example of a social worker who makes things up or lies to cover up mistakes? What would happen to them surely there are safeguards in place? Well in professional practice that would normally be true. The General Social Care Council has powers to remove a social worker's registration in a similar way that the General Medical Council can strike off a medical practitioner or the General Teaching Council has the power to disbar a teacher.
However what happens if there is a power imbalance, what if we are talking about an academic organisation who employ qualified social workers to teach and supervise students. What if the qualified person in power lies?
This commentator has a great dilemma here for it has come to this commentator's attention that this is happening with one particular organisation, or should I say one part of one academic organisation within the UK that has the ability to award Social Work degrees. Complaints have been made to that organisation with apparently no response. In fact the individuals concerned seem almost untouchable yet these are people who hold the future of social work practice in their hands. Students are suffering and this has to be wrong.
Let's make no bones about it Social Workers are up there with Tax Inspectors, The Police, Politicians and DSS officials as been one of the most hated groups of people in our society. However the reality is that there is some truly excellent work being done under difficult and at times almost impossible situations. Yet it is these little bad apples who go unnoticed for years that lead to the problems.They destroy lives and they demonise people yet always seem to come up smelling of roses. And the dilemma is how to remove the good from the bad without affecting future growth ?
But remember roses grow from manured earth! But you can always take out the manure and roses will still grow!
Wednesday 27 March 2013
Oh Mr Beeching
So today is 50 years since the publication of the Beeching report that signaled the death of many a station and railway line in this country. It is also a warning to the future.
Beeching was wrong, the Government of the time was wrong, Governments since have been wrong. The railway network was a lifeblood to many small places throughout this Kingdom. Roads do not have the same arterial flow no matter what people may think. Roads are capillaries motorways are arteries and as it stands there are only a couple of dozen major arteries in the UK. The railways gave us hundreds if not thousands. Resorts like Brighton, Blackpool,Bournemouth, Torquay, Great Yarmouth, Margate and Southend would never have grown had it not been for the railways. Small villages became connected to major cities, people became free to move the country had life.
Why a lesson to the future?
Well for Beeching read Lansley, Hunt, Duncan-Smith, Gove, May, Cameron and Osborne and all those in Government today who would cut the lifeblood from our country.
The NHS is the next to go, it will soon be a monument to all that was great about Great Britain. I think Scotland may have the right idea get out while they can. I wouldn't blame Wales if they felt the same way because to be quite frank this bunch that rule our country would sell them off if they could.
I hear food vouchers have been mooted again by Count Ian von Bismarck instead of cash benefits. Why not just make people on benefits shave their heads and walk around with high vis jackets saying scum on the back because that is how people will treat them.
Don't believe it? I had a friend at school who received free school meals because his family couldn't afford to pay and word got round. I remember mothers at the school gates cackling about his family and how poor they were and how they resented that a child was being fed by free meals when they had to pay. It still rankles me today how people could do that to a child yet the same will give ten pounds to Comic Relief to relieve them of their guilt because that's a poor child in Africa.
I am telling you clearly the same will happen all over again.
It is time the good people of Britain stood up and stopped this country sleepwalking to an early grave. The middle class need to get over themselves because once the poor are gone who do you think is next !
Take a lesson from Beeching making cuts in the wrong place at the wrong time does not make the tree grow stronger It kills it!
Beeching was wrong, the Government of the time was wrong, Governments since have been wrong. The railway network was a lifeblood to many small places throughout this Kingdom. Roads do not have the same arterial flow no matter what people may think. Roads are capillaries motorways are arteries and as it stands there are only a couple of dozen major arteries in the UK. The railways gave us hundreds if not thousands. Resorts like Brighton, Blackpool,Bournemouth, Torquay, Great Yarmouth, Margate and Southend would never have grown had it not been for the railways. Small villages became connected to major cities, people became free to move the country had life.
Why a lesson to the future?
Well for Beeching read Lansley, Hunt, Duncan-Smith, Gove, May, Cameron and Osborne and all those in Government today who would cut the lifeblood from our country.
The NHS is the next to go, it will soon be a monument to all that was great about Great Britain. I think Scotland may have the right idea get out while they can. I wouldn't blame Wales if they felt the same way because to be quite frank this bunch that rule our country would sell them off if they could.
I hear food vouchers have been mooted again by Count Ian von Bismarck instead of cash benefits. Why not just make people on benefits shave their heads and walk around with high vis jackets saying scum on the back because that is how people will treat them.
Don't believe it? I had a friend at school who received free school meals because his family couldn't afford to pay and word got round. I remember mothers at the school gates cackling about his family and how poor they were and how they resented that a child was being fed by free meals when they had to pay. It still rankles me today how people could do that to a child yet the same will give ten pounds to Comic Relief to relieve them of their guilt because that's a poor child in Africa.
I am telling you clearly the same will happen all over again.
It is time the good people of Britain stood up and stopped this country sleepwalking to an early grave. The middle class need to get over themselves because once the poor are gone who do you think is next !
Take a lesson from Beeching making cuts in the wrong place at the wrong time does not make the tree grow stronger It kills it!
Wednesday 20 March 2013
Education matters for more than a lifetime
I am an educator, a psychologist, a human being but most importantly a father.
Yesterday I became extremely concerned at the psychological state of my young son. He is eleven , nearly twelve so his hormones are starting to fly around his body in preparation for puberty and in many respects he is likely to be up and down at the moment. However his state of being yesterday was beyond the norm.
Now he has had several challenges with school and due to being physically attacked by a teaching assistant at the age of four and a half it took until Year 5 before he was integrated back into the schooling system. This is something I have blogged about previously so will not go any further into that here. What I would like to concentrate on is what has happened to cause yet more distress and what is turning a bright articulate child into someone who is again becoming disillusioned with the educational system.
He has already had challenges with his Spanish teacher, an old fashioned beat them around the head type teacher, and those were addressed with his head of house however I have now discovered that his Geograpy teacher, someone known for hating teaching Year 7, threatened in front of the class to break his thumbs.Now although I did not witness this my son is no liar and I have been in turmoil as how to proceed forward.
You see the Neanderthal in me wants to take this guy out and show him that force will be met by greater force but the psycholgist and teacher in me tells me that that is not the right way to handle things. I know the higher brain functions will kick in and override my Neanderthal yet I don't want to be seen as a neurotic parent or a grass of any kind because I am neither of these things. Something clearly has to be done though for not only the sake of my son but because of other children too.
My first concern is that the school will deflect the issue, my second concern is that the teacher will target my son but my overriding concern is that my son is missing out on his education. And that is ultimately what this is all about. The schools in the Trowbridge area are all pretty poor. They may fool OFSTED but I am a parent who is also an experienced teacher and I know how you can fool the inspectors as I've seen it happen time and time again in many establishments. The tick box culture that we live in is all about perceived accountability not about education and it belittles the learning process at all ages.
Learning is a human right and should not be interfered with by outdated ideas in what is right and wrong about teaching. Teaching is something that evolves as the human species evolves, as the need to learn different skills evolves, or so it should be. Good teachers are often destroyed by a system that allows bad teachers to get away with bad practice. For it is the bad teachers that cause the child, or adult, to resent the need for learning. The good teachers then often have an impossible task of turning around the learner so as to empower the individual into loving the learning process all over again. And I say all over again because inately we are a species that wants to learn from the moment we have a nervous system and higher function.
So what will I do? I'm not entirely sure still. I have been reflecting on the challenge all through the night and deep into this morning which I why I decided to blog in the hope it would clarify my mind set. I know I have to speak to the school and I know I have to support my son. The trick is to make sure that there is a win win scenario for everyone involved.
Including the Neanderthal who still thinks he is a teacher
Yesterday I became extremely concerned at the psychological state of my young son. He is eleven , nearly twelve so his hormones are starting to fly around his body in preparation for puberty and in many respects he is likely to be up and down at the moment. However his state of being yesterday was beyond the norm.
Now he has had several challenges with school and due to being physically attacked by a teaching assistant at the age of four and a half it took until Year 5 before he was integrated back into the schooling system. This is something I have blogged about previously so will not go any further into that here. What I would like to concentrate on is what has happened to cause yet more distress and what is turning a bright articulate child into someone who is again becoming disillusioned with the educational system.
He has already had challenges with his Spanish teacher, an old fashioned beat them around the head type teacher, and those were addressed with his head of house however I have now discovered that his Geograpy teacher, someone known for hating teaching Year 7, threatened in front of the class to break his thumbs.Now although I did not witness this my son is no liar and I have been in turmoil as how to proceed forward.
You see the Neanderthal in me wants to take this guy out and show him that force will be met by greater force but the psycholgist and teacher in me tells me that that is not the right way to handle things. I know the higher brain functions will kick in and override my Neanderthal yet I don't want to be seen as a neurotic parent or a grass of any kind because I am neither of these things. Something clearly has to be done though for not only the sake of my son but because of other children too.
My first concern is that the school will deflect the issue, my second concern is that the teacher will target my son but my overriding concern is that my son is missing out on his education. And that is ultimately what this is all about. The schools in the Trowbridge area are all pretty poor. They may fool OFSTED but I am a parent who is also an experienced teacher and I know how you can fool the inspectors as I've seen it happen time and time again in many establishments. The tick box culture that we live in is all about perceived accountability not about education and it belittles the learning process at all ages.
Learning is a human right and should not be interfered with by outdated ideas in what is right and wrong about teaching. Teaching is something that evolves as the human species evolves, as the need to learn different skills evolves, or so it should be. Good teachers are often destroyed by a system that allows bad teachers to get away with bad practice. For it is the bad teachers that cause the child, or adult, to resent the need for learning. The good teachers then often have an impossible task of turning around the learner so as to empower the individual into loving the learning process all over again. And I say all over again because inately we are a species that wants to learn from the moment we have a nervous system and higher function.
So what will I do? I'm not entirely sure still. I have been reflecting on the challenge all through the night and deep into this morning which I why I decided to blog in the hope it would clarify my mind set. I know I have to speak to the school and I know I have to support my son. The trick is to make sure that there is a win win scenario for everyone involved.
Including the Neanderthal who still thinks he is a teacher
Sunday 10 March 2013
Of painful recollections
Mother's Day is always difficult for me. That's something I may have said before yet I feel I need to say it again and again until I come to terms with why it is difficult for me.
You see Mother's Day is the day I lost my dad. He died whilst I held him and it still hurts. Obviously today wasn't the exact day he died however it is the day that will always remember him dying. I miss him, really do. Not the nasty drunken dad that made mine and other people's lives hell, but the gentle caring man that was there when my youngest son held his hand on our final New Years Eve together.
For those of you who read my other blog http://alcoholdebate.blogspot.co.uk/ you know how much my father's drinking has influenced my life and how I have challenged many of the preconceptions about alcohol and alcoholism however my father did so much more for me than he will ever know. And of course so did my mother who also is no longer with us. In fact I am the oldest surviving member of my family the Patriarch as so to speak.
As parents they did the best they could for me. I see that now as a father myself. They had many faults, both of them, but they did have good qualities that are often forgotten especially because people remember the bad days. I hope that my children will come to realise over time that I have many faults but I have always done the very best for them that I could at all times. My children you see mean the world to me. I have watched them grow into young adults and my youngest grow into a confident young boy and I m so proud of everything that they do. I will always support them the best that I can and to the best of my ability no matter what they may do in life. I hope though that they understand that above all though that I love them.
Now some may say I'm being a sentimental fool talking like this but know that I never really connected with my parents the way that I think they hoped I would. I was always struggling with my over possessive mother, particularly when I started having girlfriends, heck she actively sought to play one off against the next at times. I remember when I was at Liverpool and my parents came to visit one day my mother said to my the girlfriend Zara, I'm so glad that he's got you, yet behind the scenes just as with Karen before, she was trying to engineer the relationship to fail. I mean what kind of mother doesn't want her son to be happy? When I eventually married (neither of the above I may add) there was constant pressure on me from my mother and constant sniping about my wife (although in the end that was the one that my mother probably called right). It was inevitable that we would fall out in time I guess. But not being with her when she died was a moment that I'm not sure I can ever forgive myself for even though it was 23 years ago this year. I should have been there rather than a hotel room in Dorchester where I was staying for the night because of work.
I will always love my parents for they were my parents and for what they helped me become. I will not make the same mistakes they made with me with my children I hope, just probably different ones. And I hope in years to come that they will forgive me for I am only human
You see Mother's Day is the day I lost my dad. He died whilst I held him and it still hurts. Obviously today wasn't the exact day he died however it is the day that will always remember him dying. I miss him, really do. Not the nasty drunken dad that made mine and other people's lives hell, but the gentle caring man that was there when my youngest son held his hand on our final New Years Eve together.
For those of you who read my other blog http://alcoholdebate.blogspot.co.uk/ you know how much my father's drinking has influenced my life and how I have challenged many of the preconceptions about alcohol and alcoholism however my father did so much more for me than he will ever know. And of course so did my mother who also is no longer with us. In fact I am the oldest surviving member of my family the Patriarch as so to speak.
As parents they did the best they could for me. I see that now as a father myself. They had many faults, both of them, but they did have good qualities that are often forgotten especially because people remember the bad days. I hope that my children will come to realise over time that I have many faults but I have always done the very best for them that I could at all times. My children you see mean the world to me. I have watched them grow into young adults and my youngest grow into a confident young boy and I m so proud of everything that they do. I will always support them the best that I can and to the best of my ability no matter what they may do in life. I hope though that they understand that above all though that I love them.
Now some may say I'm being a sentimental fool talking like this but know that I never really connected with my parents the way that I think they hoped I would. I was always struggling with my over possessive mother, particularly when I started having girlfriends, heck she actively sought to play one off against the next at times. I remember when I was at Liverpool and my parents came to visit one day my mother said to my the girlfriend Zara, I'm so glad that he's got you, yet behind the scenes just as with Karen before, she was trying to engineer the relationship to fail. I mean what kind of mother doesn't want her son to be happy? When I eventually married (neither of the above I may add) there was constant pressure on me from my mother and constant sniping about my wife (although in the end that was the one that my mother probably called right). It was inevitable that we would fall out in time I guess. But not being with her when she died was a moment that I'm not sure I can ever forgive myself for even though it was 23 years ago this year. I should have been there rather than a hotel room in Dorchester where I was staying for the night because of work.
I will always love my parents for they were my parents and for what they helped me become. I will not make the same mistakes they made with me with my children I hope, just probably different ones. And I hope in years to come that they will forgive me for I am only human
Wednesday 6 March 2013
Musing from a spotless mind
To mark my 15000 tweet I said that I would blog and the title of that blog was suggested by one of my tweefriends (Is there such a word? I don't know but there is now!) The challenge was what would I muse on?
So after some serious thought I've decided to look at several things that are doing the rounds at the moment. After all blogging is about recording moments in time as well as feeling rather self satisfied because you have actually sat down and put pen to paper (or rather finger tip to keyboard).
Magna Carta, is that some kind of ice cream?
In 1215 at a place called Runnymede King John signed a piece of paper that would enshrine some fundamental rights to our people
"No Freeman shall be taken or imprisoned, or be disseized of his Freehold, or Liberties, or free Customs, or be outlawed, or exiled, or any other wise destroyed; nor will We not pass upon him, nor condemn him, but by lawful judgment of his Peers, or by the Law of the land."
In 1642 Parliament and the King declared war upon each other because the King had decided that he was above the law of the land. It led to the end of the Monarchy as Britain had known it since pre-Norman times. It was the largest single realignment of power in this country since Harold had his eye put out. It was effectively a changing of the guard and a strike for democracy and the rule of the people and their representatives.
In 1939 this country stood alone against a tyrant that would bring the world to the edge of collapse. Once again we stood for freedom. And throughout my childhood there was constant fear of nuclear attack because we again were at the front of the war for democracy.
And now in 2013 we roll back to 1215 pre-Magna Carta. Why? The use of secret courts.
This government, as the previous one would like that our dirty linen not be washed in public. It would like that we Joe Public were not aware of the nasty little things that go on behind closed doors in the name of national security. Or better put in yours and my name!
The idea of bringing in secret courts is as abhorrent to this commentator as it should be to every free man, woman and child in this country who cherishes democracy. It should be condemned to history like the rack, the Spanish Inquisition and the gallows.
We rally against Syria, Iran and North Korea for their total disregard to their citizens yet are we any better?
We are supposedly a democracy and we are supposedly free. How can that be when the State is seeking to deny us of knowledge or of a fair trial? That is no better than dictatorship and isn't that what we fight so readily against? So are we heading for another Civil War? I hope not and I would not suggest ever taking arms up against a democratically elected body. However if we are fundamentally going to change the whole focus of our Justice system surely we the public have a right to our point of view don't we?
This is serious folks it could easily be you in the dock and these powers make it virtually impossible for you to fight against.
http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=20659
The Death of an Icon
The National Health Service is one of the greatest icons that the world has ever seen in a drive for civilisation. It is a proud achievement that a country as small as the United Kingdom could lead the way in how we look after our sick and needy. And today it is headed by a man who will not resign even though he admitted he was complicit in the deaths of hundreds through neglect. It's a bit like welcoming back Josef Mengele and saying run our children's homes for us Herr Doktor.
Why won't the new Nazi's in power do anything about this? Is it because they are in cahoots with Nicholson? ( I no longer use the phrase Sir David because a knight should have honour) Does he know something that we don't?
And you may think that I am being disparaging by referring to Cameron et al. as being the equivalent of that heinous regime the Third Reich however all evidence is to the contrary at the moment. Sick and disabled are being maligned, rights are being eroded and the NHS something they swore to protect has been effectively put up for sale to the highest bidder. And when people die then those responsible get to keep their jobs and smile into their pensions.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/nhs-privatisation-plan-stopped-health-1734326
The NHS may not be perfect and it can be improved but do you really want to be wondering if you will be able to afford medical treatment should the need arise? Block this now and prevent the greatest travesty of our generation taking place. Defend the NHS, defend the right to healthcare.
I'm only being human
The Home Secretary has decided along with the other members of the coven that run our country that we will pull out of the Human Rights Act.
Now I can understand why people hate the Human Rights Act when it allows certain individuals to preach hate however there are fundamental rights that we all have that should be respected regardless and this Home Secretary would have us in sack cloth and ashes again
True democracy is defending the right of someone to say something that you would disagree with and vehemently oppose with your last breath.
And if we kill the Human Rights Act what if a new Marx or Engels came forward would we be able to hear their views or would be restricted by the State to what is good for us?
Sorry did I hear you say Goebbels or was that No Balls?
Suffer the little children
As an educationalist I am concerned that the propaganda that is been spouted about raising standards is really all about return to Victorian brainwashing. It is intrinsically a move made by Government, any Government who wants to be seen to appealing to worried parents about children getting on in life.
Watch this short video from Sir Ken Robinson and RSA animations. Maybe it will challenge your thought process about how we learn and why we are controlled in that learning.
http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_changing_education_paradigms.html
Gove is an education minister that doesn't understand learning and how to make a better future for all of us. We can't predict what will happen in 5 years now yet we are educating children with methods that are hundreds of years old for a future in 60 years. How can we possibly know that that will work? Even Einstein or Hawking could not be classed as that clever!
Change the Paradigms improve the possibilities
It's tough up North
Rebecca Meredith is regarded as on of the top 20 public speakers in the world apparently yet the Cambridge student came in for a right ear bashing up in Glasgow
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2288148/Cambridge-debating-stars-left-tears-sexist-heckles-looks-prestigious-student-competition.html
Now Miss Meredith you really need to develop a tougher skin. Glasgow is a tough audience, even the fleas on the rats have bodyguards up there. I know I've lectured up there they don't take prisoners. The thing is though if you really are as skilled as your write ups suggest then surely you wouldn't run off stage crying at the heckles of a man who had obviously left his guide dog at home. And he must have been blind because let's face it you are pretty and you are good looking. I've debated in Varsity championships and have won may a trophy in years gone by but remembering one debate in Liverpool in the 80's I recall what Austin Mitchell said about following Matthew Parris.
" I feel like a cross between a man with herpes and HIV, an incurable romantic"
Now I didn't like Austin Mitchell but he enthralled me by that speech and he changed my mind about him. The secret to surviving a heckling audience is to either turn them round in your favour or buy a book called
Stand Up Put Downs by Rufus Hound
There's one or two good ways of shutting up idiots in the audience that way. Even shuts up the odd hardened Glasweigian.
And Finally
There's a phrase that has become close to my heart and something of a catchphrase to me particularly on twitter. And the reason for that? Well I just hate it when there is trouble and strife about and want to make sure I leave people with a positive thought.
So to end this blog just remember
Live your life with passion and above all........
peace and happiness to you all
So after some serious thought I've decided to look at several things that are doing the rounds at the moment. After all blogging is about recording moments in time as well as feeling rather self satisfied because you have actually sat down and put pen to paper (or rather finger tip to keyboard).
Magna Carta, is that some kind of ice cream?
In 1215 at a place called Runnymede King John signed a piece of paper that would enshrine some fundamental rights to our people
"No Freeman shall be taken or imprisoned, or be disseized of his Freehold, or Liberties, or free Customs, or be outlawed, or exiled, or any other wise destroyed; nor will We not pass upon him, nor condemn him, but by lawful judgment of his Peers, or by the Law of the land."
In 1642 Parliament and the King declared war upon each other because the King had decided that he was above the law of the land. It led to the end of the Monarchy as Britain had known it since pre-Norman times. It was the largest single realignment of power in this country since Harold had his eye put out. It was effectively a changing of the guard and a strike for democracy and the rule of the people and their representatives.
In 1939 this country stood alone against a tyrant that would bring the world to the edge of collapse. Once again we stood for freedom. And throughout my childhood there was constant fear of nuclear attack because we again were at the front of the war for democracy.
And now in 2013 we roll back to 1215 pre-Magna Carta. Why? The use of secret courts.
This government, as the previous one would like that our dirty linen not be washed in public. It would like that we Joe Public were not aware of the nasty little things that go on behind closed doors in the name of national security. Or better put in yours and my name!
The idea of bringing in secret courts is as abhorrent to this commentator as it should be to every free man, woman and child in this country who cherishes democracy. It should be condemned to history like the rack, the Spanish Inquisition and the gallows.
We rally against Syria, Iran and North Korea for their total disregard to their citizens yet are we any better?
We are supposedly a democracy and we are supposedly free. How can that be when the State is seeking to deny us of knowledge or of a fair trial? That is no better than dictatorship and isn't that what we fight so readily against? So are we heading for another Civil War? I hope not and I would not suggest ever taking arms up against a democratically elected body. However if we are fundamentally going to change the whole focus of our Justice system surely we the public have a right to our point of view don't we?
This is serious folks it could easily be you in the dock and these powers make it virtually impossible for you to fight against.
http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=20659
The Death of an Icon
The National Health Service is one of the greatest icons that the world has ever seen in a drive for civilisation. It is a proud achievement that a country as small as the United Kingdom could lead the way in how we look after our sick and needy. And today it is headed by a man who will not resign even though he admitted he was complicit in the deaths of hundreds through neglect. It's a bit like welcoming back Josef Mengele and saying run our children's homes for us Herr Doktor.
Why won't the new Nazi's in power do anything about this? Is it because they are in cahoots with Nicholson? ( I no longer use the phrase Sir David because a knight should have honour) Does he know something that we don't?
And you may think that I am being disparaging by referring to Cameron et al. as being the equivalent of that heinous regime the Third Reich however all evidence is to the contrary at the moment. Sick and disabled are being maligned, rights are being eroded and the NHS something they swore to protect has been effectively put up for sale to the highest bidder. And when people die then those responsible get to keep their jobs and smile into their pensions.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/nhs-privatisation-plan-stopped-health-1734326
The NHS may not be perfect and it can be improved but do you really want to be wondering if you will be able to afford medical treatment should the need arise? Block this now and prevent the greatest travesty of our generation taking place. Defend the NHS, defend the right to healthcare.
I'm only being human
The Home Secretary has decided along with the other members of the coven that run our country that we will pull out of the Human Rights Act.
Now I can understand why people hate the Human Rights Act when it allows certain individuals to preach hate however there are fundamental rights that we all have that should be respected regardless and this Home Secretary would have us in sack cloth and ashes again
True democracy is defending the right of someone to say something that you would disagree with and vehemently oppose with your last breath.
And if we kill the Human Rights Act what if a new Marx or Engels came forward would we be able to hear their views or would be restricted by the State to what is good for us?
Sorry did I hear you say Goebbels or was that No Balls?
Suffer the little children
As an educationalist I am concerned that the propaganda that is been spouted about raising standards is really all about return to Victorian brainwashing. It is intrinsically a move made by Government, any Government who wants to be seen to appealing to worried parents about children getting on in life.
Watch this short video from Sir Ken Robinson and RSA animations. Maybe it will challenge your thought process about how we learn and why we are controlled in that learning.
http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_changing_education_paradigms.html
Gove is an education minister that doesn't understand learning and how to make a better future for all of us. We can't predict what will happen in 5 years now yet we are educating children with methods that are hundreds of years old for a future in 60 years. How can we possibly know that that will work? Even Einstein or Hawking could not be classed as that clever!
Change the Paradigms improve the possibilities
It's tough up North
Rebecca Meredith is regarded as on of the top 20 public speakers in the world apparently yet the Cambridge student came in for a right ear bashing up in Glasgow
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2288148/Cambridge-debating-stars-left-tears-sexist-heckles-looks-prestigious-student-competition.html
Now Miss Meredith you really need to develop a tougher skin. Glasgow is a tough audience, even the fleas on the rats have bodyguards up there. I know I've lectured up there they don't take prisoners. The thing is though if you really are as skilled as your write ups suggest then surely you wouldn't run off stage crying at the heckles of a man who had obviously left his guide dog at home. And he must have been blind because let's face it you are pretty and you are good looking. I've debated in Varsity championships and have won may a trophy in years gone by but remembering one debate in Liverpool in the 80's I recall what Austin Mitchell said about following Matthew Parris.
" I feel like a cross between a man with herpes and HIV, an incurable romantic"
Now I didn't like Austin Mitchell but he enthralled me by that speech and he changed my mind about him. The secret to surviving a heckling audience is to either turn them round in your favour or buy a book called
Stand Up Put Downs by Rufus Hound
There's one or two good ways of shutting up idiots in the audience that way. Even shuts up the odd hardened Glasweigian.
And Finally
There's a phrase that has become close to my heart and something of a catchphrase to me particularly on twitter. And the reason for that? Well I just hate it when there is trouble and strife about and want to make sure I leave people with a positive thought.
So to end this blog just remember
Live your life with passion and above all........
peace and happiness to you all
Tuesday 19 February 2013
Security is the last part of Insecurity
Maslow describes how man is going through a process to reach a psychological state where he self actualises. In other words transcends the need for the human world in it's consumer sense. It is all about the inner relationship and the relationship on an emotional level with those around. The challenge within this is man's own desire to trip himself up.
Now interestingly I use the words man, his and him and that is because traditionally men were seen as everything and women as well, women. That concept today is totally outrageous and it is actually by looking how women are psychologically that we see where man is going wrong.
You could argue that man bases his self actualisation on my penis is bigger than your penis therefor my seed will spread further and last longer. Man has an overriding need for bigger and better toys, more powerful cars, more money in the bank. To him that is security but in reality that is his insecurity. This powerful motivator added to large amounts of testosterone drives the world we live in. The problem was that woman bought into this early on. Women were physically smaller, could be dominated more easily (and no I'm not talking 50 shades here) and whilst man would hunt woman would gather.
This is a different world today and man quite frankly has too many balls for it. You see in this humble commentators mind man is too bothered still about his penis when he should be more bothered about his brain. Woman is now coming to the fore because if we are logical about evolution the next evolutionary process in man will be the ability to connect with thought or feeling. In other words the ability to mind read.
How many men have gone on about I don't understand women? How many women have felt insecure because they can't get the right man? Or spend years with men who they care for but don't really connect with. How many men still hunt the trophy wife rather than look below the skin and the breasts and the legs? (although I have to admit I rather like legs myself )
Physical attraction is still a good thing , we have to procreate after all, and well sex is fun of course. But if you don't connect at a psychological level then what's the point? It's just a couple of hours (or about 30 seconds in my case) of extreme physical feeling and then its's all about "Is that the time? better be going then"
The problem is man has used this insecurity and somehow stuck it on to woman's psyche. Therefore it is the woman, who naturally has a greater emotional connect with herself, who starts to believe that she is at fault. She therefor starts to doubt herself when in reality she is still playing into the oldest power game in the book man v woman.
Experiencing some of the things that have challenged me through life has taught me that if I don't connect with myself how can I possibly connect with anyone else? My penis is large enough thank you for what it needs to do but in reality it feels a million times bigger when I am in real psychological harmony with someone. And for that I have to understand that emotions are the key to everything.
So it is good to feel it is good to feel insecure. Because if you feel insecure you are learning that at the end of insecurity comes security. Security within yourself and that is the only totally secure position you can ever truly have.
So if you are feeling insecure today rejoice as it is a part of a journey on your way to self-actualisation. Seek out the freedom insecurity will ultimately give you
Now interestingly I use the words man, his and him and that is because traditionally men were seen as everything and women as well, women. That concept today is totally outrageous and it is actually by looking how women are psychologically that we see where man is going wrong.
You could argue that man bases his self actualisation on my penis is bigger than your penis therefor my seed will spread further and last longer. Man has an overriding need for bigger and better toys, more powerful cars, more money in the bank. To him that is security but in reality that is his insecurity. This powerful motivator added to large amounts of testosterone drives the world we live in. The problem was that woman bought into this early on. Women were physically smaller, could be dominated more easily (and no I'm not talking 50 shades here) and whilst man would hunt woman would gather.
This is a different world today and man quite frankly has too many balls for it. You see in this humble commentators mind man is too bothered still about his penis when he should be more bothered about his brain. Woman is now coming to the fore because if we are logical about evolution the next evolutionary process in man will be the ability to connect with thought or feeling. In other words the ability to mind read.
How many men have gone on about I don't understand women? How many women have felt insecure because they can't get the right man? Or spend years with men who they care for but don't really connect with. How many men still hunt the trophy wife rather than look below the skin and the breasts and the legs? (although I have to admit I rather like legs myself )
Physical attraction is still a good thing , we have to procreate after all, and well sex is fun of course. But if you don't connect at a psychological level then what's the point? It's just a couple of hours (or about 30 seconds in my case) of extreme physical feeling and then its's all about "Is that the time? better be going then"
The problem is man has used this insecurity and somehow stuck it on to woman's psyche. Therefore it is the woman, who naturally has a greater emotional connect with herself, who starts to believe that she is at fault. She therefor starts to doubt herself when in reality she is still playing into the oldest power game in the book man v woman.
Experiencing some of the things that have challenged me through life has taught me that if I don't connect with myself how can I possibly connect with anyone else? My penis is large enough thank you for what it needs to do but in reality it feels a million times bigger when I am in real psychological harmony with someone. And for that I have to understand that emotions are the key to everything.
So it is good to feel it is good to feel insecure. Because if you feel insecure you are learning that at the end of insecurity comes security. Security within yourself and that is the only totally secure position you can ever truly have.
So if you are feeling insecure today rejoice as it is a part of a journey on your way to self-actualisation. Seek out the freedom insecurity will ultimately give you
Thursday 14 February 2013
On a dreamy day
Sitting watching the world go by
Heart a churning, wonder why?
Hands are shaking, knees a quiver
It's only a thought but it makes me shiver
Thinking on what the future holds
Letting my soul break free from molds
Running free amongst the stars
When at last they break my prison bars
Passion is the truth that matters
Even if my life were in tatters
You are all I need to hold
To keep away the freezing cold
With warmth and hope in streams
You are always in my dreams
So as I sit and watch the word go by
It is you who will always make my heart fly
Copyright T Senior 2013
Heart a churning, wonder why?
Hands are shaking, knees a quiver
It's only a thought but it makes me shiver
Thinking on what the future holds
Letting my soul break free from molds
Running free amongst the stars
When at last they break my prison bars
Passion is the truth that matters
Even if my life were in tatters
You are all I need to hold
To keep away the freezing cold
With warmth and hope in streams
You are always in my dreams
So as I sit and watch the word go by
It is you who will always make my heart fly
Copyright T Senior 2013
Wednesday 13 February 2013
Lincoln decreed that slaves should be free! And now the courts rule that it is OK to bring back the chains of pain!
Well I've not really waded into this whole workfare debate too much yet however I think I have now made up my mind as to where I stand
It is okay to expect people to contribute to society however that contribution should not only be for the good of the person it should be for the good of all.
How can forcing someone to go and work at Poundland be in anyway helpful to their rehabilitation on to the jobs market? What exacting skills training does this job bring about and in reality if Poundland actually has the work for someone to do then surely they should pay them the national minimum wage for doing it. Oh I'm sorry I forgot that's not what all this is about is it?
If there is the work there to do then there is a job that can be paid for by the employer.
"A fair days wage for a fair days work" F.D.Roosevelt
Now FDR was a man who knew a bit about our society. In the midst of the worst depression seen in the Western World FDR brought forward his new deal. Okay you detractors will say that it didn't work for all, true I will give you that, but it did turn America from the slumbering giant into the powerhouse of manufacturing and business that it is today.
And the idea was simple pay someone a fair days wage for a fair days work. Not what workfare is doing I'm afraid. What it is doing though is reducing the figures and through clever PR manipulating the nation!
This country is in need of a rebuild. Quite a significant rebuild as it happens. We have infrastructure that was built in the 20's, 30's, 40's and 50's and some would say not the 1900's but the 1800's. We have hospitals that need repairs badly, we have railway stations where if you're disabled you can't access properly and we have town centres that are dying.
What exactly is spent on improving infrastructure in this country each year? what is the market worth to Civil. Mechanical and Electrical Engineers? Billions I would guess. What if we offered these organisations the money from the social security budget providing that they did exactly what FDR set out to achieve. What if instead of plowing that money into merely sitting at home playing on the XBox we rebuilt our manufacturing industry. No not like it was but aimed at 21st and 22nd Century goals. Where is our modern Brunel? Where is our modern Stephenson? Ah I forgot they're too busy getting fat and rich and forgetting that your company is only as good as the investment you put into it.
And the biggest investment should always be in the people!
We have generational unemployment because the rich don't like the poor and the rich don't like the buses. We have generational unemployment because we have gradually forgotten that Great Britain was the powerhouse of the world and it led that through science and technology and engineering and pioneering.
And it also led it through the compassion of people like Lever, Cadbury, Fry, Boots and Clark to name a few. People who actually saw that you get the best from a workforce if you teach them to aspire and teach them the skills they require. That you teach them that collaboration is better than confrontation.
Lincoln decreed that no man should be a slave and a nation went to war. Well if we bring back slavery in this country Ladies and Gentleman I am prepared to go to war. I will not allow, and nor should you, the enslavement of your fellow human being. Let us live by higher principles not by higher profit margins. Let us live by loftier ideals not by rising dividends.
I think the man who founded Merck and Co the pharmaceutical giant said it best
"If you look after the patient the pennies will look after themselves"
And our patient today is those people who want to work who want to contribute but who are being manipulated by a few for the sake of a few middle class votes at the next election!
Do not play politics with people's lives be bigger than that !
It is okay to expect people to contribute to society however that contribution should not only be for the good of the person it should be for the good of all.
How can forcing someone to go and work at Poundland be in anyway helpful to their rehabilitation on to the jobs market? What exacting skills training does this job bring about and in reality if Poundland actually has the work for someone to do then surely they should pay them the national minimum wage for doing it. Oh I'm sorry I forgot that's not what all this is about is it?
If there is the work there to do then there is a job that can be paid for by the employer.
"A fair days wage for a fair days work" F.D.Roosevelt
Now FDR was a man who knew a bit about our society. In the midst of the worst depression seen in the Western World FDR brought forward his new deal. Okay you detractors will say that it didn't work for all, true I will give you that, but it did turn America from the slumbering giant into the powerhouse of manufacturing and business that it is today.
And the idea was simple pay someone a fair days wage for a fair days work. Not what workfare is doing I'm afraid. What it is doing though is reducing the figures and through clever PR manipulating the nation!
This country is in need of a rebuild. Quite a significant rebuild as it happens. We have infrastructure that was built in the 20's, 30's, 40's and 50's and some would say not the 1900's but the 1800's. We have hospitals that need repairs badly, we have railway stations where if you're disabled you can't access properly and we have town centres that are dying.
What exactly is spent on improving infrastructure in this country each year? what is the market worth to Civil. Mechanical and Electrical Engineers? Billions I would guess. What if we offered these organisations the money from the social security budget providing that they did exactly what FDR set out to achieve. What if instead of plowing that money into merely sitting at home playing on the XBox we rebuilt our manufacturing industry. No not like it was but aimed at 21st and 22nd Century goals. Where is our modern Brunel? Where is our modern Stephenson? Ah I forgot they're too busy getting fat and rich and forgetting that your company is only as good as the investment you put into it.
And the biggest investment should always be in the people!
We have generational unemployment because the rich don't like the poor and the rich don't like the buses. We have generational unemployment because we have gradually forgotten that Great Britain was the powerhouse of the world and it led that through science and technology and engineering and pioneering.
And it also led it through the compassion of people like Lever, Cadbury, Fry, Boots and Clark to name a few. People who actually saw that you get the best from a workforce if you teach them to aspire and teach them the skills they require. That you teach them that collaboration is better than confrontation.
Lincoln decreed that no man should be a slave and a nation went to war. Well if we bring back slavery in this country Ladies and Gentleman I am prepared to go to war. I will not allow, and nor should you, the enslavement of your fellow human being. Let us live by higher principles not by higher profit margins. Let us live by loftier ideals not by rising dividends.
I think the man who founded Merck and Co the pharmaceutical giant said it best
"If you look after the patient the pennies will look after themselves"
And our patient today is those people who want to work who want to contribute but who are being manipulated by a few for the sake of a few middle class votes at the next election!
Do not play politics with people's lives be bigger than that !
Friday 1 February 2013
Sporting Chance? Not thanks to Mr Gove
The legacy of the Olympics is all we hear about when it comes to sport these days yet today that legacy seems to have hit a brick wall due the cutting of funding for sport in state schools.
Sport was my life at school, college and university. It gave me freedom. In my teenage years it took me away from the prospect of seeing my father take another round with Mr Grant or Mr Walker and it made me feel happy in a world that was dominated by whisky. It was you might say the thing that saved my life.
So why now would you take sport away from schools? Sport helps us learn in a different way. It can be as inclusive as you want it to be. In fact if you have a serious commitment to sport it can be the most inclusive way of teaching. It doesn't have to be competitive but it can be. Assessing children in the context of a sporting environment can give a more holistic picture of how a child is developing.
Sure you will say what about the fat overweight kid who hated running and was always the last to be picked for a team. I would say back to you stop and stop now. I can assure you everyone can be included in sport and if someone is seriously obese as a child then it is important to encourage participation purely for the sake of the health of the child if nothing else.
In future if we are serious as a nation for the development of our children then we have to show a commitment to their health and social skills as well as their academic skills. Sport enables us to do this and Mr Gove you need to realise that sport is as important in education as academic subjects.
But there again when have you ever cared about inclusivity and education. For you Mr Gove it's all about elitism
Sport was my life at school, college and university. It gave me freedom. In my teenage years it took me away from the prospect of seeing my father take another round with Mr Grant or Mr Walker and it made me feel happy in a world that was dominated by whisky. It was you might say the thing that saved my life.
So why now would you take sport away from schools? Sport helps us learn in a different way. It can be as inclusive as you want it to be. In fact if you have a serious commitment to sport it can be the most inclusive way of teaching. It doesn't have to be competitive but it can be. Assessing children in the context of a sporting environment can give a more holistic picture of how a child is developing.
Sure you will say what about the fat overweight kid who hated running and was always the last to be picked for a team. I would say back to you stop and stop now. I can assure you everyone can be included in sport and if someone is seriously obese as a child then it is important to encourage participation purely for the sake of the health of the child if nothing else.
In future if we are serious as a nation for the development of our children then we have to show a commitment to their health and social skills as well as their academic skills. Sport enables us to do this and Mr Gove you need to realise that sport is as important in education as academic subjects.
But there again when have you ever cared about inclusivity and education. For you Mr Gove it's all about elitism
Saturday 19 January 2013
Snow, snow , snow!
For the first time in fifteen years I have had a course cancelled due to weather. It feels really strange. Not least because it's Saturday and I don't quite know what to do with myself as I am habitually working, lecturing, on a Saturday.
So I thought I would blog about the snow.
Snow is something I grew up with. Being born in Yorkshire and living in the hills as so to speak winters were always full of snow. I remember being that cheeky chappy earning 50p a time for digging out cars when I was a mere child, I remember watching drivers with rear wheel drive cars trying to hill climb up what was effectively an ice sheet outside my childhood home and I remember walking miles in the snow to school because in those days we didn't shut schools at the first fall of a flake!
Then as I grew older and was involved in hill walking and mountaineering snow became more testing, more of a challenge. It was fun building igloos to sleep in to see off the worst of the mountain blizzards. I have to say igloos can be quite cosy and homely if you approach them with the right attitude.
Learning to ski in the Jura Mountains of France was fun and I loved the time I would spend in Davos, especially just before Christmas. Watching my children learn to ski in St Sorlin d'Arves was pretty special too. However riding husky sleds in the Arctic certainly tops it all off. If you've never been inside the Arctic circle folks I can highly recommend it as the air is so fresh and for a guy with only 30% lung function I felt I could actually breathe for the first time in a long time up there.
So what about today. Well living now in the South of the UK I find it a real laugh when snow falls. It's like people are living in an alien world. I went out to the supermarket yesterday and it looked like people had been panic buying. It's 10cm not the Day after Tomorrow!
Anyway just be careful out there and remember Have Fun
So I thought I would blog about the snow.
Snow is something I grew up with. Being born in Yorkshire and living in the hills as so to speak winters were always full of snow. I remember being that cheeky chappy earning 50p a time for digging out cars when I was a mere child, I remember watching drivers with rear wheel drive cars trying to hill climb up what was effectively an ice sheet outside my childhood home and I remember walking miles in the snow to school because in those days we didn't shut schools at the first fall of a flake!
Then as I grew older and was involved in hill walking and mountaineering snow became more testing, more of a challenge. It was fun building igloos to sleep in to see off the worst of the mountain blizzards. I have to say igloos can be quite cosy and homely if you approach them with the right attitude.
Learning to ski in the Jura Mountains of France was fun and I loved the time I would spend in Davos, especially just before Christmas. Watching my children learn to ski in St Sorlin d'Arves was pretty special too. However riding husky sleds in the Arctic certainly tops it all off. If you've never been inside the Arctic circle folks I can highly recommend it as the air is so fresh and for a guy with only 30% lung function I felt I could actually breathe for the first time in a long time up there.
So what about today. Well living now in the South of the UK I find it a real laugh when snow falls. It's like people are living in an alien world. I went out to the supermarket yesterday and it looked like people had been panic buying. It's 10cm not the Day after Tomorrow!
Anyway just be careful out there and remember Have Fun
Monday 14 January 2013
The End of Civilisation
A strong title you may say. Yet isn't that what is happening in Great Britain today. In 2013 the year after our diamond 2012 a new order has dawned. Not one from inspiration though, no one of desperation and desolation.
This so called Government of the Big Society is no more a Government of inspiration than Hitler's was a Government for peace.
In the 1980's I watched the dismantling of the coal industry in the UK that led to millions being unemployed with no real hope of a job. I thought that after that we could not get worse. It was bad enough that communities were split apart needlessly. Now we are seeing far worse, we are seeing a great nation, a great civilisation split apart in a similar fashion.
Both the Tories and the Lib Dems have been so hungry for power in this country that they will do almost anything to prevent a loss of that power. Firstly a move to fixed term Government something that in it's essence goes against the whole life-force of democracy. Secondly an attempt to redraw the political battlegrounds that will ultimately favour this type of Government for years to come. Thirdly a complete reversal on the welfare state that sees hard working people needing help from food-banks whilst at the same time we waste half of our food in the world. Fourthly a complete destruction of the National Health Service and the Royal Navy, the two greatest institutions that Britain has given to the world. And fifthly a return to education of the Victorians where propaganda not learning matters.
For Cameron, Osborne, Duncan-Smith and Gove read Hilter, Goering, Himmler and Goebbels only these have an Oxbridge background and are British so they can't possibly be that bad can they? And Clegg? well he has to be Hess, the great apologist.
This Government lives in a cyber world where all that matters are the pounds in the banks and the shares in the city. We do not create jobs in this country we just service the world with our cybertalk. We don't build things anymore here. We import lots of our food, and we subcontract out to emerging nations like India and old giants like China.
Yes we put on a good party like we did last year, but after every great party comes the greater hangover and when in the depths of that hangover we allow things to happen without watching.
We no longer live in a civilised country, we live in a third world country. Sure we have all that technology can give us,
but without food in our bellies and shelter over our heads we are no closer to
Maslow's self actualisation than stone age man.
This so called Government of the Big Society is no more a Government of inspiration than Hitler's was a Government for peace.
In the 1980's I watched the dismantling of the coal industry in the UK that led to millions being unemployed with no real hope of a job. I thought that after that we could not get worse. It was bad enough that communities were split apart needlessly. Now we are seeing far worse, we are seeing a great nation, a great civilisation split apart in a similar fashion.
Both the Tories and the Lib Dems have been so hungry for power in this country that they will do almost anything to prevent a loss of that power. Firstly a move to fixed term Government something that in it's essence goes against the whole life-force of democracy. Secondly an attempt to redraw the political battlegrounds that will ultimately favour this type of Government for years to come. Thirdly a complete reversal on the welfare state that sees hard working people needing help from food-banks whilst at the same time we waste half of our food in the world. Fourthly a complete destruction of the National Health Service and the Royal Navy, the two greatest institutions that Britain has given to the world. And fifthly a return to education of the Victorians where propaganda not learning matters.
For Cameron, Osborne, Duncan-Smith and Gove read Hilter, Goering, Himmler and Goebbels only these have an Oxbridge background and are British so they can't possibly be that bad can they? And Clegg? well he has to be Hess, the great apologist.
This Government lives in a cyber world where all that matters are the pounds in the banks and the shares in the city. We do not create jobs in this country we just service the world with our cybertalk. We don't build things anymore here. We import lots of our food, and we subcontract out to emerging nations like India and old giants like China.
Yes we put on a good party like we did last year, but after every great party comes the greater hangover and when in the depths of that hangover we allow things to happen without watching.
We no longer live in a civilised country, we live in a third world country. Sure we have all that technology can give us,
but without food in our bellies and shelter over our heads we are no closer to
Maslow's self actualisation than stone age man.
Sunday 13 January 2013
Of Rivals and of Family
Well today is the day of the Liverpool versus Manchester United football match. One of the great sporting rivalries continues and in my family it is no different.
I thought I might pop round son number 1's house as he and his partner are both massive Manchester United fans. I thought I would take with me for my beautiful baby grand daughter a Liverpool shirt. And I thought I would take also son number 4 (the young one ) with me too. Mainly because he's a massive Chelsea fan. Oh how the psychologist in me loves such days. The wickedness of teasing within the family.
But surely that is how it should be. Families who love each other should be able to do their own thing and at the same time know that the love that binds them will overcome the silly rivalries of sport.
Now I know before you say it that "Football is not a matter of life and death, it's more important than that" but I have to say that you should love the game, the challenge, the sport and the participation. I've read far too much over the years about the hostile nature of opposing fans. I've seen far too much nasty horrible behaviour by so called fans of football who are in reality no more than disorganised thugs. I've seen families who won't talk to each other on the day of the match because they support the opposite view. That is a reality in both Liverpool and Manchester where fans of Liverpool and Everton, and City and United are brothers, sisters, parents and children within the same family. Yet at the end of the day they will still love each other for that is what families do.
So I say to you all who watch the match today whatever red team you support remember that it is a game and in a while there will be a repeat of the game and then another and another. Sometimes you will be up and sometimes you will be down but that is just a reflection on life.
Enjoy the match, enjoy the sport, enjoy the beer at the end of the game but please remember it is just 22 people kicking a little ball around for 90 minutes. When it's all over and you go to sleep tonight it is the people around us that matter the most. The ones we love, even if they are far away.
And love comes in all shades of red, blue, black, white, green, yellow or even orange.
I thought I might pop round son number 1's house as he and his partner are both massive Manchester United fans. I thought I would take with me for my beautiful baby grand daughter a Liverpool shirt. And I thought I would take also son number 4 (the young one ) with me too. Mainly because he's a massive Chelsea fan. Oh how the psychologist in me loves such days. The wickedness of teasing within the family.
But surely that is how it should be. Families who love each other should be able to do their own thing and at the same time know that the love that binds them will overcome the silly rivalries of sport.
Now I know before you say it that "Football is not a matter of life and death, it's more important than that" but I have to say that you should love the game, the challenge, the sport and the participation. I've read far too much over the years about the hostile nature of opposing fans. I've seen far too much nasty horrible behaviour by so called fans of football who are in reality no more than disorganised thugs. I've seen families who won't talk to each other on the day of the match because they support the opposite view. That is a reality in both Liverpool and Manchester where fans of Liverpool and Everton, and City and United are brothers, sisters, parents and children within the same family. Yet at the end of the day they will still love each other for that is what families do.
So I say to you all who watch the match today whatever red team you support remember that it is a game and in a while there will be a repeat of the game and then another and another. Sometimes you will be up and sometimes you will be down but that is just a reflection on life.
Enjoy the match, enjoy the sport, enjoy the beer at the end of the game but please remember it is just 22 people kicking a little ball around for 90 minutes. When it's all over and you go to sleep tonight it is the people around us that matter the most. The ones we love, even if they are far away.
And love comes in all shades of red, blue, black, white, green, yellow or even orange.
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