[Ant]
> ...the MOQ (being a Zen Buddhist derived philosophy)
is to remind us > that the concept of "individual" is
a convenient fiction...
[Ham]
> I take exception to your statement... individual...
a "convenient
> fiction" -- particularly in the context of Freedom.
I know this might be getting old, but I have
recently fallen back on these work experiences to show
how some ideas when put into practice seem to fall
short of what's really happening. Again, I'll use
where I work as a pragmatic experience in which these
ideas are socially grounded in a reality that is not
all in the head, but is experienced not only on the
intellectual level, but the social, etc...
For about 5-6 months, I was doing much of the
work for I was in training mode. I was trying to
train, wait, and thus teach what the many new staff
needed to learn. I had to wait for them to catch on
without sacrificing and making the residential unit
inhospitable. How I did this was by setting limits.
I kept the social structure of the unit in tact to the
best of my ability.
Some of the new staff would give choices to the
residents. With the residents given so many choices
as to what they could do while in their daily routine,
the routine changed daily. As I stepped back more and
more to let staff figure it out on their own, which by
experience at this job is truly the only way to find
out what would be the best way to approach what's
happening. Eventually the residents would argue with
each other over what they wanted to do. Out of this
arose dominant residents who with brute force and
loud, demanding, angry voices subdued other residents
into what kind of activity would occur. Certain staff
didn't allow for all these choices, and the dominant
residents would fight back at these staff.
Eventually, the residents became confused as to what
they wanted to do, they couldn't agree, and the
routine, well, wasn't a free choice, it was chaos.
Every 15 minutes or so, the residents would change
their minds, and then the routine broke down. The
social structure, the activities broke down. It got
bogged down in brute force, arguments, frustration,
targeting of residents by other residents so
aggression or sexual appeal forced the what kind of
choices would be made.
Staff have slowly begun to reestablish the social
structure. The residents don't like it at times, but
it has decentralized the power struggle that the
residents established. It is turning a unit from
being bogged down in aggression and sexual appeal, and
an almost non-existent social structure where
organization and cooperation almost completely
disappeared back into a more organized social
structure. This was put into practice by setting
limits and expectations. Choices remain intact. The
residents can follow the expected routine or be placed
out-of-routine as a consequence. During crafts they
have different styles to choose from for example.
This idea that all individuals can have the pure
freedom to act on their own is another word for chaos.
The same goes for the staff. They have a job to
perform. They are expected to keep the social
structure, thus, routine intact. They are expected to
nurture a cooperative unit. How they do this is
creatively done. They are expected to follow a
certain order outlined in their job description, but
each staff has a certain style in how this is
accomplished.
I'm learning that a good goal seems to be keep a
unit orderly, while at the same time allow staff to
make their own decisions in how this will be
accomplished. Their job has expectations, but not too
much order to abolish some freedom. Staff ask me at
times if their decision is a good one. I say I'm
staying out of what you decide, but whatever you
decide I fully support it, and at the same time I
listen to what they've decided to maintain a guidance
role. Meaning, they decide, I support, as long as it
will not be a decision that will lead to the safety of
anybody being threatened. If so, then I would step in
and offer guidance, but I must maintain a balance in
how I guide, for if I guide too much then I've only
suffocated the staff's mind. If I guide too little
then the limits and order of the social structure will
degenerate. I let staff do what they want completely
and I saw the staff doing their own thing so much it
helped induce the chaos. The staff couldn't get on
the same page, and the residents didn't know what to
do from day to day. They staff gave no guidance. I
want the unit to be as autonomous as possible without
sacrificing order for chaos.
Pure freedom is only chaos and not generative to
any static latches of good quality.
thoughts?
SA
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