One little rumor is like an acorn. Before you know it, the rumor grows into a huge tree with tangled roots. And like Frankenstein’s Monster, conspiracy theories come to life and rampage.
Can rumors and tabloid talk bring danger to an institution? Do those who subscribe to less reputable entertainment reports make themselves potential targets for manipulation? The answers to these questions can be quite easy to discover. It is a simple matter of observing and listening to others at work in the wake of a celebrity scandal. Read more…
joebouchard Assessing the organization, Inside Out, Self Scrutiny, Staff relations
Imagine the stress of caring for a large number of people. You have to distribute resources equally, sustain interlocking systems, and maintain order. Does this sound like your institution?
This example comes to mind not from an 800 bed correctional facility, but through a documentary show about a family in Pennsylvania. This young married couple, through the course of two multiple-birth pregnancies, produced eight children. Each television episode explores the complexities of caring for such a large household.
On the face of it, the life of a large family may not seem like a significant point of consideration for corrections professionals. Read more…
joebouchard Assessing the organization, Inside Out
You can take the person out of the corrections. But can you keep corrections out of the person? Can professionals clock out and leave all deeply ingrained corrections habits behind the walls? Or are we doomed to perpetually monitor and observe even when we are in our relatively safe place away from the institution? Read more…
joebouchard Inside Out, Self Scrutiny, Uncategorized
Please note: The following is not meant to inspire fear. It is merely a corrections-eye collection of thoughts concerning how we deal with possible disasters.
Do you believe in luck, fate, or blind circumstances? Do you consider humanity as helpless puppets merely doing the bidding of Agents of Fortune? Or do we control our destinies? If you are unsure, please consider the following.
Mark your calendars for February 13, 2029, dear readers. On that date, the asteroid Apophis will come uncomfortably close to earth. Some people even contend that the earth may be destroyed (or at least very badly damaged) by Apophis on Friday the 13th of that year. Read more…
joebouchard Inside Out, What the...?!?
The potential of a pandemic outbreak of the swine flu is something that should be given very serious consideration. This is especially true for those of us who work in a closed area with many people.
“I work in a Petri dish”, a friend once remarked to me. And she was really not kidding. As an education professional, her phrasing was apt. During flu season, it seems that almost everyone in a school succumbs to a health issue of some sort. Corrections staff are generally in the same position. Close quarters and many people make it inevitable that illnesses spreads. Read more…
joebouchard Inside Out
