RUMORS AND GOSSIP (and stuff)
Posted by JCOfficer on Monday, August 22, 2011
Oh, don't we love it!? In lieu of timely and real information, we get rumors. Instead of working on honest interpersonal interactions, we get gossip. It's time for a change.
It's the FACTS we want, really... but we're either too lazy, too burned out, too afraid, or too non-caring to find out what's going on around here. And we don't deserve any better unless we speak up to people who can bring about the changes we want, who can help make this a better/safer/more meaningful place to work.
I've tried to keep this site free of outright rumors and gossip, and well, it's hard. I hear soooo much of it that it makes me wonder -- "Is that really true?" True or not, once the cat's out of the bag most people will accept ANYTHING they hear if it sounds even the least bit probable. I've heard from others a number of rumors concerning ME, and oh my... were they ONLY true!! Truth is, my life's not NEARLY as wicked and/or exciting as some people probably believe.
So... if we want to be kept up on things, we need to ask questions of people we trust. WHERE ARE THESE PEOPLE?? As mentioned before, I've tried, and lost faith with the supervisory JCO's, the Admin, and those up in the ivory towers in Austin who are only concerned with keeping thier jobs by making it look like everything is JUST GREAT here on campus. Yep, I've "gone through the channels", and still don't feel like I've been heard. I've written to the director of TYC, my legislative representatives in Austin, and more -- and still, no one seems to care that TYC Giddings is heading down a dangerous path. Dangerous for staff and youth, and dangerous to the good people of the State of Texas -- because the kids are routinely being let back out into society with precious few coping skills in dealing with life the Real World. It seems inevitable that this will mean MORE rapes, MORE robberies, MORE violence, right? What do the kids learn here? They learn if they whine and cry and fill out enough grievances they can get staff fired, continue to victimize others, and get away with pretty much whatever they like. This, too, needs to end. We JCO's have the OBLIGATION to HELP these kids by providing structure and discipline... and we need directives to adopt a REAL "zero tolerance" policy to deal with negative behavioral situations on the dorm. Otherwse -- mark my words -- they will get worse, not better.
Can we do it on our own? No. Are the JCO 6's going to help us? Probably not. The JCO 5's mostly are just concerned with passing the buck, kissing butt, and keeping their jobs so they can retire, so they're out, too. WHO TO TURN TO?
I'm thinking it might be time before long to share this site with my Boss, my MAIN BOSS -- the man we ALL need to answer to -- governor Rick Perry. Just to be frank -- I think Perry is a putz. I can't hope to think he really CARES about you or me or our institution -- what with all the campaigning he's fixin' to do -- but maybe he'll get the message that all is NOT well here, and take a proactive position to help keep from having yet another TYC scandal blow up in his face. Who knows? Is it worth the time and effort?
Rumors and gossip aside, the FACTS remain. Records and paperwork are being kept, and not all of it is being generated by our supervisors and those in Austin. A lot of it is NOT what Perry would probably want to know about -- but facts are facts. Now, I hear a lot of juicey things I would never share with Perry, and don't need to because the TRUTH speaks loudlyt enough for itself. Personally, I don't particularly care who's pregnant by who, or who's using cocaine, or falsifying their time sheet, etc. I DO CARE about the youth we've been entrusted to help become law-abiding citizens... and the fact that it's just NOT HAPPENING bothers me quite a bit. We're wasting our time and everyone's money if the recividism rate is anywhere around 50% -- it's hardly worth the effort, eh?
If a kid over 16, or 18, and hasn't had anything but NEGATIVE scores for weeks and weeks on end, is openly defiant, tears the dorm up, injures staff yadda yadda yadda -- WHAT is he doing HERE? If we're to have a good comeback to the kid's often-asked question "what are ya gonna do about it?" we need to be able say "we're gonna ship your sorry ass off to TDCJ and let them deal with you there". And carry through. Every time.
The kids WANT the security of structure and consistant discipline. Us JCO's WANT to provide it, and be agents of POSITIVE CHANGES in their lives... there's no other way around it. I believe that with all my being. If all the supervisors, Admin, Austin, and Perry want to do is keep their heads in the sand and deny and ignore situations and hope things will get better, well, this is NOT a place, at the very least, where people will be willing to work... and at worst we'll turn into another Crockett or where ever else it is that kids were calling the shots and in control.
It takes years for an individual to become a competent and effective JCO; we all know this. It doesn't happen overnight, for sure. When experienced staff are let go for no more reason than to satisfy the egos of supervisors, or being for outspoken, or, heaven forbid, fired due to some trumped-up accusation done just to make things LOOK BETTER -- TYC is shooting itself in the foot. This means only the ineffective staff will remain to take care of business... and as things are, business is NOT GOOD.
What to do... what to do... any suggestions?
It's the FACTS we want, really... but we're either too lazy, too burned out, too afraid, or too non-caring to find out what's going on around here. And we don't deserve any better unless we speak up to people who can bring about the changes we want, who can help make this a better/safer/more meaningful place to work.
I've tried to keep this site free of outright rumors and gossip, and well, it's hard. I hear soooo much of it that it makes me wonder -- "Is that really true?" True or not, once the cat's out of the bag most people will accept ANYTHING they hear if it sounds even the least bit probable. I've heard from others a number of rumors concerning ME, and oh my... were they ONLY true!! Truth is, my life's not NEARLY as wicked and/or exciting as some people probably believe.
So... if we want to be kept up on things, we need to ask questions of people we trust. WHERE ARE THESE PEOPLE?? As mentioned before, I've tried, and lost faith with the supervisory JCO's, the Admin, and those up in the ivory towers in Austin who are only concerned with keeping thier jobs by making it look like everything is JUST GREAT here on campus. Yep, I've "gone through the channels", and still don't feel like I've been heard. I've written to the director of TYC, my legislative representatives in Austin, and more -- and still, no one seems to care that TYC Giddings is heading down a dangerous path. Dangerous for staff and youth, and dangerous to the good people of the State of Texas -- because the kids are routinely being let back out into society with precious few coping skills in dealing with life the Real World. It seems inevitable that this will mean MORE rapes, MORE robberies, MORE violence, right? What do the kids learn here? They learn if they whine and cry and fill out enough grievances they can get staff fired, continue to victimize others, and get away with pretty much whatever they like. This, too, needs to end. We JCO's have the OBLIGATION to HELP these kids by providing structure and discipline... and we need directives to adopt a REAL "zero tolerance" policy to deal with negative behavioral situations on the dorm. Otherwse -- mark my words -- they will get worse, not better.
Can we do it on our own? No. Are the JCO 6's going to help us? Probably not. The JCO 5's mostly are just concerned with passing the buck, kissing butt, and keeping their jobs so they can retire, so they're out, too. WHO TO TURN TO?
I'm thinking it might be time before long to share this site with my Boss, my MAIN BOSS -- the man we ALL need to answer to -- governor Rick Perry. Just to be frank -- I think Perry is a putz. I can't hope to think he really CARES about you or me or our institution -- what with all the campaigning he's fixin' to do -- but maybe he'll get the message that all is NOT well here, and take a proactive position to help keep from having yet another TYC scandal blow up in his face. Who knows? Is it worth the time and effort?
Rumors and gossip aside, the FACTS remain. Records and paperwork are being kept, and not all of it is being generated by our supervisors and those in Austin. A lot of it is NOT what Perry would probably want to know about -- but facts are facts. Now, I hear a lot of juicey things I would never share with Perry, and don't need to because the TRUTH speaks loudlyt enough for itself. Personally, I don't particularly care who's pregnant by who, or who's using cocaine, or falsifying their time sheet, etc. I DO CARE about the youth we've been entrusted to help become law-abiding citizens... and the fact that it's just NOT HAPPENING bothers me quite a bit. We're wasting our time and everyone's money if the recividism rate is anywhere around 50% -- it's hardly worth the effort, eh?
If a kid over 16, or 18, and hasn't had anything but NEGATIVE scores for weeks and weeks on end, is openly defiant, tears the dorm up, injures staff yadda yadda yadda -- WHAT is he doing HERE? If we're to have a good comeback to the kid's often-asked question "what are ya gonna do about it?" we need to be able say "we're gonna ship your sorry ass off to TDCJ and let them deal with you there". And carry through. Every time.
The kids WANT the security of structure and consistant discipline. Us JCO's WANT to provide it, and be agents of POSITIVE CHANGES in their lives... there's no other way around it. I believe that with all my being. If all the supervisors, Admin, Austin, and Perry want to do is keep their heads in the sand and deny and ignore situations and hope things will get better, well, this is NOT a place, at the very least, where people will be willing to work... and at worst we'll turn into another Crockett or where ever else it is that kids were calling the shots and in control.
It takes years for an individual to become a competent and effective JCO; we all know this. It doesn't happen overnight, for sure. When experienced staff are let go for no more reason than to satisfy the egos of supervisors, or being for outspoken, or, heaven forbid, fired due to some trumped-up accusation done just to make things LOOK BETTER -- TYC is shooting itself in the foot. This means only the ineffective staff will remain to take care of business... and as things are, business is NOT GOOD.
What to do... what to do... any suggestions?