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Thursday Jun 15, 2006
I want some manners now!
A great little example of how the instinct of certain sections of the UK media is still to blame young people for society's ills, graced the pages of the Telegraph today (15th June). Lovingly entitled, "Why are the youth of today so rude?", it was cobbled together by a guy called Thomas Blaikie (who just happened to be peddling his book, "Blaikie's Guide to Modern Manners").The article's so delightfully patronising and so splendidly pompous, that it wonderfully demonstrates the truely self-serving cry of those who tap their glass and shriek, "I want manners!"
"...if you were to go as far as suggesting to a young person that, in order to participate in conversation generally, he or she really ought to know who the Prime Minister is or what is meant by ''the Establishment'', you will be greeted by purple-faced outrage worthy of a pre-war colonel, albeit with a rather different vocabulary".
I rest my case. As is so often the subtext with this courteous diatribes, it sounds like Blaikie's gripe is more about lack of deference. And without getting all sociological on this blog, deference rests on the concept of hierarchy- a world in which people relate to you based on your status or position rather than who you are. Actually the rules are changing. With deference in retreat, for better or worse, people today have to think a lot more about how they relate to each other as real people- and not with titles bestowed from above.
The irony about Blaikie's whole article is that it is supposedly based on a report by Demos, 'Working Progress: How to reconnect young people and organisations'. Demos publicised it as 'Employers lack the skills that young people need' in their press release- which kind of tells you where they think the burden of responsibility lies.
Certainly there is an interesting debate to be had about changing cultural values and creating a productive working environment for all. But slagging off one particular group, in this case 'young people', has, shockingly enough, never been the best approach- begging your pardon Mr Blaikie.
Posted by Patrick Daniels ( 12:01 PM ) Link to this post Comments[0]
Volunteers on benefits
Here's a challenge to test the metal of the newly formed Office for the Third Sector in the Cabinet Office: a new leaflet from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) says that volunteers on benefits cannot claim lunch expenses from their host organisation.
Travel expenses are OK but, for the DWP, the case against lunch money is clear:
Q: Why doesn't my normal lunch count as an expense?
A: Because the amount of Income Support or Jobseeker's Allowance you get is already meant to cover the cost of your basic needs, including lunch.
The problem is that payment of lunch expenses is widely recognised as good management practice - partly because you are asking volunteers to be away from their home and therefore buying lunch is an expense and partly because it's a very small perk.
In the past benefits offices have been more concerned about the number of hours that people spend volunteering, worried that it might stop them finding a job. Now, according to the leaflet, the DWP have woken up to the fact that volunteering helps people get paid work...but volunteers on benefits will have to bring a packed lunch (even though fellow volunteers, who might be in employment elsewhere, can get their lunch paid for).
Volunteer managers are, not surprisingly, up in arms - members of the UKVPMs network are urging people to write to their MPs. Volunteering England has also taken up the protest, pointing out that the new guidance "contradicts a recent NHS publication that was cleared by the Department for Work and Pensions/Jobcentre Plus, in which the chapter on reimbursement clearly states food expenses are legitimate expenses."
Last month, in his first speech as Minister for the Third Sector, Ed Miliband said:
"Volunteering creates a relationship between individuals and communities who would often never meet each other. Millions of people volunteer in our country but how can we expand the reach of volunteering to reach across communities, sectors, age groups and background? How can we build social cohesion and community among young and old, different faiths, different classes with volunteering and mentoring?"
Miliband's job is to co-ordinate third sector policy across government. How he deals with this expenses issue will show us whether his political muscle matches up to his rhetoric.
Posted by Tom Green ( 10:40 AM ) Link to this post Comments[0]