Notes on the Negative Implications of Being Competent in a Home for the Aged

Abstract

This paper focuses on the fact that the common sense assumption underlying everyday life in a Home for the Aged is the antithesis of the common sense assumption operating in most normal social life, on the outside. The implications of this fact are infinite and ironic. In essence, the Home is oriented toward the least competent. Although typically one tends to think of the advantages of being competent, a significant structural feature of Home life is the way in which being a competent member can work against inmates, as such behavior is, in a very real sense inappropriate, atypical and unprepared for. The following material is based on two years participant observation research in a Home for the Aged in Ontario, Canada.