Michelle Porter

Michelle Porter

History graduate who has an interest in British history, with a particular interest in social history and crime.

Location Southport

Activity

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Introduction to genealogy

    This is really interesting as I currently live in Rochdale and there are many remnants of mill life around here. I have no family that worked in the mills but will still enjoy looking at who did

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Writing as a worker

    Mine would be called Bee in her bonnet. the story of a lowly mill girl who is abused by the overlooker and takes her fight all the way to parliament. They laugh at her at first and just say she has a bee in her bonnet but she is successful and becomes a campaigner for women in the mills. She is cast aside from her family and friends and hated by her peers. She...

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Daughters of the factory

    The last one. Mainly for it's setting in Lancashire where I am from but also love when there is not a happy ending, adds more grit to the story

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Representing the mill lass

    How horrible an ending for her. Did the other workers turn on her through fear that they also would be fired and vilified? I don't suppose we will ever know

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Condition of mill girls

    Even when working, women were expected to know their place and be a housewife. Fine for them to do the work but no hint of being anything other than a mother and wife

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    The international mill girl

    I doubt this account is true. I doubt anyone could work 70 hours per week and still have time for outside interests. Seems rather sad that they went to work whilst the males gained and prospered

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Work for women

    Overlooker and inspector would have been jobs held by men

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Reflecting on the factory child

    I love reenactments and feel it brings a different level of learning. Maybe have the sounds and noise the children would have experienced and more people to replicate the feel of working in the factory. Use mannequins for the children

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    The factory child in the museum - Quarry Bank

    Really interesting records and would love to visit soon

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Chapters in the life of a factory boy

    Sounds horrific and must have been so difficult

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Self-improvement

    How wonderful that he wanted more from his life and amazing that he was given this opportunity. His thirst for knowledge is notable from this extract

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    The apprenticeship system

    Sounds like he was coached what to say. If conditions were as good as he says, then why run away? The day still seems awfully long and not much time for any fun.
    In regards to the superintendent, his statement that the children are more tired after play is a unbelievable.

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    What would you do?

    I chose somewhere else. Conditions during the victorian times were not good for any children but the mills seem particularly harsh

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Mill life was hard

    seems like little improvement in the way the overlooker treated the children working under him. How awful for them

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    The Children's Employment Commission

    Sounds appalling and no life at all for anyone let alone children. The mill does sound slightly better in relation to working hours

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    ‘Important for Millowners’

    He was a child so I don't think he should in anyway take the blame.

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Memoir of Robert Blincoe

    Horrible to think of children going through this and this account shows how cruel they could be

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Yorkshire slavery

    The say the children in Bradford had it worse than the slaves in America is strange. Both are horrifying but I do not think the children in Bradford had it worse

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Writing the cotton famine

    Droyslden

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    The cotton famine

    I am aware of this and the effect this had on Manchester when the mill workers refused to work with cotton from the south

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Hard times

    Manchester has a statue of Abraham Lincoln due in part because Manchester mill workers took a stance against slave owners and refused to work with cotton from the south. I believe he wrote a letter to the people of Manchester thanking them

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Literary texts

    poems are written by the person experiencing this and give much more feeling.

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Hazards and accidents

    workers safety seems to be very low on the list of priorities for the owners

  • Michelle Porter replied to Cindy Belt
    Factory Sounds 2

    Not that I know off. Many sadly ended up with hearing loss due to the noise and there was no protection

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Factory Sounds

    Loud but imagine when all machines were going at once

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Verdant Works and jute weaving

    The noise again, once all those machines were going at same time and must have been unbearable

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    The development of weaving

    Although the handloom is harder work physically, the power loom os much nosier and can only imagine the noise levels when all the machines were working at one time. Many are stil seeking compensation for noise induced hearing loss from working in the mills and factories

  • Michelle Porter replied to Kirstie Blair
    End of week 1 - discussion and reflection

    @KirstieBlair It has been a great first week and as I am late to start I do not mind taking a little longer than 2 hours

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    What rules would you make?

    1. Be on time for all shifts
    2. Report any mishaps asap.
    3. Only leave workspace when on a break or to use the toilet

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Would you work in the mills?

    Yes most likely as the need to work and have a home would have been seen as some way of bettering yourself. In these times, life was very harsh and working in a mill may not have been an option for many. Remember, many people moved away from the countryside to take work in the mills

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Producing the model worker

    this is still about control and no matter how the owner perceived what they were doing, it was about profit and control

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Technology and innovation

    Very innovative and forward thinking

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    The best master

    I prefer Owen and agree with his aims

  • Michelle Porter replied to Michael Sanders
    The Gregs of Quarry Bank

    @MichaelSanders By the standards of the time they would be seen as good employers. We must remember this when studying this period. However, profit would have been their first concern

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    The pioneering mill-owners

    It is interesting that they had complete control over there workers

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Factory labour and legislation

    I have studied this period before and many times have used these acts when people oppose strikes or unions. They were and still vital to make sure we do not have employers like this again. Sadly with zero hour contracts we seem to be going backwards and many illegal practices continue in warehouses to this day.

  • Michelle Porter replied to Michael Sanders
    The rise of industry

    @MichaelSanders I am currently living in Rochdale and there are still remnants of the industrial era here. Manchester and Liverpool played an important role as discussed and Manchester also has an are called spinningfields, which is now home to many high end shops and bars but there are many canals around here that would have also been used during this time.

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Case study: The Bangkok Hilton, Thailand

    The main problem we face is that most offenders do not think they will be caught. Until offenders do, then even the most harsh of prisons is not a deterrence. It is a horrible form of punishment and would be interesting to know the rate of re-offending once a prisoner has spent time in there.

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    The academic justifications for imprisonment

    rehabilitation is essential however there is call for punishment depending on the crime.

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Medieval living

    Living in the town could give greater opportunities to advance your working life. Also the trade in towns would give greater opportunity for s varied diet.

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Peasant buildings: An academic article

    I have read many of Chris dyers work and also have a few of his books. Very interesting and informative.

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    The archaeology of deserted medieval villages

    I must make a point of visiting these sites and I am glad that they are being documented and preserved.

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    What's the difference?

    The lower classes will always revolt in some way and this is evident today in protests at nhs cuts, student fees and low pay. What a shame that we cannot have more impact on those with more power.

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Uprisings, repression and the end to servile tenure

    Not much has changed in relation to rich landowners controlling those less fortunate.

  • Michelle Porter replied to Ian Webster
    Uprisings, repression and the end to servile tenure

    A shame that we don't revolt more against governments.

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Labour shortage

    The greater freedom being offered to peasants is exciting to see. Not tied to one landowner could only be a good thing.

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Peasants and farmers in the 15th century: Introduction

    Really excited about this week as I find social history much more interesting. Hope we touch on the role of women too as this is a particular interest of mine ans there is not much documentation on women during the medievil period.

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Discussion: The nature and value of re-enactment

    Reenactment is another learning tool and one that could engage people in periods of history they may not have thought to study before.

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    20th century enthusiasms: Re-awakening and re-enactment

    Reenactments can be viewed as a good learning tool, as long as they are done with accuracy to the events.

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    15th century and Tudor perspectives

    Interesting to look at both historical facts and those of Shakespeare who as we know what not an historian.

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Battlefield archaeology: Towton

    The brutality of the wars is hard to comprehend and shows that they suffered a great deal for their cause.

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Key people and events

    Joined very late so catching up now. Very interesting

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    How's it going so far?

    This week was very interesting and the theories made a lot of sense in a child's devolpement. I would like to learn more about attachment theory.

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Discuss Billy's story: 'Relationships'

    I fear that billy will become more and more isolated and could be vunerable to certain risk factors. Whether this be from another adult or his peers, he may get into a situation through his need to be cared for.

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Watch Billy's story: 'Relationships'

    Apart from the school guidance there is no one that billy can rely on. His mother through no fault of her own is not always there to meet Billy's emotional needs and his relationship with his father is fractured.

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Attachment questions

    A child will learn what behaviour a parent or care giver will respond to. Crying could attract a response that is loving and caring. The child will soon discover which behaviour works. The parent or care giver should respond in a loving way to build up security for the child.

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Internal Working Model

    My eldest child was very close to me and spent the majority of her childhood with her father. As an adult she now finds it difficult to relate to partners and how she should act around men. I find that upsetting

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Attachment

    Great presentation and very clear go understand how attachment can affect the child. Rather disturbing to think that some children do not have their needs met by the one they trust.

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Containment and holding environments

    I find this concept fascinating and can see how this would apply to a child's devolpement.

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Nature versus nurture

    I believe that both nature ans nurture play a part in a child's development. However, nurture could possibly have a stronger part to play.

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Time to reflect

    Loving the course so far.

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Discuss Billy's story: 'Introducing Billy'

    Both billy and his mother are in a vunerable situation and would benefit from more support. Billy's mothers depression could well be brought on by their social situation and this is a vicious circle. There is no mention of the wider family that may be able to assist them both.

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Reactions to risk

    Children whilst being protected should also be allowed to be children. Constantly wrapping them in cotton wool will not help their devolpement in later life. Also when some children have been shown to be at risk we have seen time and time again how they have been let down by those that should have protected them. We should though after having risk assessments...

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Discuss your choices: rating risk and vulnerability

    I chose the baby being shaken as this could lead to serious injury. The 15 year old being offered money as this puts them in a potentially vunerable position and at risk of being exploited. My last choice was the 11 year old on the Internet. This person that the child is speaking with could be anyone and they are at risk of befriending a sex offended

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Defining vulnerability

    The risks are those I would expect.

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    What do we mean by risk and vulnerability?

    I would consider a child at risk when their basic needs are not being met. Also environmental issues in the home could be a risk to a child.

  • Michelle Porter made a comment
    Introduce yourself

    Hello I'm michelle. I am joining this course as I plan to start a PGCE this September and feel this course will help with my understanding of vulnerable children and enable me to better provide for any needs they may have.