The assumption that work requiring less education requires less intelligence has been a prevalent assumption with some since post-Revolutionary war time. Mike Rose argues against the assumption that work requiring little to no schooling requires less intelligence. I agree with Rose’s argument because it is similar to many examples that I’ve witnessed from blue collar family members growing up. It sheds light on a social issue that
In the essay Mike Rose challenges the view that the amount of schooling one has achieved is the degree of intelligence by one should be measured. He describes the generalizations thought about people when it comes to how education relates to intelligence. He details his experiences growing up observing his mother as a waitress in restaurants and how she found fulfillment in the work she did. The way she was able to not only memorize customer orders but to anticipate their emotional needs shows a unique intelligence. He also details his Uncle Joe’s work in an auto manufacturer and how his intelligence saw him through to promotions. From his examples growing up with blue-collar workers, it shaped his opinion of how much grit and intelligence is required of them.
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With over half of my family excelling at blue collar jobs and their intelligence to see them through to success, I’ve learned that success doesn’t always require an education behind it. With Grandparents the products of The Great Depression, they were forced to learn how to excel in blue collar work. My Grandparents passed on that same knowledge, drive and fortitude to succeed in a world where an employer wouldn’t even give a second look at a person without a college
A famous quote by Martin Luther King states “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.” The two articles “Hidden Intellectualism” and “Blue Collar Brilliance” both emphasis the author's opinion on the qualifications and measurements of someone's intelligence. “Hidden Intellectualism” focuses on students or younger people who have trouble with academic work because, they are not interested in the topic. Today, in schools students are taught academic skills that are not very interesting, the author mentions this is why children are not motivated in schools. The main viewpoint of this article is that schools need to encourage students
The real problem, according to Bruni, is that a college education is now far less likely to result in gainful employment. While statistics suggest that the rate of unemployment for college graduates is far better than for those with only a high school education, Bruni argues that these statistics
“Technology is nothing. What’s important is that you have faith in the people, that they’re basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they’ll do wonderful things with them”. This quote perfectly conveys Karen Ho’s perceptive that is present, in her article “Biographies of Hegemony”. In her article, she provides another understanding of intelligence. She uses the case of Wall Street workers and their personal and educational backgrounds to make her case. “Implicit in this transformation from undergraduate to investment banker is Wall Street's notion that if students do not choose Wall street postgraduation, they are somehow “less smart”, as smartness is defined by continued aggressive striving to perpetuate elite status” (Ho 18). Ho’s conception of the educational system has been narrowed down to the social norms that society places. Smartness is merely associated with individuals who go to the best Ivy League Schools, medical schools, law schools, and etc. If a student is attending such institute they
The experience college can give is remarkable. College is a valuable experience because individuals who attend will have a lower chance of being unemployed, will be in better health, and paying off debts will be possible! Unemployment is on the rise, always trying to be avoided. By obtaining a degree, the chance of being out of work is reduced. Baum, Ma, & Payea (2013) claim, “The 2012 unemployment rates for 25- to 34-year-olds were 9.6% for those with some college but no degree and 7.2% for those with associate degrees” (p.20).
Throughout the entire article, “Blue Collar Brilliance” the author Mike Rose is trying to show the real fact of Blue Collar jobs by describing his mother work as a waitress and his uncle as a factory worker who made his way up to manager. By giving evidence, he is also trying to open the readers eye that Blue Collar workers are in a same intelligence skill as other high-level workers though they do not have four years degrees. The author, Mike Rose, passed his childhood by watching his mom as waiting on booths and table with skillfully to assemble the skill to do work efficiently. He also watched out all other workers and interested by their adaption to coexist with each other. He got the chance as a first person to attend college in his family,
A high school education is no longer sufficient to succeed in America’s increasingly complex economy. However, because of the high price point of a college education, far too many Americans are unable to afford education beyond high school. As shown in the graph below, the higher level of education received greatly increases the chances for employment and also dramatically increases the average salary potential of an individual.
If more people went to college, and less went the vocational route, jobs will take a momentous hit. Today, companies will not even touch an application that does not include a Bachelor’s Degree; even if the Bachelor’s Degree has nothing to do with the job being applied for. Attention is not given to whether the hopeful applicant qualifies for the job; all that matters is that the applicant has a Bachelor’s degree. Murray best sums up the American job market when he says, “Employers do not value what the student learned, just that the student has a degree” (Murray). However, if less people obtain a Bachelor’s Degree, employers will be forced to base applicants on their skills, and abilities. Furthermore, important vocational jobs that lie vacant will be filled. Good electricians, carpenters, and construction workers will always be in
In “ Blue Collar Brilliance” Mike Rose argues that intelligences can’t be measured by the education we received in school but how we learn them in our everyday lives. He talks about his life growing up and watching his mother waitressing at a restaurant. He described her orders perfectly by who got what, how long each dish takes to make, and how she could read her customers. He also talks about his uncles working at the General Motors factory and showed the amount of intelligence that was need to work at the factory. Rose goes on talking about the different types of blue-collar and how he came up with the idea that a person has skills that takes a lot of mind power to achieve.
He claims to relate his mother’s quick and effective decisions, customer interactions, memorisation and problem solving, and his uncle, Joe’s, learning, planning and management skills to that of a white-collar worker. “Preposterous”, some might argue. “You cannot possibly compare waiters and conductors with boffins.” However, the dichotomy between the blue-collars and white-collars are subtle. Regardless of Rose’s claim that blue-collar workers are more efficient and carry a broader skill set, there exists no comparison between the two categories. Granted, the social biases about one’s occupation are irrational; however, blue-collars cannot substitute white-collar workers merely because of their “diverse intelligence”. Given Rose’s experiences, he has colluded blue-collar intelligence with white-collar intelligence. Id Est, he believes that social discrimination against blue-collar workers is fallacious from his observations; thus, their skills are the analogous to white-collar workers. In sum, blue-collar workers are intelligent and important in their respective and applicable fields, and white-collars in theirs’; drawing comparisons between them are like comparing apples and
He contributes personal examples and results of clinical tests that argue the misconception of unintelligent blue-collar workers. Rose witnessed the skill and intellect his mother, Rose Meraglio Rose or “Rosie” supplied in order to provide for her family. Especially when Rosie was working in the 50’s of crowded family restaurants, he saw her struggle. Rose observed his mother mastering memory skills to deliver the correct orders and maneuver around her workplace in the most efficient ways. Rosie had to balance many problems on her shoulders, all of which required both mental and physical fortitude. Nonetheless, he still disagrees with the assumption that “Intelligence is closely associated with formal education” (281). Although, this assumption has been implemented throughout history, there are plenty of more social interaction, planning, and problem solving that blue-collars are not credited for. For example, Rose disputes this misconception with the personal study of his uncle, Joe Meraglio. Joe began his journey as a blue-collar after dropping out of the ninth grade to work for the Pennsylvania Railroad. Although he did not receive what most might call a formal education, he eventually joined the Navy
Mike Rose’s article “Blue-Collar Brilliance” talks about people judging other people’s intelligence based on their jobs. Mike Rose explains in his article that people with blue collar jobs are just as intelligent as people with white collar jobs because they both use critical thinking and multi task while they are working. The standard of their jobs might be different because of their different ways of learning. People who are considered professionals or white collared individuals learn by studying or reading reports where blue collared individuals learn by performing a task. They learn faster ways to perform the task after they have done it multiple times. I believe that Rose’s thinking is very effective as it tells us that we should not judge
“Intelligence is closely associated with formal education- the type of schooling a person has, how much and how long- and most people seem to move comfortably from the notion to a belief that work requiring less schooling requires less intelligence” (Rose 276). My Dad has worked blue collar jobs his entire life. Security guard, lawn service, woodworker, carpenter, plus anything else that involves his hands. He didn’t have any schooling past his high school diploma. But he’s always told me, “Yeah, I wish I went to college, but I’m sure as hell glad I was taught and forced to learn the skills I have now. Like doing things on my own and working with my hands, my work ethic, and my ability to absorb as many things as I could to get the job done.” Blue collar jobs can never be outsourced. There will always be a need for plumbers, electricians, machine operators, carpenters and many, many more
The key difference between Walter Isaacson’s, author of “The Genius of Jobs”, and Carol Dweck’s, author of “The Secret to Raising Smart Kids”, perspective of intelligence lies in their thought of inherent ability; Isaacson believes that intelligence is a natural gift that can be expanded upon, but Dweck would respond by agreeing to a degree but believing that the beauty of intelligence lies in that expansion.
Through the various types of texts I went through, Mike Rose’s article on “Blue-Collar Brilliance” was the one that I felt I could personally relate to. I grew up in a family where manual labor was the key to a good income. Out of my entire family, I was the only one who graduated high school and went to college, therefore I grew up realizing that people didn’t necessarily need a college education to be considered “smart”. My father has been one of the smartest people in my family, I could explain my calculus homework to him and he would be able to quickly grasp all the equations and concepts, even though he dropped out of high school as a freshman in Mexico. In the fall of 2015, I decided to skip a semester of college to find job opportunities outside of the education field.
Smartness, through Davidson’s concepts, requires people to develop their innate skills in order to pursue their dream career. Davidson states that “to be prepared for jobs that have a real future in the digital economy, one needs an emphasis on creative thinking” (Davidson 60) therefore placing importance on skills such as creativity and critical thinking in order to be at the forefront of the digital economy, and ultimately, change in society. However, Davidson placing importance on skills conflict with Ho’s concept of smartness pertaining to qualifications. “On Wall Street, (smartness) means much more than individual intelligence; it conveys a naturalized and generic sense of (impressiveness) of elite, pinnacle status, and expertise…” (Ho 167) thus proving that rather than valuing skills, Wall Street views smartness as someone who has the proper credentials, steering away from actual skills pertaining to the career. The institution needs to maintain its image of smartness, power, and success over everyone else, and in order to do so, Wall Street recruits individuals from Ivy Leagues. These individuals may not be skilled in finance, but because they have been admitted into one of the country’s greatest universities, their very presence boosts Wall Street’s image. Conflict arises because both authors have preference over how an individual should qualify, but in the end, both skills and credentials are