...“Blue-Collar Brilliance” Analysis essay In the article “Blue-Collar Brilliance” by Mike Rose, the author argues that jobs that do not require a large amount of formal education, still require a certain kind of intelligence. Rose shares his mother’s and uncle’s experiences as blue-collar workers and his study to support his claim. Rose introduces the article sharing stories about his mother, Rosie, experience working as a waitress, “she’d sequence and group task: what could she do first, then second, then third as she circled through her station” (Page. 1034). Rose includes this quote to describe that from observing his mom, he noticed that in order to adapt how active the restaurant was, his mother would mentally devise strategies to remain efficient in her work. Rose understood that her job was not solely based on manual labor unlike the common stereotypes, but instead both manual labor and intelligence. Rose later describes their family educational background stating that his mother was a middle school dropout, he included this to support the idea that even though she does not have a lot of...
Words: 480 - Pages: 2
...In Blue-Collar Brilliance the author Mike Rose shows us that intelligence isn't based off how much school you have completed. He shows that blue-collar jobs take just as much of your mind and body as white-collar jobs do. He gives us personal examples of his intelligent family members who worked blue-collar jobs and showed that in all jobs, certain qualities have to be learned and developed just like jobs that require an education, so people shouldn't consider these jobs mindless. The story starts off with Rose showing how his mother’s job as a waitress was no easy task. It took many different skills that had to be learned and developed. She had to be able to communicate with people, think quick on her feet, and be able to develop a great...
Words: 498 - Pages: 2
...The essay Blue-Collar Brilliance is written by Mike Rose. His essay was published in the American Scholar in 2009. In Rose’s essay, he makes valid points about intelligence. Mike Rose makes the point that even though some jobs require more education to work in that field that does not mean that they require more intelligence than those that do not require a lot of education. At the beginning of Mike Rose’s essay, he makes the point that blue collar jobs requiring a lot of physical and mental stability by relating it to his mother’s waitressing career. He goes into detail about all the skills his mother had to perform at one time. In order for Rose’s mother to perform the skills as a waitress, she needed good memory skills and be quick with...
Words: 286 - Pages: 2
...Blue-Collar Brilliance Summary In “Blue-Collar Brilliance”, Mike Rose brings to light a common mis-belief among Americans today, that, “Intelligence is closely associated with formal education…most people seem to move comfortably from that notion to a belief that work requiring less schooling requires less intelligence”(247). Rose expresses that it is important for people to understand the type of work being done does not always equal the level of intelligence. Also, many occupations require more knowledge than they are given credit for. In Rose’s article, he focuses on jobs that appear to be solely physical and entail no prior knowledge, some believe no knowledge can be gained from these professions. Rose often compares learning in a blue-collar work environment to that of a classroom. He explains, “Though work related actions become routine with experience, they were learned at some point through observation, trial and error, and, often, physical or verbal assistance”(250). The worker must adapt to his situation in order to excel in his job....
Words: 569 - Pages: 3
...“Blue-Collar Brilliance”by Mike Rose, discusses the importance of blue-collar workers, also the skills and intelligence of blue-collar workers. Rose discusses his mother in this article, and how hard she worked, and how she operated as a waitress at a diner. Rose also explains how his Uncle Joe worked his way up to being a manager for General Motors after dropping out of high school in the ninth grade. He even discusses how he didn't think getting an education was important until his last year of school. Rose later became a arthur and a professor at UCLA. This article poses many effective points, for example the importance of blue-collar workers, the intelligence also the skill of blue-collar workers. First, Rose discusses his...
Words: 779 - Pages: 4
...the rhetorical situation that are best suited for the genre for which it is written. It should use adequate evidence to properly augment claims made by its author. When comparing Mike Rose’s essay “Blue Collar Brilliance” and Gerald Graff’s essay “Hidden Intellectualism,” the more effective essay is Graff’s due to the examples and comparisons that he uses. “Hidden Intellectualism” begins with a relatable example of a student who is very smart when it comes to non-academics but does not perform well in school. “We associate the educated life, the life of the mind, too narrowly and exclusively with subjects and texts that we consider weighty and academic” (Graff 787). Graff believes that...
Words: 843 - Pages: 4
...“Some people get an education without going to college. The rest get it after they get out.” (Twain 1) Is Mark Twain right, could college be a complete waste of time and money? Caroline Bird would agree with Twain on his implied view of college being a utter waste. Bird questions the real motive behind receiving a college education and depicts her view onto the minds of many college students in todays world. Mike Rose in his article about “Blue-Collar Brilliance” as well as Brent Staples in his writing about “Why Colleges Shower Their Students with A’s” make several valid, relative points that correlate with Bird’s belief on college being a complete waste of both time and money. Bird’s argument can be valid under the circumstance that one becomes unusually successful in a blue collar career, a student is simply given grades instead of earned and many other situations that go outside the traditional aspects of society and education. I, however, strongly disagree with Bird’s belief that college is a waste of time and money because despite her assertion that it is an expensive, time consuming commitment and the initial intention may be influenced by parents or societal pressures, the student will eventually gain a desire to learn and pursue a career if college is the right path for them. Even though I may not agree, Bird supports her argument very well with both statistics and convincing input. By stating that “no more than 25 percent of students are turned on by ...
Words: 1688 - Pages: 7
...My response will be on the article, Blue-Collar Brilliance, by Mike Rose. First and foremost, I enjoyed reading this article throughout its entirely. It was the only one that had kept me engaged compared to all the other small excerpts in chapter sixteen. The subject really struck my interest as it felt more personal to the author, and to myself, as I was able to connect to it through my own family members. I loved the way the author crafted his attention starter by telling us his story of his mother working as a waitress. It hooked me right away, and it didn’t feel like this was going to be a factual, boring piece. His mother and uncle’s story reminded me of my father’s life. My dad had to work many jobs after my grandfather passed away. He had to take care of my uncle, who was only twelve, and my grandmother....
Words: 442 - Pages: 2
...The type of education that schooling provides a student is the type a student needs in order to prepare for a professional career such as a doctor or scientist. Not many students will think about working on assembly lines or waitressing for a living. From early times, acquiring an education has become a symbol of success and shows the talent and intelligence that a person has. Most people that do not achieve a higher education are often misinterpreted as being unskilled and uneducated. However, in Mike Rose’s essay “Blue Collar Brilliance," he counteracts the belief that a person without a proper education is invaluable. Rose introduces his mother Rosie as his primary example of a skillful worker as she has been a blue collar worker since...
Words: 689 - Pages: 3
...Unit 2 has shown me how rhetoric is important in everyday life, whether it be writing, music, or media. Think about it, does your favorite song, movie, or book make you feel emotion, does it make sense, do you believe the things the author/artist is saying? That is rhetoric. The main rhetorical appeals are Logos, Ethos, and Pathos, the appeal of Logic, Authority and emotion. The unit 2 threshold concepts are shown in my rhetorical analysis when I discussed Mike Rose’s writing style, language, and grammar. This project challenged me to think outside the box as a writer and actually take the time to slow down so I could understand what Rose was talking about and the rhetorical appeals he used. I am the type of person that likes to get things...
Words: 297 - Pages: 2
...Zack Buckway Mrs. Finder English 1010 15 October 2014 Higher Education. A Split Decision Universities extend back centuries and have played a huge role in expanding the minds of its attendants. Universities like Oxford or Cambridge were established near to as early as the 1100s, but they were not sanctioned until deemed by a Pope or King soon after. While this great honor of recognition brought a good rep with it, it also came with a price to the masters and their apprentices. Although the system today is quite modernized and is commonly available to all, scholars of the highest degree were the only participants, save it be the masters, of such study in the early days of college. This is also due to the fact that the general population was illiterate. Time passed on and shortly thereafter, universities were beginning to spread like wildfire throughout the nations and the ability to attend such institutions passed down to those who were wealthy or intelligent enough to be accepted. Masters with their students were the leaders of such centers, and they were free to delve into any subject they wished until the desire to become recognized grew. Recognition esteemed them to be great but at such a cost that they studied theology more intently than the liberal arts in order for them to catch the Pope’s eye. Fortunate for education, it progressed far passed theology to explore into the depths of science, reasoning, and technology which came much later in time. Fast forward a...
Words: 2254 - Pages: 10
