Some Lessons from the Assembly Line After reading through Some Lessons from The Assembly Line by Andrew Braaksma, I first believed that the main point of the story is to describe the author's experiences with Blue-collar work and college. One of the things I find interesting about this is how the author chooses to explain his thoughts on the topic via describing his own life experiences. By showing us his experiences with both, we're able to understand just how much of a discrepancy there is between blue-collar and college life. I reread the article and now believe that the main point is to show college students not only why college is important, but also how hard the alternative to college blue-collar life can be . The article's …show more content…
While I have never gone through any experiences such as working at a factory, it doesn’t take experience or a vivid imagination to realize just how different my life is compared to that of factory workers. This truly resonated with me, and even now I strongly agree with the points he brought forth with this. Not only that, but I feel that in general he did an excellent job of meeting his goal with the evidence brought forward. Using descriptors like lush to describe college scenery and hulking to describe the machines that tower over the workers of the factory really helps paint a vivid image in the minds of readers, and I feel this is enough to help the author support his first point. The second key point is how brutal the alternative to college, blue-collar life, can be. "After a particularly exhausting string of 12-hour days at a plastics factory, I remember being shocked at how small my check seemed. I couldn't believe how little I was taking home after all the hours I spent on the sweltering production floor."(Braaksma) This evidence supports my claim by showing how hard blue-collar life can …show more content…
"As frustrating as the work can be, the most stressful thing about blue-collar life is knowing your job could disappear overnight. Issues like downsizing and overseas relocation had always seemed distant to me until my co-workers at one factory told me that the unit I was working in would be shut down within six months and moved to Mexico, where people would work for 60 cents an hour."(Braaksma) The key point supports his claim because it shows the hardships of blue-collar life, and how risky it can be at times. After having read it, I felt I had to agree with this as well. One of the biggest problems of blue-collar work is how bad the job security is. It’s because of this that one might always end their work day, worrying that one day they may no longer have a workplace to come back to. It’s because of this that I feel this was effective at helping the author achieve his goal. I feel that this article doesn’t need additional information. The article's main theme of the importance of education and how it shouldn't be taken for granted is well argued because the author includes the difference between college and blue-collar life, describes his own life experiences, and describes how safe and stable college life can be when compared to blue-collar
has been the foundation for building America to where it is today. Our cities, highways, and houses all were all constructed by blue collar citizens. Despite the blue collar person being underestimated for not being “educated”, they deserve full respect for the work that they do. Living as a blue collar worker is not an easy lifestyle. A large amount of workers endure long, strenuous hours working in undesirable conditions.
Mike Rose's article "Blue-Collar Brilliance" from They Say/I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing With Readings challenges common beliefs that blue-collar work is less skilled or essential and highlights the specialized knowledge these workers have. Rose uses pathos, ethos, and logos in his essay to challenge societal assumptions about skill. Through rhetorical appeals, Rose effectively argues that the value of blue-collar work must be recognized rather than overlooked. Mike Rose establishes his ethos in "Blue Collar Brilliance" by sharing both his personal and professional experiences. Rose mentions he is a professor of education and has done extensive research on the cognitive demands involved in blue-collar work (Rose, 2018, pp.
Nowadays few people realize the value of education. In Andrew Brassksma’s essay,” Some Lessons from the Assembly Line,” describes how a college student understands the value of an education by working as a full-time blue-collar worker during the summer time. Often times, there are people without a proper education who are forced to take unstable and low-paying jobs to support themselves or family. But, many people who have access to education do not realize the privilege it is and often times take it for granted. In Andrew Brassksma’s essay,” Some Lessons from the Assembly Line”, he puts himself on the same level as other blue-collar workers, and this is significance to the author's purpose because he can appreciate his own situation to the
"Some Lessons From the Assembly Line" review In the article "Some Lessons From the Assembly Line" by Andrew Braaksma (2005). Braaksma is trying to reach the audience of college students and blue-collar workers. With his personal experience he shows how his friends who attend college and haven 't worked long hours don 't understand why he is happy to be back at school, they don 't understand what it is like to work long hard hours all day long and not be paid accordingly. "There are few things as cocksure as a college student who has never been out in the real world, and people my age always seem to overestimate the value of their time and knowledge. After a particularly exhausting string of 12-hour days at a plastics factory, I remember being shocked at how small my check seemed" Braaksma (2005).
Mike Rose author of “Blue Collar Brilliance” he reminisces about his childhood and how he was observing his mother at work and how much she multitasked and how he experienced the blue collar work. His purpose was to describe how people integrate physical and mental work is in the field and supports people in the blue collar field. I felt as if I was at a dead end job and earning nothing from it, but Mike Rose’s article influenced me that I was actually learning and gaining skills at my work place. His intended audience would be blue collared workers and white collar workers. Rose informing that blue collar workers are also educated people even though they do not have a degree.
In his article, “Are Too Many People Going to College?” Charles Murray argues that too many people are going to college universities when they should be focusing on other lifestyle options. In his opinion, whether or not to attend college is a personal decision that should be thoroughly thought through. When weighed with the unrealistic prerequisites, the financial expenses, and the time needed to obtain a degree, many people will find that attending college will not be beneficial to them. Speaking of this Murray attests, “The question here is not whether the traditional four-year residential college is fun or valuable as a place to grow up, but when it makes sense as a place to learn how to make a living.
Do you think someone with a higher education-level job requires more from the worker than someone that started working right from high school? Or do you think that not going to college after high school means that you just stop learning? One of Mike Rose’s main ideas in the Blue-Collar Brilliance is the question, is there really a difference between white and blue collar worker? Mike Rose is being persuasive in the text because he shows how his family went through blue collar work. I think Mike Rose is being persuasive in writing this.
Working in a physical labor job may seem like an easy way to make money during the summer for students but in the article "Some Lessons From the Assembly Line" written by Andrew Braaksma and published in 2005 he discusses many reasons why his time working as a temp worker in a factory was "anything but a vacation" (Braaksma 2005). The plush lifestyle of a student with lax, customized schedules, haphazard homework attempts, and a rich social environment is a walk in the park compared to what those that work these jobs endure year-round. In two months, Mr. Braaksma learned hard lessons about what hard work entails and the fragile nature of factory jobs. They can be gone in the blink of an eye. An experience like this is vital in giving real-world
Throughout the essay, Charles Murray stresses the idea that college is the wonderland of finding oneself and to find the career that one would want to follow for the rest of their lives. “College is seen as the open sesame to a good job and a desirable way for adolescents to transition to adulthood. Neither reason is as persuasive as it first appears.” Murray, C (2008) Practically spoken, this is not normally the case. College is a fair amount of work, much more work than one would normally acquire through any course of a high school or secondary school setting.
The authors tell them they would understand it more due to him giving his personal life habits, of working hard and getting underpaid because maybe lack of experience or not having a certain degree. Mr. Andrew Braaksma is claiming in the article “Some Lessons from the Assembly Line”, "I have worked as a temp in the factories surrounding my hometown every summer since I graduated from high school, but making the transition between school and full-time blue-collar work during the break never gets any easier."(Braaksma 2005) He states in the reading, that it isn 't easy being a full worker then going to college. " but making the transition between school and full-time blue-collar work during the break never gets any easier.
For example, one of the key points that is constantly brought up in Sinclair’s novel is how these companies view their workers, and how that leads them to atrociously use them. The protagonist, Jurgis Rudkus, states how he was, “… the victim of ravenous vultures that had torn into his vitals and devoured him; of fiends that had racked and tortured him, … and they could do nothing...the law was against them, the whole machinery of society was at their oppressors' command!”(p.184-185) Originally, Jurgis had moved to America with his family with hopes and dreams for a happy life. However, working in the factories has torn him apart at the seams and took everything he had away from him, including his reasons to live. Once they had drained his strength, they tossed him aside like a rag doll, and left him to fend for himself without a job.
Living where we live, you begin to comprehend that living off of $11.00 per hour including with your family will never suffice your needs. Getting a college degree can ensure the graduate a higher chance of being able to earn more financially. In the article “Why College Isn't And Shouldn't Have to be For Everyone” by Robert Reich, he states that “A degree from a prestigious university can open doors to elite business schools and law schools-and to jobs paying hundreds of thousands, if not millions. ”Even though Reich’s article is on the opposing side of the argument, he fails to overlook the fact that in the long run having a college degree will, and can open doors to many new opportunities. One of those opportunities is to be able get a well paying job that can earn more than the average non college graduate.
The lack of people not being taught about working hard and the neglect of our education. These points are the driving force of the article. It shows us about learning life 's lessons and appreciating the value of employment when you have it. The author 's primary focus in “Some Lessons from The Assembly Line” is to bring out the situation he went through during his time at work and helping us appreciate education. In his award-winning article, “Some Lessons from The Assembly Line”, Andrew Braaksma tells you how important going to college is, getting a good job, and working hard.
Is College Worth the Cost? Life’s success is achieved in different ways. (Director, n.d.) A lot of television programs and magazines instills the idea in us that being successful means; having a fulfilling career, having a lot of money and being powerful. Most religious and spiritual organizations, in contrast, claim that success means being at peace with God and finding spiritual happiness.
In the article “ Why college isn’t( and shouldn’t have to be) for everybody” it states “For example, the emerging economy will need platoons of technicians able to install, service, and repair all the high-tech machinery filling up hospitals, offices, and factories.”(26) . “ Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” They feel they are compelled to get a college degree because they’ve been told that it was necessary to get a college degree, some people also think that if you go to a four-year college everyone would look down to their nose if they don’t have a college degree.. “ I think everyone should go to college and get a degree and then spend six months as a bartender and six months as a cabdriver.