- #BLUE COLLAR BRILLIANCE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS HOW TO#
- #BLUE COLLAR BRILLIANCE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS MANUAL#
Physical and service work related to work that used to be performed by servants or slaves and an underlying thought is that those who serve us are beneath us. I think it has something to do with the innately selfish nature of human beings. Why then should the blue-collar class be called the "working class?" While Rose does not directly make a note of this, I believe it is also a worthy point of contention. Lawyers, doctors, and even professors go to "work" every day.
#BLUE COLLAR BRILLIANCE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS MANUAL#
College degrees are for the intelligent manual labor does not require a college degree those who perform manual work are not intelligent.Īnother point of contention which academics and intellectuals can address is the cataloging of those in physical work and service professions. When society closely associates intelligence, and thus the ability to perform at a demanding pace, to a college degree then, like, with the hammer analogy, members without diplomas will be judged and seen as less deserving than those with degrees. Visualizing workers as merely tools, single dimensional objects that can be moved and positioned like pawns on a chessboard. This is a managerial outlook that dehumanizes workers and transforms them into data points. Keywords such as efficiency and productivity and, in modern times, culture have surrounded much of the research on the working class. Perhaps some of the faults lie with researchers, Rose claims here. Rose also goes on to state, "although writers and scholars have often looked at the working class, they have focused on the values such workers exhibit rather than on the thought their work requires – a subtle but pervasive omission" (381). Learning to respect and value one another is key to our democracy and conducive to working together towards a better future. The mind model Rose refers to is one of inclusion and recognition of skill and competence where it is due. My agreement with Mike Rose rises above my station, however, as he states, "this is a model of the mind that is worthy of a democratic society" (388). The men and women of academia have the power to incite the catalyst for change. I began to understand Rose's motivations for wanting to share "Blue Collar Brilliance" with his colleagues. However, my lack of a college degree was overshadowing the work performed so well in the military. In the military, its members wear their accomplishments on their chest this means that, as Rose puts it, "competence synonymous with physical work" (379).
#BLUE COLLAR BRILLIANCE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS HOW TO#
As a mentor told me over a phone conversation, “The problem is Human Resource departments would not even know how to hire you.” This phrase came in response to my anecdote depicting the irony that members of the profession I was targeting had all shown their support and I had heard comments like, “You could do this job with your eyes closed.” The problem was that they all had four-year college degrees and I did not, which lead them to conclude with, “Sorry, Ernesto, but you are just going to have to check that box.” My ideology was rooted in what I knew, meritocracy. So logically, my first thought upon reading Rose's essay was to be in denial, not having come to terms with the divisionary caste system that has dominated American society for so long.įollowing the days after my initial read reality slowly crept in – no doubt due to my ruminating thoughts – and I realized my very own "Blue-Collar Brilliance" was being scrutinized and found wanting by employers.
One veteran consultancy agent even told me he was struggling to find employment beyond a Help Desk for many of the veterans he works with that did not have college degrees. Instead, the reception that awaited me was one of many, let's keep in touch. My understanding was that based on my time invested in preparing, dedication and work ethic I would be able to seek out the employment I felt a calling to perform, and my substantive merits and accolades would speak on my behalf and allow me to plead my case in front of hiring managers. In it, Mike Rose condenses years of research into a thirty-minute read indented to grab the attention of fellow scholars because bringing fellow academics into the conversation is a crucial step in challenging the current status quo and creating a shift toward greater recognition of the intelligence found in the working class. "Blue Collar Brilliance" is an essay meant to question assumptions about intelligence, work, and social class. Criticizing Mike Rose for writing "Blue-Collar Brilliance" meant I did not have to accept my daftness and holding on to my flawed ideal was acceptable. 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 that notion to a belief that work requiring less schooling requires less intelligence.
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