Sunday, November 3, 2013

        In the essay, "Blue-Collar Brilliance" by Mike Rose, the writer informs the reader that jobs that do not require a school diploma, does not mean that the workers are not intelligent. In fact, the author states that these jobs require special skills in order to get the job done. For example, just like his mother, a waitress must be able to carry multiple objects in their hands, analyze the customers behavior as well as being able to satisfy their needs. Also, you must be able to solve problems so that you can continue to work efficiently and effectively. This requires a lot of mental and physical work.
       With regards to Mike Rose's argument, Mike Rose has a brother named Joe Meraglio who did not finish High School but yet he is intelligent and does his job very well. Joe Meraglio started off working at General Motors in the assembly line and gradually increased his position to supervising the paint and body department. When he was in the assembly line he had to learn how to learn "how to efficiently use his use body by acquiring a set of routines that were quick and as well as being able to  preserve energy". Joe needed to solve problems that prohibit him to complete a task as well as being able to learn the functions of the machines around him. He became very skilled and knowledgeable which caused his promotions. However, this would not been completed without physical and mental work.
          I agree with Mike Rose because based on my personal experiences, I had to complete difficult task that was taught to me in school. While in training to become an Auxiliary Police Officer I needed to become skilled in many things in order to pass. In school I was taught to memorize words and follow directions. This helped me a lot because I was able to memorize radio codes and be able to follow directions that were given to me. But in school I was not taught to read people's body language which is extremely important when your an Auxiliary Police Officer. At first in my training, I will confront innocent people because I was not able to read their body language very well. Many of these innocent people would get frustrated and shout that they did not do anything wrong which was true. Over time I had to learn by myself how to read body language very well. Through the process in training I've stopped potential crimes that would harm the community. Now I am skilled and able to read body language effectively and stop crimes in the real world without the help of school.

1 comment:

  1. Good strong clear writing: think about how you might push further to the "why this matters": why does Rose think it's important that we understand that these jobs take skills? What might be different if this were recognized?

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