Blue Collar Brilliance Mike Rose Summary

In the article “ Blue-Collar Brilliance” the author Mike Rose, was obviously arguing that just because some jobs requires less schooling than others, it doesn’t mean that their jobs use less brain, intelligent and less thought process in their profession. To argue his theory Rose told us about his mother, about how when he was younger, he observe his mother as a waitress at a coffee shop and family restaurant. Rose told us how his mother loves her being a waitress and how her job required her to use her memory and knowledge. As rose stated “my mother kind of work demand of both body and brain” (245) His mother also learned how long each dish is suppose to take before its ready to be serve, and his mother also learned human skills. For example, if there was a problem at work she would knew how to solve them, while she’s still doing her job as an employer. To furthermore his explain his theory; Rose tells reader about

his about his uncle worked at the General Motors factory. Rose described the amount of intelligence that is required from his uncle, how he come from the production line to supervising paint jobs. Rose also continue explaining his argument when he describes other type of blue collar jobs and how each other those job requires a skill the involved a lot of intelligence.
Mike Rose states, “ Intelligence is closely associated with formal education”.

To most people that mean, if someone didn’t complete a certain type of schooling they are consider to be stupid, brainless, and mindless or as Rose quoted in his article “ a bunch of dummies” (247). Most of the time the level of education that is required for someone to complete, to be consider “ intelligent, smart, brilliant” is usually 4 years of college. In today in economy, many people cannot afford to go to college and pursue a higher education. Correction, many people are unable to purchase college textbooks. So just because they cant offered school does that make them less intelligent than someone who does have the money too. As far as I’m concerned mike Rose mother was a waitress psychologist. Mike stated his mother “ take account the emotional state of her co-worker” and “ customers who entered the restaurant with all sorts of needs from psychological ones, including the emotional that accompany hunger to a sometimes complicated desire for human contact”

(246)

According to Mike Rose who disagrees when he writes, “ a belief that work requiring less schooling requires less intelligence”. Well I strongly agree with him for disagreeing with that statement. The level of schooling someone completed should not measure how intelligent someone is or the type of jobs he or she doing. I live in a small town, where there are a lot of immigrants coming in town from both the Haitian and Hispanic Population. Many migrant workers completed school at their country, but when they come to the united state they are working in the filed. Tell me, because they are working at they filed that make them less intelligent then someone who is they CEO of a company?