“Blue-Collar Brilliance” by Mike Rose discusses how blue-collar employees are knowledgeable and need a great deal of brainpower to complete their tasks. Mike Rose has spent most of his life admiring individuals classified as “blue-collar” laborers. He would see his mother, Rosie, and uncle, Joe, work to their full ability with skills he had never seen outside their “blue-collar” environment. The author has studied the working patterns of blue-collar workers since infancy and realized how much his mother’s type of work needs both body and intellect (Rose). Hence, Rose uses his family members as instances of intellectual blue-collar workers who succeeded at their occupations.
The social dynamics of their employment teach blue-collar workers knowledge, intuition, and expertise. Rose contends that individuals frequently make mistakes by assessing others based on their degree of education and failing to recognize them. Generalizations about intellect, job, and social status profoundly impact people’s assumptions about themselves and others, influencing how they utilize their minds to learn, accumulate knowledge, solve issues, and navigate the world (Rose). Although writers and researchers have frequently examined the working class, they have typically concentrated on the values such employees demonstrate rather than the thought required by their profession (Rose). Blue-collar employees learn their abilities through observations, trial and error, and often physical and verbal aid from others. “Blue-Collar Brilliance” is an article demonstrating that formal schooling does not necessarily measure a person’s cognitive level. The author emphasizes that this profession has more readings and learnings than society recognizes.
To conclude, I agree with Mike Rose that while school grades are generally used to define one’s intelligence, blue-collar employees gain intellect and skills on the job via effective planning, decision-making, and interpersonal relationships. Most blue-collar occupations are continuously confronted with new daily challenges, despite hard deadlines that necessitate immediate solutions. When I read the part about Rose’s mother, I could picture Rosie performing her work, adapting to changing conditions, and remembering what each customer ordered. Rosie developed memory techniques to help her recall what each customer ordered. Blue-collar workers are, in fact, intelligent, flexible, and deserving of respect.
Work Cited
Rose, Mike. “Blue-Collar Brilliance.” The American Scholar, 2009. Web.