A Critical Analysis Of 'Lessons From The Assembly Line'

In Dr. Richard Vedder’s, “For Many, College Isn’t Worth It”, he applies numerous examples of pathos and ethos throughout his commentary on the United States’ oversaturation of undergraduate degrees and post-graduate unemployment rate; but these examples are rather weak. Instead of blaming public, more affordable state

Andrew Simmons published his article for The Atlantic, “The Danger of Telling Poor Kids that College is the Key to Social Mobility” on January 16, 2014, which raises his concerns that higher education is only being promoted as an opportunity to increase their economic status, when it should be an opportunity to experience an education (Simmons). Through the use of students such as Isabella, Simmons disagrees with the way students now look at higher education and blames the educators through the students’ lives for this view. Instead, Simmons views education as an intellectual opportunity rather than a way to elevate ones economic class which is all people see when they see “higher education.” He believes that education, ambition and work ethic is how you have a satisfying life, not with how much you make. He makes the point that when economics becomes the main goal of education it’s all children begin to think about and they might not pursue something that they are truly passionate about or what they want to learn about, which then does not create an intellectually awakening experience (Simmons).

In Some Lessons from the Assembly Line by Andrew Braaksma, my first interpretation of this article was that the authors main point was that decisions you make today, will affect your future.  After rereading and careful analysis, the authors main point has changed.  The author is not speaking of what my first interpretation was,  but he is stating you cant learn everything in school.  As I re-read the article using what I have learn, I see that he is explaining lessons that he has learned outside the classroom.  He explains his first person accounts of the differences he has experienced between school and factory life, also giving his readers examples of these lessons learned outside of school.

The story “Blue-Collar Brilliance” by Mike Rose, was originally published in the American Scholar, in 2009. Rose is an American education scholar and was born in 1944. Rose has written several articles on literacy matters. He studied the struggle of the working-class America. Throughout the article, Rose used personal stories to persuade the reader blue-collar workers are very intelligent despite having a formal education. Rose’s agenda could be compared to that of Aristotle regarding their similar ideas on persuasion. Aristotle, was a well-known Greek philosopher, implemented three key terms: ethos, pathos, and logos to persuade his audience. Much like Aristotle, the author of Blue-Collar Brilliance, portrays the importance of his mother and uncle’s jobs by them showing intuition, intelligence, and multitasking thus demonstrating ethos, pathos, and logos.

A motor car for the great multitude a goal for Henry Ford(Schlager 593). In the 1920s, automobiles are rapidly changing the American lifestyle forever because of their affordability and also the development of new assembly technology to lower the cost. Technological innovations of assembly begin to expand and advance for the better throughout the 1920s, which impacts Americans and the people of the world today. Henry Ford, a bold figure during the 1920s, owner of Ford automobiles. His ideas and innovation like the assembly line forever changes the automobile and the way goods are produce. Although there are many technological advancement during the 1920s, the assembly line designed by

In the article, "Blue Collar Brilliance" Mark Rose shows his thought that hands on employments shouldn't be seen as foolish. Society characterizes knowledge in view of grades and IQ tests, however numbers doesn't characterize the workers in the fields. Rose points out that his mom's employment as a waitress and his uncle's occupation in the paint-and-body office are two individuals with a less education is skillful in their job by gaining hand-on experience and knowledge.

John Spayde’s article What Does it Mean to Be Educated (June 1998) offers insight into the world of philosophical questions and studies of our educational system. Spayde shares and responds to the opinions of different novelists, journalists, professors, and colleges that have taken a stance on what it means to be educated. His article briefly covers topics such as; educational decisions, financial division, entitlement, humanities, and technology. Spayde also discusses the importance of being connected and learning from a real-life experience. Spayde believes that having a connection to the world around you allows you to use any experience as a learning mechanism to further your education.

During reassessment for article "Some Lessons From the Assembly Line" by Andrew Braaksma (2005), I concluded similar notations, and judgements. What I developed from the material is that life has moments of bliss, nativity, and hardships. This was related by sharing experience spent at a summer job at an assembly line, clocking hours, and followed going back to college life after their time at the summer job. Also, Mr. Braaksma, expressed that college life was lenient in contrast to the summer position, emphasizing on a lack of security, complacency causes injury, and an education is valued. However, individuals tend to lack in society, within school, and even the valued education will show within the production of work. In turn, also causing a lack of security, complacency, and a worthless education. With that, an education need to be valued, and developed throughout to ensure continued success.

In Andrew Braaksma 's essay “Some Lessons from the Assembly Line,” he tells his personal insights, lessons learned and experiences, while he works a temporary summer job in a factory located near his hometown during college summer break. Braaksma describes his deep appreciation for receiving his education as he attended college and seeing what his life may have been like working a blue collar job in a factory if he did not go to college. As the majority of college students, Braaksma works during the summer to pay for his college books, beer as well as to reduce his summer housing expenses. More importantly, Braaksma chooses to move home and work at the local factory while his classmates are busy working in food service or at a local retail store. Obtaining a higher education will take him far in life without the threat or possibility of having to work a blue collar job in a factory.

In today’s world, young people think that if they continue their tertiary education, they can access a better job, no matter which subject they take. This situation indirectly causes a huge enrollment of students into universities and colleges, which may drop off the quality of education. As the author says, “quantity trumps quality” (pg. 168) which certify that the environment is skipped from education to jobs; meanwhile, the knowledge part is ignored by the students. In detail, they do not expect to learn something but just to get a degree which acts as “a passport to consideration for a job”. (pg. 164) This condition gradually turns credentialing into the norm. Everyone only cares about the degree that they will receive rather than concerning about what they will learn and develop through their subject’s material.

Nowadays, seniors students in high school are qualified to graduate and peregrinate to college to get a degree for their future jobs. There is an author, Pharinet, who verbally expresses that, “That there are too many students enrolled in school who simply don’t belong there” (680). Pharinet says that in her article, “Is College for Everyone?” She argues that college is not for everyone and that students should think deeply afore enrolling. She claims that students who are not academically ready and financially stable are the most mundane in college. Pharinet commences her credibility (ethos), logically (logos), and emotionally (pathos) with broad facts and statistics, a real-life situation, and word of mouth on why college is not for everyone.

The article named “Some Lessons from the Assembly Line” by Andrew Braaksma throws light on the importance of higher education by illustrating his real life experiences from his summer internship in a factory where he worked as a blue collar employee and learned that blue collar job has lots of disadvantages and is uncertain although it pays well.

A supporting key point that is made is that the factory life has shown him what his future might have been like if he had never gone to college. Braaksma stated "My lessons about education are learned at the expense of those who weren't fortunate enough to receive one." Because of the lessons Braaksma was learning, it built up a sense of guilt. Many people work in factories have been working there for over 30 years and that's how they make their livelihood but for him it's only a summer job that he spends two months at.

The skilled trades in America have long been the icon of the working class. Every day millions of people rely on them yet few are ever recognized for the work they accomplish. Without the trades, there would be no office buildings, as well as no plumbing, or electricity, there are plenty more, however, that’s just to list a few. The reason for the project was for personal interest in the trades and the love for hard work over an office setting. In the paper, the lack of skilled trades and the effects that may take place are investigated further. The trades have long been what America was built on, but what’s happening to the future of them, and why fewer students are joining the workforce right out of high school. The push for college has damaged

Since the introduction of undergraduate tuition fees in 1998, higher education in Britain has gradually become more of an investment than Newman’s (1996) theoretical “intellectual training” which aims at producing “gentlemen”. With monetary elements now blending in, people may embrace higher education out of the customary rationale that, the higher degree one earns, the higher salary he will obtain. However, ‘graduatisation’ of occupation, a current trend described as “[a phenomenon where] graduates are occupying more and more jobs that were once occupied by their non-graduate parents” (CIPD, 2016), has challenged the preconceived philosophy.