In the article “Some Lessons From The Assembly Line” by Andrew Braaksma (2005), the author is expressing his experiences of working in a blue-collar job during the summer while going to college, with the goal of encouraging people and students to value higher education. The author realizes that blue-collar work has its disadvantages and that higher education is important, as he states,
"After working 12-hour shifts in a factory, the other options have become brutally clear. When I'm back at the university, skipping classes and turning in lazy re-writes seems like a cop-out after seeing what I would be doing without school. All the advice and public-service announcements about the value of an education that used to sound trite now ring
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While blue-collar work can be rewarding, college opens the door to many more opportunities. Many careers require higher education or even a college degree. Manual labor can be grueling and ultimately limiting to a person's future.
As an older adult who is now going back to college, I have many experiences in my life and career that have helped me appreciate how college opens more opportunities. Like Braakma, I have also experienced backbreaking manual labor jobs; moving steel beams and working in a factory on an assembly line. These experiences made me quickly realize that I wanted a different career path. When I couldn't even lift my arms at the end of the day from exhaustion and pain, I knew I wanted to pursue higher education for the opportunity to work in the computer field. Because technology constantly changes and increases, I have continually gone to school to renew my skills. As a blue-collar worker who has gone back to college several times in my adult life, I know higher education has improved my career prospects. Now, I am now attending college as an older adult to change my career path yet again. The opportunities I am pursuing in my career will only be possible with a college degree.
After working brutal 12-hour days at a blue-collar job all summer, Braaksma returns to college life in the fall completely inspired and ready to make the most out of his education, knowing he will gain many personal benefits from his college
In society today, a college education is often seen as a “the next step” in a young adult’s life. Whether they actually know what they would like to earn a degree in, they feel the need to continue their education as almost everyone around them is pursuing post-secondary education of some sort. It is often argued that a college education is not necessary to get ahead because of the manufacture based workforce that is up and coming in America, however, there are many benefits to having a post-secondary education such as a higher rate of pay and more job opportunities.
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.
Could you make it in the grind of the assembly line in the blue-collar world? In reading Braaksma's "Some Lessons From The Assembly Line", the main idea is how important college education is, which is conveyed in a number of different ways. The author looks at the experience they had at assembling line job on their summer break and how awful it was. Comparing it to the easy-going lifestyle as a college student. The article’s main claim of education being an important avenue to take is an important lesson to be taken seriously because of the author’s negative view of the assembly line, positive view of being at school, and the value the author holds in education.
The article "Some Lessons from the Assembly Line" by Andrew Braaksma, gives you ride a through the life of a blue-collar worker and the importance of investing in yourself with a college degree. The author discusses how spending summers working as a blue-collar worker at a factory in his hometown, makes him appreciate the opportunity to attend college. The author explains what his life would be like had he not decided to obtain a college degree and add value to his life. I can relate to the author from my own personal experiences with my job and learning how valuable a college education could be. I have missed several opportunities to advance and move up with my company because I didn't have a degree. Now that I’m in school I can also
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.
It is unmistakable that his position as temp in the car factories is extremely hard, as well as labor intensive, and yet at the end, he is paid very little. The “tinged with sense of guilt” is a highly valuable lesson to Braaksma since he realized that he did not take the most beneficial opportunity that he has had in order to accomplish higher education (Braaksma, 2005 p.1). From this statement, it is apparent that life can be much more hard without an outstanding college degree, though he has not acquired it yet, and he did not work hard at school. This hence makes him to feel a little guilty at the moment. In addition, he compares his tough duties at the assembly line with other jobs his friends took, such as waiting tables around the campus. Braaksma however, carries out his rough obligations at the factory in order to save his small wages in order for his return to college. He really pities for his colleagues at the workplace who have worked there for a longer period because they have not had the privilege like his to attend college, and thus makes him feel more grateful (Braaksma, 2005). With the thought of working and not returning to school is one not to be taken lightly. Many people often think, is it worth going to school to begin with. In the article “Is College Worth It? Clearly Data Say”, says “Americans with four-year college degrees made 98 percent more an hour on average in 2013 than people without a degree. That’s up from 89 percent five years earlier, 85 percent a decade earlier and 64 percent in the early 1980s.”
In "Some Lessons from the Assembly Line," Andrew Braaksma explains his experience working as a college student in various factories over his summer breaks. Throughout the essay, he contrasts the factory life to his college experience and documents the daily stress and struggles of the factory workers. Braaksma uses his firsthand experiences working in the factory to convey the benefits, and therefore importance, of a college education. Braaksma’s conversational essay becomes a very effective persuasive piece in support of higher education through the sometimes stark contrasts he conveys, the first-person narrative in which he shares his experiences and the words he chooses to tell his story.
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.
In his article, “Some Lessons From The Assembly Line” Braaksma (2005) asserts that the typical college student feels that their college education should be tailored to their sensibilities for scheduling as well as the expectation of outputs. Not knowing how easily one’s fortunes can be reversed, Braaksma’s peers moved through their education with the belief they were above the daily struggles commonly seen in the blue-collar workforce. Instead of learning the value of hard work, the modern attitude seems to be one of entitlement of all things with little to no effort. One almost gets the sense that the work ethic of today’s youth has suffered due to the relative ease required to perform most summer or part-time jobs. The main theme of the article, that a strong work ethic is an asset to future endeavors, is persuasive because it highlights the importance of an understanding of the intrinsic value of an education, comprehension of the uncertainty the job market, and the satisfaction of a job well done.
The title of the article is "Some Lessons From The Assembly Line" by Andrew Braaksma. After reading the article it made me realize how important it is to have an education and how fortunate I am to be able to have one. It makes me want to stay in college because I see how it is a struggle for some people today to find a job with decent pay. Braaksma's goal for writing this article was to teach his audience about the value of education. He discussed the value of his work experiences. He also mentioned that the most stressful thing about working in a factory is knowing that your job could disappear overnight. Braaksma experienced this himself when one of his co-workers had told him that the unit they were working in would be shut down within the next six months and moved to Mexico, where people would work for lower pay. Braaksma makes an effective argument about the benefits of receiving a college education by using personal anecdotes and imagery.
As the world of work becomes more complex, many workers need training to avoid losing their jobs or being passed over for promotion. Consequently, many who would not have considered college 20 or even 15 years ago are finding themselves back in school. As adults become students, employers, colleges, and workers are changing old notions about how to go about pursuing higher learning.
Ever since we were young, we have always heard how college is the only way to excel in a career and make more money. However, people need to realize that not all college degrees are comparable. If someone wanted to become a fire fighter, then college may not be a necessity. However, if you wanted to become a lawyer or a doctor, then college is essential to follow in this career path. Undoubtedly a person with a college degree can make up to
Bazin, Sarris, Kael, and Corrigan all have differing opinions on auteur theory, but the common thread is the commercialization of film (and director). I found the studios coopting Fords model of the assembly line the perfect catalyst for auteur theory. The assembly line style of filmmaking doesn’t seem to inspire the ideal of the creation of art. The assembly line (by its nature) requires collaboration and the classic image of the artist is that of an individual. A lone writer or painter struggles for inspiration and the discovery of new means of perception. One person’s view of the world: their own themes, voice, and style.
In his Essay “Are too many people going to college,” first published in a 2008 issue of AEI, Charles Murray explores many insights onto the topic of furthering education as well as exploring various other options to pursue after high school. Who exactly would think that too many people are going to college? Well with more and more students flooding campuses at the end of every school year and less and less going into trade schools, a shift in the job market is just beginning to be seen on the horizon. Charles Murray’s essay “Are too many people going to college” shows that not only are there other avenues to pursue a potential life long career, but that much of the time pursuing these avenues may offer better results for some wanting to go to college.
After high school, a choice that many students have to make is whether to go to college or not. There are many factors that go into one’s decision. There are pros and cons to going to college and also there are pros and cons for not going to college. But the decision that will give someone the better opportunity to have a more successful life is to go to college. The money that one will earn after getting a college degree will be more than the money a person will make without getting a college degree. As our society has continued to evolve, education has become the optimal route to professional success: pursuing a degree is the best way to receive training, to gain expertise in a given field, and even to guide you and help you make choices