Summary Of Some Lessons From The Assembly Line

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 Freeman Hrabowski’s piece, “Colleges Prepare People for Life,” he mentions the differing opinions between going to college and choosing another path. Many people find college too expensive, and once a student graduates, he or she will face enormous debt and potentially risk still being unprepared for the working world. Hrabowski acknowledges this, and also notices that many students who do attend college occasionally make the wrong decision in terms of choosing a school and major. But while the stakes are high, he argues that college not only provides financial stability, but also allows students to become more virtuous citizens in the long run. He does this by providing information to backup his claims, using a passionate tone to explain his beliefs, and paralleling college attendance with good intentions.

In the essay “College Value Goes Deeper Than the Degree” author Eric Hoover claims a college education is important to one 's well-being so they can get a job and be productive in other parts of life. Promoters of higher education have long emphasized how beneficial college’s value and its purpose. Many believe the notion that colleges teach students are life skills to apply anywhere, they also work hard to earn a degree and learn specific marketable skills which they can use to get a good job. Though obtaining a college education and a degree is helpful in countless of ways, it is not necessary to pursue a college degree in world where a college degree is seen different now, people without turn out fine, the growing average of debt that students who attend college have to pay off and people without a degree can obtain many jobs that do not require college degrees.

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.

The heavy utilization of emphasis amplifies and magnifies the importance of the unique perspective that college education is not a necessity anymore. Going so far as to

Parents believe their kids are too young and immature to make a decision by them selves, therefore they pressure their kids into attending college believing it is the best thing for them. The author does not agree with these actions and thinks that students should decide for themselves whether or not they want to continue their education. If students feel that college is not for them, they should not stay there just because somebody expects them to. Furthermore, she states that if everyone got a higher education everybody would be on the same intellectual level, and there would be no difference in people.

Most blue-collar jobs are hard, manual labor with minimal pay. "After a particularly exhaustion string of 12-hour days at a plastics factory, I remember being shocked at how small my check seemed." (Braaksma)Not all factories and blue-collar jobs pay at the very minimal wage but a lot of them do and that's a disadvantage of working that type of job and not having a degree. It's hard to live a life when you aren't bringing that much money homefrom a job that you put in many hours

My selected article is Some Lessons From the Assembly Line by Andrew Braaksma. According to Andrew Braaksma having some experience in a real-world, this job setting helped him perceive the importance of education. He mentions that the lessons in his life that he learned were at the expense of others misfortunes. The individuals around him became the reason for his clarity and gratitude for the education he is receiving. The article's theme of the lessons that are learned through experience are well argued because the author incorporates challenges with the work-load the job came with, provides pros and cons of working at real world job, and mentally grasps the work ethic the factory taught him.

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 the debate about whether college is worth attending, many argue that college is worth it but others argue that college is not worth it. Those who argue that college is worth it contend to say that college graduates make more money, college allows students to explore career options, and not going to college will cost people more money in the future but on the other hand, those who argue that college is not worth it contend to say that college graduates are employed in jobs that do not require degrees, students who do not graduate waste their own money and the governments money, and student debt can cause another financial crisis for students who are already struggling with financial aid. While it is true that college does cause many problems already, college is worth attending and worth all the problems at the end of the road.

The decision to obtain a higher education beyond high school is no longer a question of if, but when. This is the question that author Caroline Bird discusses in her article, “College is a Waste of Time and Money,” written in 1975. This text strives to convince students, parents, and advisors that obtaining a degree might not be in the best interest for those involved. Circling around the idea that college is a requirement and no longer an act of free will. Bird starts the article off strongly by building her credibility through her own personal research and other credible sources as well as appealing to readers through logical reasoning using numerous statistics, but fails to convince readers and discredits her ultimate goal through a disconnect in her use of analogies.

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.

Andrew Braaksma’s claim in “Lessons from the Assembly Line” is that formal education is a valuable privilege. Furthermore, people who have access to it should be appreciative as there is an entire segment of people who do not/did not have such opportunities presented to them. Finally, the article challenges people in more advantaged positions – in this case, starry-eyed college students – to see worth in experiences outside of their bubble as they can be valuable as well. Braaksma's claims are correct, and the critical analysis will support his assertions. Nevertheless, Braaksma’s central argument is eclipsed by his personal narrative as it overshadows broader social issues making certain elements of his piece hard to discern.

Why is it important to achieve a college degree, certificate or diploma? Generally speaking, what is the importance of having a college education? This is a question that I have been debating and fighting with myself for the past five years. Is it because with a college education a person can get a better job, earn more money and ensure himself of a better life? Or is the whole concept of college a fraud and a scam to manipulate individuals in feeling inferior without it? In this paper, I am going to enlighten you of the pros and cons of having a valid college education and what it means to me.