Blue, White and Pink Collars

WRT 102

Revision and Reflection Assignment

12/18/14

Blue, White and Pink Collars

Mike Rose’s article “Blue Collar Brilliance” explains how blue collar workers are attributed with the stereotype of being less intelligent than white collar workers. The misconception of what being intelligent means, leads to the generalization of this class of workers and the inaccurate beliefs of being “inferior” when compared to white collar workers.

Blue collar works are misunderstood; they demonstrate intelligence and develop various abilities by learning in a more practical way. Learning is proved to be independent of formal education, and works in complex ways that do not fit into stereotypical points of view. Rose defends blue collar workers by opening the reader’s eyes with a number of examples, comparisons, a metaphor and some facts. Blue Collar workers are capable, they prove to exceed at practical tasks and demonstrate their intelligence in a kinesthetic way.

The article begins with and extended introduction of how he grew up surrounded by servers and other blue collar workers. He describes some memories about his mother. He explains how she managed to cope with the workload. Also, he describes how stressful a restaurant’s environment can be, and the effects it has on its employees: There were times when the pace of the restaurant would become faster “weaving in and out around the room, waitresses warned behind you in impassive but urgent voices” (Rose). The skills that are necessary to adapt to a fast paced environment of a restaurant are described. They go from people skills to the development of precise fine movements. The descriptions are thoughtful and provide an idea of what it’s like (the everyday working routine) to be a blue collar worker in the restaurant industry.

The skills described and the image provided is based on his experience as an observer, based on his memories. It´s main source of information are the experiences that the author describes. The subjects that are investigated the most are his mom and uncle. He also explains about his work observing other blue collar workers, providing a general understanding of the various demands required in the different working sectors: “The plumber seeking leverage in order to work in tight quarters and the hair stylist adroitly handling scissors and comb manage their bodies strategically. Though work-related actions become routine with experience, they were learned at some point through observation, trial and error, and, often, physical or verbal assistance from a co-worker or trainer” (Rose). Some of the different skills blue collar workers learn are: trial and error, an effective way to learn by making mistakes and fixing them; thinking while moving, multitasking, fast thinking and decision making in a fast paced environment.

Rose explains how learning is not dependent on formal education: “Still for Joe the shop floor provided what school did not; it was like schooling, a place where you are constantly learning". There are different ways to learn that do not have to be strictly attached to school. “He lacked formal knowledge of how the machines under his supervision worked, but he had direct experience with them, hands on knowledge, and was savvy about their tricks and operational capabilities. He could experiment with them” (Rose). Learning comes in different ways and styles and can be accomplished

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