Some lessons from the Assembly Line by Andrew Braaksma is an article describing the authors motivation for taking school seriously. In his article Braaksma, identifies the work he chooses to carry out during summer months to be utter "torture" compared to campus life. Although he describes the jobs in such manner he admits he learns valuable lessons from his experience as well as his temporary coworkers who often remind him to keep studying. Braaksmas article is an excellent piece to read when you find yourself slacking in your studies. The point is clear in which Braaksma is conveying. Take your education seriously or get used to blue collar living. Low pay, Long hours, and hard work for the rest of your life or a few years in college to study …show more content…
In the reading of the text Braaksma is determined to get others to understand his view on blue collar work and college life. In his article Braaksma identifies factory work with torture while characterizing college with vivacious words such as lush and cavernous. “For a student like me who considers any class before noon to be uncivilized, getting to a factory by 6 o'clock each morning, where rows of hulking, spark-showering machines have replaced the lush campus and cavernous lecture halls of college life, is torture.” (5) As I reflect on my previous work experiences, college life was a regular daydream for me. Although, my intentions prior to finishing high school were to go to college, life, had a surprise for me in the form of a baby girl. Often, even now that I’m an online student I find myself wondering, how cool it would’ve been to enjoy the life as a college student? The atmosphere and football season really had my gears yearning for the experience single-handedly. Instead of taking my fancies seriously, I managed to become the employee who settled for “6 o’clock mornings”, endured twelve, sometimes sixteen hour days to eventually pick-up a check not worth cashing after Uncle Sam received his
In Excellent Sheep, William Deresiewicz argues how college does not just provide education. He continues by informing us that life is more important than a job; jobs are more than a paycheck; and a country more than its wealth. Deresiewicz also argues that even being a quadruple major does not make a student interesting, but looking inside themselves and finding out and doing what actually interests them makes them interesting. In doing so, he suggests how the college prepares the student to be an active student who can handle different situations from the experiences he/she will experience .
Nowadays few people realize the value of education. In Andrew Brassksma’s essay,” Some Lessons from the Assembly Line,” describes how a college student understands the value of an education by working as a full-time blue-collar worker during the summer time. Often times, there are people without a proper education who are forced to take unstable and low-paying jobs to support themselves or family. But, many people who have access to education do not realize the privilege it is and often times take it for granted. In Andrew Brassksma’s essay,” Some Lessons from the Assembly Line”, he puts himself on the same level as other blue-collar workers, and this is significance to the author's purpose because he can appreciate his own situation to the
Braaksma expresses the first point by contrasting his daily routine on the line versus his routine while at school. Finally, he addresses the significance of a college education through inference. College educated individuals are less likely to work in positions that require manual labor. Therefore, a degree affords individuals opportunities beyond the line, opportunities that some people do/did not have.
"Some Lessons From the Assembly Line" review In the article "Some Lessons From the Assembly Line" by Andrew Braaksma (2005). Braaksma is trying to reach the audience of college students and blue-collar workers. With his personal experience he shows how his friends who attend college and haven 't worked long hours don 't understand why he is happy to be back at school, they don 't understand what it is like to work long hard hours all day long and not be paid accordingly. "There are few things as cocksure as a college student who has never been out in the real world, and people my age always seem to overestimate the value of their time and knowledge. After a particularly exhausting string of 12-hour days at a plastics factory, I remember being shocked at how small my check seemed" Braaksma (2005).
Can the pursuit of a higher degree change your life? If you answered no then maybe you would benefit from reading Andrew Braaksma article “Some Lessons from the Assembly Line.” When this article was produced Braaksma used his work to win a contest named Back to School, while he was a junior at the University of Michigan. Braaksma also worked his summers at an automotive plant in southwest Michigan where he learned some valuable lessons not taught in the classroom. Anyone thinking about returning to college or students of any age should understand the importance of higher education because the reality of working for a living is harder than you think, the physical toll’s it can place on the body, and lack of a job security that comes from not having a higher education.
College is important to attend in order to have a stable income later in life. College is the smart thing to do. Go to college please. Make more money than you would, have a steady retirement fund, be able to suport a family, spend more time that we have so little of with your family. Make the smart
By today’s standards most of us may not even be middleclass any more. As Mr. Bienen, pointed out, attending college correlates to earning more in one’s lifetime. Thus, it is necessary for most students to graduate from college and obtain a good paying job so that they can once again live a middleclass lifestyle in this
From sleeping through an English class, to skipping a history test, because you haven’t touched your textbook all semester. Seniors are so close to moving onto the next step of their life that the things that were so exciting their freshman don't appeal to them. They are ready to experience life outside of high school; whether that's college,
Education vs. Blue Collar Some Lessons From The Assembly Line By Andrew Braaksma is a story of a gentleman who works in factory 's during his breaks throughout college. He describes the differences of the college life vs. the blue collar working life. The story goes on to explain the struggles between the two, as well as his views on them. The articles theme of higher education vs. none is very plausible because Braaksma recognizes the negativities of blue collar work, defends the benefits of higher education, and includes captivating personal experiences.
Delbanco explains how students have changed their reasons for attending a college when he states, “...yet on the assumption that immersing themselves in learning for the sheer joy of it, with the aim of deepening their understanding of culture, nature, and, ultimately, themselves, is a vain indulgence” (222). Secondary education has become too expensive for learning to be an indulgence. Students only go to college to get a degree in order to gain a high paying career. Davidson explains how dire the situation with low paying job is by saying how the process should work, “Only through productivity growth can the average quality of human life improve” (339). Unfortunately, the productivity growth only leaves a bigger pay gap.
In the article "Some Lessons from the Assembly Line", Andrew Braaksma is talking about how important your education is, and how he had wished he would have went to college much sooner than he did. Also, he wouldn 't be getting underpaid at work as hard as he does. I believe, he is wanting a better future for the kids that 's soon to be in college, and he is wanting them to see how hard it is a struggle of being underpaid. He is wishing he would have went to college much sooner than he did, and he would have a good paying job because, he could have already had his degree, and he wouldn 't be getting under paid. His goal is him telling students how important their education is.
In the essay “Blue-Collar Brilliance” it begins with a fairly detailed description of Mike Rose’s mother at her work as a waitress in Los Angeles during the 1950’s, when he was a child. Mike Rose is a professor at the UCLA graduate school of education and information studies. This article originally appeared in 2009 in the American Scholar, a magazine published by the Phi Beta Kappa Society. Rose’s intended audience for this article is white collar workers, who usually hold a negative perspective towards their colleagues who aren’t as well educated as them. Mike Rose uses his mother and uncle as examples of his argument that those without formal education have important kinds of intelligence as well just in different ways.
The author sets up a picture of himself as a student and a factory worker. The story shows us about what happens when a student decides to take a part-time job in the summer while continuing his education. Andrew Braaksma makes some great points in his article. The three main points in the article are to express the importance of education. We need to appreciate the value of being employed.
Why People Should Not Go to College People should not go to college because is difficult to find out what career choice as a result of the inexperience and little information, the potential loans are overwhelming, and the huge necessity to start working immediately after school. In fact, many high school students go to college because it is expected of them, but that is not a good reason to go. If the students are facing pressure from their parents, friends, or teachers to attend college, but they do not feel ready. A person who wants to attend college should not take on such a large financial and time commitment just to please other people. College is expensive, and it does not make sense to spend money on a college degree if they are unsure of their path.
Students face various challenges throughout their college career. Thus, the problems that students have can range from balance, new lifestyle, to financial problems. Therefore, finding a balance between being a student, possibly working, and keeping up with their social life is a necessity. Similarly, others are away from home for the first time thus, they have a new responsibility with being on their own and findings ways to deal with homesickness. Likewise, being exposed to new financial situations is yet another challenge college students will need to learn how to cope with.