Chapter 4 in The Mind at Work offered the similar view that young people who learn a trade gain self discipline and self esteem with a job well done. The difference is that Chapter 4 focuses on carpentry. Rose writes in chapter 3, the bran and hand work together. He adds another dimension to that with carpentry: "Brain, hand, tool, and wood ...work in a complex cybernetic system." The problem with this book is the redundancy. Rose offers the same ideas using different names and different occupations.
While Chapter 5 continues to look at students and advances the idea that work becomes ones identity, it's more engaging because it focuses on reflection. Rose concludes that as a society, we are missing principled activities that contribute to the social good -- we spend too much time trying to identify problems. This chapter offered a different perspective which made it a more interesting "read" than chapter 4.
Chapter 6 held my attention. Rose does a better job of detailing the stories of two people who bucked the odds to work their way into management positions. He also offers insight on binary opposites in the way our society looks at education versus vocation -- we define education as well-minded while vocation as narrow; education as intellectual while vocation as practical. As Mike Rose's Uncle Joe said, "there's no such thing as unskilled labor." I particularly liked this chapter because it offered concrete examples of two people who succeeded and helped others as well -- without much redundancy.
Judy,
ReplyDeletei really could not agree any more with everything you discussed. Chapter four seemed incredibly redundant and monotonous to me. I did not feel like I was learning anything that was not mentioned previously in the book for the exception of the actual mechanics that go into carpentry. It seemed that instead of developing his thesis, Mike Rose was simply restating it, which made me increasingly frustrated and to be frank, bored. I can't wait to discuss this further with you in class.
Best,
Natalie
I am so glad I was not alone in my opinion of these chapters! As you said, it feels like I am reading the same stuff with different occupations attached to it. I understand that the author should be true to his voice but, without originality, the reader is bound to get bored just like I did. In the review I found of the book for our book club meeting, the reviewer also pointed out that Rose describes these careers too academically and actually detracts from his thesis by accentuating the divide between the academic world and blue collar labor.
ReplyDeleteJudy,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. Rose does seem to repeat himself. I do like the structure of his book, but you're right about the fact that he offers the same ideas using different names and different occupations. This is definitely a book that can become boring if you're not completely hooked from the start. I look forward to reading the book review that you chose for our meeting!