Homer 1

Brenda Homer

Professor Kelly Turnbeaugh

English 1010

July 6, 2018

Education is Not the Beginning of Intelligence: Rhetorical Analysis Essay of

Blue Collar Brilliance Mike Rose and To What Degree is Being Educated Mistaken

with Being Intelligent in our Society Lindsay Racen

Blue-Collar Brilliance: Mike Rose is a research professor at the Graduate School of

Education and Information Studies at UCLA. Article, Brandman University, To What Degree is

Being Educated Mistaken with Being Intelligent in our Society Lindsay Racen author writer for

Brandman university.

The authors Rose and Racen use multiple tools to prove to the audience of academia and

educators the point that intelligence is not based on education but that education is the effect of

intelligence. The use of expert opinion, anecdotal evidence, documented evidence along with

clear and concise writing make these two papers compelling in the presented argument.

Both Rose and Racen pose the question as to whether a person’s education equals their

intelligence with the assumption that education is not the measure of intelligence but rather the

effect of intelligence.
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Firstly, Rose’s argument that society and educators at large devalue the intelligence of the

blue-collar worker. His argument is that those individuals who have chosen the work of sweat

over academia are as intelligent as those that chose the path of education.

Rose uses several facts to prove his point that intelligence is not the same as being

educated. Rose said, “Although writers and scholars have often looked at the working class, they

have generally focused on the values such workers exhibit rather than on the thought their work

requires—a subtle but pervasive omission.” This factual statement is the running thesis of his

writing. Rose’s second fact statement is closely related “Our culture—in Cartesian fashion—

separates the body from the mind, so that, for example, we assume that the use of a tool does not

involve abstraction. We reinforce this notion by defining intelligence solely on grades in school

and numbers on IQ tests (Rose).” This point of fact is proof that as a culture we value the score

on a test instead of the value of the working class, that culturally the use of tools is less than.

Using these well know facts brings to the mind of the reader the social stigma that is pervasive in

the academic arena that physical service requires only the basic intellect. Rose argues that

physical intellect is equal to the educational intellect.

The anecdotal evidence and autobiographical experience that Rose provides gives a clear

picture as to what the author sees as a disconnect that the world at large has with intelligence and

education. Each story magnifies the point that Rose is trying to make in that intelligence is not

measured by the amount of education that a person has, but more on the opportunity that a

person has in gaining an education. These stories give visual clues to the reader, so that the

reader becomes empathetic to the writer’s motivation. Particularly the visual description of his

mother as a waitress, her use of both hands and physical presence to maneuver through the
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restaurant is compelling in it description. As a reader I could see Rosie, his mother, as she

worked. The story of his uncle as he worked his way up in his company using his observational

skills along with trial and error gives the reader additional information regarding the author and

his motivation. Rose said of his uncle, “He lacked formal knowledge of how the machines under

his supervision worked, but he had direct experience with them, hands-on knowledge.”

Rose used his personal experiences in education to push himself to gain additional

understanding of the topic and then became an expert in the field. Rose then used his acquired

additional education to formally study the thought processes involved in manual labor. His

educated observations provided him with the necessary information to draw his conclusion that

education is not the measure of a person’s intelligence rather education is opportunity based.

Those with intelligence would want to expand their formal education but education is not the

cause of intelligence. Rose said “When we devalue the full range of everyday cognition, we offer

limited educational opportunities and fail to make fresh and meaningful instructional connections

among disparate kinds of skill and knowledge”.

In addition, Rose uses multiple examples in his writing to demonstrate his point. He said

“I’m struck by the thinking-in-motion that some work requires”. Other examples include

statements to the effect, “To work is to solve problems”, “physical work is social and

interactive”, “Verbal and mathematical skills drive measures of intelligence”. These examples

give the reader clues to the writer’s expert opinion.

Secondly, Racen poses the question to what degree is being educated mistaken with being

intelligent, and the dynamics of education vs overall intelligence and proven skills. She proposes
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that education and learning are synonymous with lifelong learning, she said” Lifelong learners

prove that there is not end to education”.

Racen used the fact that “Colleges and universities believe in the power of education and

employers often filter candidates by level of degree attainment. However, companies also place

high priority on proven skills, abilities and overall intelligence.” Overall intelligence is the key

word here. This one statement is the key to how the author feels about this topic, “On paper

having certain academic degrees listed is supposed to indicate that we have undergone and

completed our education, but to true lifelong learners there is no end to education” This

statement will bring to the forefront of the reader that intelligence is not based on formal

education but on the fact that formal education is a tool for the intelligent to use.

Racen presents the fact that “defining intelligence is one of the most difficult tasks that

many people can undertake. Not only are there multiple types, with more emerging during the

21st century. But there are also multiple ways to measure the factor”. Racen’s argument is that

intelligence is not measured by education, but that education is measured by the type of

intelligence that a person is blessed with. The research evidence that Racen presents regarding

the nine types of intelligence gives us empirical evidence of the credibility of the author.

Racen also used the opinions of others to draw her conclusions. In the presented article

Racen posed the question of education and intelligence to her peers. One response, included

in the article, that seemed to solidify the thesis was, “Education, to me, is like a new tool in

the toolbox. It is a product you buy (or your taxes buy) to help you achieve something – better

job, better understanding, etc. Intelligence, on the other hand, is knowing what's in the toolbox

already and how to squeeze the most out of a tool to achieve something. Education is great.
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But if you don't use it, it'll sit with the rest of the tools in the toolbox, corrode, and become

useless. Your intelligence uses and maintains those tools so that they are always ready for the

next job. " — Brent Vecchin (Racen)

Both Racen and Rose use multiple tools to persuade the audience that intelligence and

education are not the same. These arguments are fact, anecdotal, research and opinion based.

My personal experience is that both Rose and Racen are correct in their theory that intelligence

is not education based but that education is the desire of the intelligent.
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Works Cited

Racen, Lindsay. To What Degree is Being Educated Mistaken with Being Intelligent in our

Society. Brandman University https://www.brandman.edu/news-and-

events/news/2017/08/17/13/14/to-what-degree-is-being-educated-mistaken-with-being-

intelligent-in-our-society

Rose, Mike. Blue Collar Brilliance. The American Scholar: Essays 2009