October 05, 2006
Manual Work as Life of the Mind
"Shopclass as Soul Craft" is a great article on the intellectual merits of skilled labor. The author parallels the movements of postindustrial capitalism, which he claims is generating a rote "clerk class," with the rise of the assembly line 100 years ago. Essentially, assembly lines took the mind out of shop work, making it so that any able bodied individual could be plugged in at a much lower cost. Consequently, the cultural attitude was adopted that white coller work was the place for the thinking person: creative, intellectual, thoughtful work. Crawford argues that the same process of "de-intellectualizing" is happening in global capitalism: now, white coller work is being done by scriveners who punch numbers, not solve problems.
The argument made in the paper is that, although this may seem counterintuitive, skilled trades, like carpentry, electrical work, mechanics, etc., are becoming the last bastion of truly integrated, creative, and intellectual everyday work. Thus, he concludes, educators shouldn't look over these careers for students who are looking for a more meaningful and less alienated work experience.
The paper is much more savvy and nuanced than this summary, so take the time to read it.
Posted by pjaussen at October 5, 2006 11:08 AM | TrackBackHey Paul and Pria...
I'm going to get started posting here once in a great while... just to stay in touch. Kick me out if I offend...
Nan and I have believed for long and long, that there should be two or more tracks in our secondary and post secondary educational system. There is very definitely a need for kids who are not interested in pursuing a white collar, or office environment career to receive a comprehensive education which provides a degree of social/political facility without the post-secondary preparation focus. My experience with no post-secondary teaching has lead me to think that if someone is really interested in learning, this culture provides the means for them to go to almost any desired level. There are many kids we have seen who dropped out of secondary schools as soon as they could, with a pitiable lack of basic skills in language, math, and social studies because their interests lay in areas which were not taught at all. These kids arrive in the workplace with lamentable handicaps which dog them for the rest of their lives. If their interests had been addressed with some teaching aimed toward their vocational interests they likely would have stayed in school and applied themselves much more, with the result that they would have left school with basic skill sets in both traditional studies and vocational areas of interest taught them. There is nothing 2nd tier about a technical or skilled labor career. It is about to become much more lucrative I think, there is a dearth of capable technicians in every field I know that requires those skills, and shortages will drive compensation up. Unfortunately, there is no emphasis placed on this training in our educational system even now. It may be long dry spell.
Posted by: Msago at October 7, 2006 09:14 PMMartin,
Thanks for your comments; this article reminded me of a number of conversations we have had in the past.
I agree with your points, and would add that it is both a structural problem (i.e., how do we organize our curricula?) and a "cultural imaginary" problem (i.e., what should one pursue as a successful or fulfilling life, career, community, etc.?) It seems to me that a healthier appreciation of all areas of work necessary for a culture to survive helps mediate alienation. If only a tiny elite are considered to be "successful," then most of us are set up to have pretty disappointing lives. If, instead, the virtues and pleasures of all areas of work are valued (and financially viable, which is the latent and inescapable economic factor), then a more fertile and satisfactory society will, I think, emerge. Not utopia, by any means, but an improvement.
Hope to hear from you more on this and other issues.
Posted by: paul at October 10, 2006 12:52 PM