The Mind at Work: Valuing the Intelligence of the American Worker

Featuring a new preface for the 10th anniversary As did the national bestseller Nickel and Dimed, Mike Rose's revelatory book demolishes the long-held notion that people who work with their hands make up a less intelligent class. He shows us waitresses making lightning-fast calculations, carpenters handling complex spatial mathematics, and hairdressers, plumbers, and electricians with their aesthetic and diagnostic acumen. Rose, an educator who is himself the son of a waitress, explores the intellectual repertory of everyday workers and the terrible social cost of undervaluing the work they do. Deftly combining research, interviews, and personal history, this is one of those rare books that has the capacity both to shape public policy and to illuminate general readers.

Table of Contents:
Preface to the 10th anniversary edition xi Introduction: Mind and Work xxxiii The Working Life of a Waitress 1 Styling Hair 31 The Intelligence of Plumbing 56 A Vocabulary of Carpentry 67 Reflective Technique: Electrical Wiring and Construction 100 Two Lives: A Welder and a Foreman 116 Rethinking Hand and Brain 141 Hand and Brain in School: The Paradox of Vocational Education 167 Conclusion: Working Life 195 Afterword: On Method 217 Acknowledgments 225 Notes 229  

About the Author :
Mike Rose is a professor in the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies. He has taught in a wide range of educational settings, from elementary school to adult literacy and job training programs. He is a member of the National Academy of Education and the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Grawemeyer Award in Education, and awards from the Spencer Foundation, the National Council of Teachers of English, the Modern Language Association, and the American Educational Research Association. He also received the Commonwealth Club of California's Award for Literary Excellence in Nonfiction. His books include Lives on the Boundary- The Struggles and Achievements of America's Educationally Underprepared, Possible Lives- The Promise of Public Education in America, The Mind at Work- Valuing the Intelligence of the American Worker, Why School?- Reclaiming Education for All of Us, and Back to School- Why Everyone Deserves a Second Chance at Education.

Review :
"Rose is saying something profound about democracy." —Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of the United States"Eloquent tribute to our working men and women. It knocked me out." —Studs Terkel "Uplifting... shows a rare capacity to weave together elements of autobiography with the role of class in American education." —Houston Chronicle "An excellent corrective to the limited way that many of us understand intelligence." —Newsday "Rose wants to redeem [physical work]...he succeeds mightily." —San Francisco Chronicle "Clear. Compelling. A celebration of blue-collar laborers; a family memoir; a learned treatise about different kinds of intelligence." —Steve Weinberg, member of the National Book Critics Circle, The Denver Post "There’s no condescension, pity, or sappy moralizing. You can't help but have an increased respect for the mental part of labor." —The Miami Herald "A groundbreaking study...Extraordinarily moving, never dogmatic. Rose’s book puts an important piece of the U.S.’s social puzzle in bold relief." —Publishers Weekly "This book is brilliant, exciting, and essential..." —Michael B. Katz, author of The Undeserving Poor "Thanks to Mike Rose’s impressive eye, the accomplishments of these workers are now visible." —Howard Gardner, author of Changing Minds "Like Walt Whitman, Mike Rose celebrates the many forms that intelligence can take in a democracy." —David Tyack, Vida Jacks Professor of Education, Stanford University, author of Seeking Common Ground "My everyday encounters with waitresses, electricians and handymen have been magically enriched since I read The Mind at Work." —Barbara Garson, author of All the Livelong Day: The Meaning and Demeaning of Routine Work