Education and Class

• Mike Rose’s Blog: The Mind at Work Ten Years After

  In his typically lovely prose, Mike Rose reflects on his book The Mind at Work, his stories of the intellectual dimensions of manual labor, 10 years after its publication. He writes of his mother, a waitress:

  “I take some coins out of my pocket, close my eyes, and give each a short toss onto the table. She was right; they have distinct sounds, a tink, a thunk. The sound of groceries, of rent, of school supplies, of gas for the car.

  There is a direct line between those tips and me being able to sit here and write about my mother’s work, and my uncle’s, and all the other people who make so much possible through their labor. There are about two million waitresses in the United States. Through a combination of physical and social skill and the ability to think on their feet, they support families and put kids through school, or pay for their own school, or help aging parents. They make restaurants function at the point of service. They contribute to the social fabric of the neighborhoods where they work.”

  tags: socialclass

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.