Two Evaluations

Evaluation for “Why the Ritch Are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer”: This  writing is by Robert Reich who is a professor at the University of California in Berkeley teaching Public Polocy. The context of Reich’s writing pertains to the gap between pays in our society, or the uneven level of pay for social classes. While previewing this before I began to read it, I noticed that it was published in a “Business and Economics” book, which makes his writing seem more credible and scholarly from the get-go.  As far as I can tell, I have found no signs of bias within his work. Reich’s central claim / Thesis is that the line separating economic classes is rapidly growing more widespread, thus defining lower class workers as sinking boats to show that there isn’t an even ground separating classes any longer. He supports these claims with valid citations and references which also adds to the scholar of his work. His intended audience is most likely individuals suffering from “getting poorer” or simply people curious and interested in the economy.

Evaluation for “Blue-Collar Brilliance”: This is written by Mike Rose, who is also a professor, but is instead teaching at UCLA Graduate School of Education and information studies. There is no harmful bias, only the fact that he did in fact suffer hardships and judgment, thus his writing is from a specific point of view on the issue of Judgment on food workers. This work is scholarly, for it is posted in the “They Say, I Say” book that is marketed towards college leveled learning. Rose’s Central Claim / Thesis is that Intelligence should not be based on the level or amount of schooling that one has received. He supports these claims with personal experiences that are not only empathetic towards the readers, but claims that cannot be brushed off.

From these two readings, I found “Blue-Collar Brilliance” to be most effective, because not only was it scholarly, but it hit home for me due to the personal experiences he tied in, the way the subject of pay separation/judgment was approached, and the empathy he draws from his readers. This reading also hit home for me, for both of my parents never attended college and would be considered “uneducated” to the general public, but honestly, they are the most intelligent individuals I know despite how long they attended school. I agree that education should not be the determining factor of someone’s level of intelligence.