Lessons From The Assembly Line

"Some Lessons from the Assembly Line", by Andrew Braaksma, is a short article about one college students experience working a factory job during his summer breaks. During this time he develops an appreciation for school and began to understand the importance of the opportunity he was given. Along with his appreciation for education Braaksma also develops an appreciation for factory work; or the type of work he might have been doing had he not been attending school. During the article's theme of understanding the importance and value of an education, Braaksma gives readers an eye opening, inside look at the importance of a college education while reflecting on his summers spent working in a factory.
Braaksma makes his goal clear to the readers …show more content…
You can tell that he misses the ease of sitting in a classroom. The entire first paragraph is filled with descriptive hints that compare "getting to a factory by 6 o'clock each morning" with "rows of hulking, spark-showering machines have replaced the lush campus" (Andrew Braaksma). It gives college students an idea of what they could be doing had they not pursued an education. Every descriptive sentence the author adds in his opening statement takes me back to what I do for a living. This also gives the reader an instant visual of a hot factory, noisy equipment and working several long hours. In reading this you get the understanding that he misses the classroom life. This article sucks me in and reminds me of a new work related scenario every time I read it; and just further verifies that he accomplished what he was trying to achieve by writing this. Even if you are on the other side of the fence and you are the factory worker; you can relate to what he is saying. You know that he would rather be at school than doing temp work for the …show more content…
For me, there are several good things you can take away from this short article. It teaches you to appreciate the opportunity you have been given to go to school and to better yourself with an education. This also opened the door to some facts about people who basically avoid college because they can’t afford it. Edward Jones conducted a survey in 2015 and found that only 17% of Americans believe that could cover the cost of a college education, while the other 83% said that they would not be able to cover the cost of a college education. That same poll found that only 34% of those people could identify the 529 plans. Also according to collegeatlas.org, 60% of college dropouts had no help from parents for paying for tuition (Janet Levaux). I also believe that even though Braaksma stresses the importance of an education several times, he lets you know that he's is grateful for the time he spent in a factory. He's grateful for the life lessons that doesn't get taught in a classroom. The interaction with people, how to handle the stress of a job, equipment failures, the stress of losing your job and many other things you can expect to encounter once you are done with college. Through reading this it opened my eyes to an issue that I am sure