They Say I Say Is a college education a direct indicator of a person’s intelligence? Mike Rose, professor at the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, shares his thoughts on the matter in his writing “Blue-Collar Brilliance.” He shared stories of the his mother’s genius with customers, and he talked about how every move his mother made had a purpose. As a young child, Mike Rose studied his mother as she worked as a waitress in a coffee shop and was constantly amazed by her skillful service. Rose came to the conclusion that the amount of formal education an individual receives does not parallel with that person’s intelligence; many blue-collar jobs require some of the same capabilities as their highly educated counterpart. Rose’s mother had little formal education, but she was very intelligent. His mother had to look closely at the customer’s needs and catered to them accordingly. Although Rose’s mother had no formal education past the seventh grade, she was obviously very smart considering her excellence in serving. She knew the various times it took to prepare specific dishes and the needs of her customers before they did. She made “every move count” (Rose 245). She took her coworker’s moods into account to decide how to approach a certain situation for the day. An educational degree is not necessary for success. This point is proven when Rose shares the story of his brother, Joe Meraglio who pursued a career at General Motors. He worked there for 33 years. Mr. Meraglio started as a member of the assembly line and progressed to become the supervisor of the G.M paint-and-body-department. This was done through Meraglio’s innovative ideas and learned skillfulness from working on the shop floor. As a result of Meraglio constantly being met with adversity, he became a very effective problem solver. Meraglio sought out ways to improve the productivity of the company, and he worked to find solutions to any problems he found. Again, Rose shows that intelligence is not, in fact, as closely related with education as some would assume: “Intelligence is closely associated with formal education-the type of schooling a person has, how much and how long- and most people seem to move comfortably from that notion to a belief that work requiring less schooling requires less intelligence” (Rose 247). Rose’s disagrees when he writes of his uncle Meraglio’s brilliance. Joe Meraglio, Rose’s uncle, obtained this immense amount of success with no conventional schooling past the ninth grade. It has become common today to dismiss a person’s intellectual ability if that person has not acquired at least a high school diploma. However, many of the workers that pursue jobs that do not require a high level of schooling are expected to be able to complete some of the same tasks as jobs that do. Numbers are constantly used in the blue-collar workplace; workers are expected to be able to read gauges, ingredient labels, spreadsheets, and numerous other tasks based on their job. Reading is also ever-present in this type of work. Employees are presumed to be able to read manuals, catalogues, and labels (Rose 253). Not only do these laborers have to know how to effectively communicate with others, but they must also be capable of keeping up with the jargon used in their workplace. Many Americans assume that lack of education is lack of intelligence. Contrary to the popular belief, citizens that don’t have high levels of education are often just as intelligent as individuals that do not. Mike Rose shares stories to prove this point in “Blue-Collar Brilliance.” Mathematics, reading, and writing are all skills that any worker is expected to possess. Although the types of skills may be different, every worker has a skill set necessary for their job. “Education” is not synonymous with “intelligence,” and workers who don’t have a high level of education should not be talked down to like it is.