Education

Un-Stigmatizing Skilled Labor

June 01, 2009 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

A recent New York Times Magazine essay, adapted from Matthew B. Crawford’s book Shop Class as Soulcraft, explores the pressures students face to get a four-year college degree and pursue a white-collar career. Crawford, who has a Ph.D. and a history of white-collar jobs (including heading up a Washington, D.C.-based policy organization), looks at the cultural stigma surrounding careers in skilled-labor. After five months at the policy organization, Crawford quit to open his own motorcycle repair shop, which, he says, has brought him emotional, intellectual, and physical satisfaction. A choice, notes Crawford, that for a “gifted young student…is viewed as eccentric, if not self-destructive.”

The stigma surrounding labor jobs, believes Crawford, is undeserved and untrue. “Because the work is dirty, many people assume it is also stupid.” His experience repairing vintage motorcycles is as intellectually stimulating, if not more so, than the white-collar jobs he held in the past.

In Crawford’s words, “A good job requires a field of action where you can put your best capacities to work and see an effect in the world.” His hope is that, along with the change in the way people think about work and money in the face of this economic crisis, parents, educators, and students might start thinking differently about careers. “The good life comes in a variety of forms … For anyone who feels ill-suited by disposition to spend his days sitting in an office, the question of what a good job looks like is now wide open.”

A version of this news article first appeared in the Web Watch blog.

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
How District Leaders Align Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction for Student Success
Join K-12 leaders as they share strategies for aligning curriculum, assessment, and instruction to support all learners.
Content provided by Otus
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Reading & Literacy Webinar
Achieve Early Literacy Success at Scale
Researchers have uncovered an intervention helping schools achieve early literacy success at scale. Learn how to bring it to your district.
Content provided by Ignite Reading

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: January 15, 2025
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Quiz Education Week News Quiz: Jan. 10, 2025
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
President Jimmy Carter waves to the crowd while walking with his wife, Rosalynn, and their daughter, Amy, along Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House following his inauguration in Washington, Jan. 20, 1977.
President Jimmy Carter waves to the crowd while walking with his wife, Rosalynn, and their daughter, Amy, along Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House following his inauguration in Washington, Jan. 20, 1977.
Suzanne Vlamis/AP
Education Quiz Education Week News Quiz: Dec. 19, 2024
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
TIghtly cropped photograph showing a cafeteria worker helping elementary students select food in lunch line. Food shown include pizza, apples, and broccoli.
iStock/Getty
Education The Education Word of 2024 Is ...
Educators, policymakers, and parents all zeroed in on students' tech use in 2024, which prompted this year's winner.
5 min read
Image of a cellphone ban, disruption, and symbol of AI.
Laura Baker/Education Week via Canva