Help wanted: More people to do 'Dirty Jobs'

Below is an absolutely fascinating video I swiped from The Anchoress. Visit her and read her commentary on the validity of the vocation of the tradesman: carpenters, electricians, plumbers.

Watch the video below, and you'll learn more than you ever wanted to know about sheep ranching (!!!) but it will be worth it.

We were visited by a plumber the other day and as I'm wont to do with X-ray technicians, auto mechanics, and roofers, I asked him how he had acquired his training. Pundit and I aren't pushing our children toward the obligatory four years of college. Their vocational plans might require a four year degree, or not.

I'm all in favor of knowledge for its own sake and believe in the value of a liberal arts education. But there are a couple of problems with that: 1) it's not for everyone; 2) the cost has to be considered; 3) what the vast majority of colleges and universities provide to their students is a far cry from a liberal arts education.

We all know about the indoctrination that takes place in most colleges so I won't belabor that, though someday I'll ask #1 son to recount for you his community college horror story about the English prof who spoke regularly and at length to his class about the evils of Bush, and how the US government brought down the World Trade Center. This man also called Helen Keller 'a monkey.' Then there was the math instructor who sent her students to the computer lab so that she could retreat to her office for a nap. What a rip-off for our son, who is paying for this with his own hard-earned money.

But back to the video. It's a twenty minute talk by Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs. He advocates a PR campaign for hands-on vocations which are denigrated by our culture (and which he says make for the happiest people he knows). I know it's a bit long but you won't regret it.



*The Anchoress has updated her post with Mr. Rowe's take on the AIG bonuses. Bottom line: "A deal is a deal" and "My deal was with AIG, not you [i.e., the government]."

I asked Pundit (have I mentioned he's a genius?) if he could find an article he once sent me about opting out of college. He sent the following:

From John Derbyshire:
Learn a Trade
The Next Bubble to Burst?
The College Racket
Is College Necessary?
Down with College!

From Charles Murray:
What's Wrong with Vocational School?

From Kathy Kristof:
The Great College Hoax


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