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Annotated Bibliography

Why is America moving away from vocational work and Dirty Jobs?

Jonathan Withrow
Professor Malcolm Campbell
English 1103
10/20/2015

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Annotated Bibliography
Dukcevich, Davide. College Vs. No College." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 19 Oct.
2015
This webpage article shows a variety of statistics and the educational background of
various successful people to approach the topic of going to college versus not going to
college. Although some of the statistical analysis supports the claim that attending college
will in turn lead to a more financially successful future Ducevich contradicts this claim.
He does it by providing the educational background of some of the worlds most
financially successful people many of whom either did not attend college or dropped out.
The use of statistics in this article is very useful in creating an image for the reader of just
how people who did not attend college and those who did. The author use many
recognizable names in this article to give extraordinary examples. Forbes is also one of
the most highly regarded business magazines in the world and is very reputable with its
access to statistics and experts in business analysis. Davide Dukcevich is the co-owner of
Daniele, Inc, a Rhode Island based maker and distributor of charcuterie. Altough he is not
a scholar on business he is a successful businessman with hands on experience. This
article would be good for those who may not have yet decided whether or not they wish
to attend college and wish to weigh the pros and cons of attending and not attending
college. This of course should not be the only source in the decision making process.
Hanford, Emily. "The troubled history of vocational education." American RadioWorks. N.p., 09
Sept. 2014. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.
This essay written by Emily Hanford addresses the history of vocational education in
America and some of the notions and stereotypes which went along with vocational

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education. Federal aid for vocation work began in 1917 and its goal was to provide career
education for young people so that they may be prepared for employment. During the
first few decades of its implementation it worked very well for the young people of the
United States, seeing as it fit the economy well and efficiently prepared them for the
work force. As the decades progressed many jobs in the United States required more
academic skills and vocational schools began to fall behind in this aspect. By the late
1990s, vocational education had a major image problem. Vocational programs had
become a kind of dumping ground for kids who werent succeeding in the traditional
academic environment. With the implementation of the No child left behind act many
vocational schools had to step up their game if they did not wish to be shut down. An
example of a success story of the vocational schools is Minutemen high school in
Massachusetts. Now headed by Principal Ernest Houle a product of the old vocational
system in Massachusetts who personally experienced the difficulties of the broken
vocational education system. The school now is not only one of the best vocational
schools in Massachusetts, but one of the best high schools all around, with a graduation
rate of 95 percent over traditional public schools 86 percent. This article was published
by the organization American RadioWorks. American RadioWorks is the national
documentary unit of American Public Media. ARW creates documentaries, series
projects, podcasts and online content for public radio and the Internet. The organization
specializes in exploring the people, ideas, and innovations that are changing education in
the 21st century. This article is applicable to anyone wishing to look into the history of
American education and anyone who is looking into vocational education and its
progression. This article helped me personally gain knowledge on why vocational

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education was looked down upon in America for a period of time and how it has now
risen again as a strong force in the American education system.

Gillespie, Nick. "Diplomas vs. Dirty Jobs." Reason.com. N.p., 20 Mar. 2014. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.
This article tells of the experiences of Dirty Jobs host Mike Rowe. He tells of his
experiences as a youth where his guidance counselor talked down many manual labor
occupations and careers. Mike Rowe has personally interacted with many people who do
many Dirty Jobs. He is also planning to initiate a Work Hard and Work Smart
campaign. This interview helps reveal some of the underlying problems with the
American education system as they put down the notion of not attending college and
joining the workforce. This would be a good article for any high school student to read
when making the decision on whether or not to go to college. For me this interview
confirmed some of my thoughts on the American education system straying away from
hard labor.

Peralta, Katherine. "Apprenticeships Could Be Gateway to Middle Class." US News. U.S.News

& World Report, 12 Jan. 2015. Web. 1 Oct. 2015.
This article published by US News & World Report tells of the emergence of
apprenticeship opportunities here in the United States and the impact they could have on
the economy if utilized. Apprenticeships make up only a very small fraction of the
workforce of the United States. Even though this is the case 87% of apprentices end up
with full time jobs upon complement of their apprenticeships and their average pay is

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over fifty thousand dollars. This is more than the average pay for new college graduates
with a 4 year degree. This article does a fine job making reference to the implementation
of apprenticeship opportunities around the world to show the effect that they may have on
the United States. This is capable through both government and corporate support of
apprenticeships as companies are offering them and the government is putting forth
things such as grants to support them. It would be of use to anyone who wishes study the
US workforce and its potential growth. As well as anyone wishing to partake in an
apprenticeship and would like to know what they may expect of it long-term. The use of
personal examples of some people who partook in these internships made it relatable to
the reader and gave aided them in seeing themselves in a similar situation. For me the
article provided information on the possibilities they could come along with an increase
in internships in the United States and how they are being supported.

Abel, Jaison R., and Richard Deitz. Federal Reserve Bank of New York 20.3 (2014): 2-11.
Newyorkfed.org. 2014. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.
This journal entry uses a wide array of statistical analysis and graphs to show some of the
factors that come into play when in the work force and compares the statisitcs of those
holding a college degree versus those who do not. This gave visual aid to the reader as
well as hard evidence of some of the benefits of going to college such as being better
educated all around, and a higher wage and standard of living. This source is a federal
source and has access to a wide array of records and statistics to come to the conclusion
that college is still worth attending for the average student and those above average. A
very useful source for someone who may wish to create a research report on the topic of

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attending college versus not attending college. This helped me by showing me that
sometimes college is a good option for many although not all.