page 2 fathom friday, april 25, 1980
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The Road
Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where It bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
I lad worn them really about the tame,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden back.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a word, and I
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Robert Frost
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By Casey McCabe
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Plant, 4021 N. 56th St.
is a vast expanse of factory, operated in three shifts as it
churns out radiator hoses and belts for industrial use, 24
hours a day.
Bob, one of 1,700 plant employees at the plant, is
about to start his fifth year with the firm. Me views him
self as a fairly common example of the working class life
style. Married at 19, Bob started work at Goodyear to sup
port an upcoming family.
He remembers being happy to get the job-the pay was
good, it was close to home, and he felt secure. Four years
later the situation was still the same.
Only two things get him through the
day: the quitting whistle and the
knowledge that a paycheck is coming
As Bob sees it, there are only two things that get him
and his co-wdrkers through the day: the quitting whistle
and the knowledge that a paycheck is on the way.
"There's certainly, nothing very glamorous about the
average 40-hour work week as a general laborer," he said.
"It's like any other job I've ever had. I like to make
money, I need to make money, but in a job like this you
make your sacrifice every day, you earn every cent."
For Bob, going to work right after high school was not
a choice, but an expected necessity. He had no desire to
go to college and feels no pangs of regret about his
decision.
But he does acknowledge that the mental and physical
stress of spending most of your waking hours in a predict
able routine, can create tension elsewhere. Bob says he's
really not trapped but still feels the limitations around
him.
Some of the guys seem to enjoy their
jobs, most of us just tolerate them
"Let's say things do get too much for me, let's say a
job is starting to drive me crazy," he explains. "What do I
do? Come home to the ol' lady and say 'honey, I quit.
Let's make ends meet some other way?' I know guys
who've done it, but not me. I'll hang in there."
"Some of the guys seem to enjoy their jobs, most of us
just tolerate them," he said. "Some guys have been out
there in service for 35 years, maybe they don't know any
thing else. But I think most of us survive by making the
best of our hours off, or hoping like hell that something
better is just around the comer."
The blue-collar worker like Bob has been called the
"backbone of America" or part of "the Silent Majority,"
for years, though many seem to think the common labor
er has been maligned by government interests since the
white-collar boom in the 60s.
The need for a strong blue-collar work force has always
existed, but as economic times change, that assembly line
worker, and others who sweat it out daily in manual labor
jobs, have a way of making their presence known.
Eldon Arnold, employment supervisor for Nebraska
Job Service, has been interviewing those who seek both
professional and general labor jobs for 13 years. In his
opinion, the recent value changes by many Americans has
brought a reversal of market trends.
"The trend was to push anyone who could cope with
it, into college " observed Arnold. "If there's any trend
now, it's that people are realizing everyone doesn't have
to have a college education today. They're beginning to
realize that frequently the garbage collector may be
driving one of the biggest cars and owning one of the
biggest homes. More than the college professors, un
fortunately. "The economy seems to have been turned upside down
in that respect. People are more money motivated."
The decision of which road to take starts somewhere in
high school with the influence of peers or the expecta
tions of parents. There is much to be weighed as the stu
dent approaches graduation; the choice of an immediate,
good steady income at a job that may become tedious, or
going to four or more years of costly education, with
hopes, but no guarantee, of a better job in the future.
The question of whether some students are cut-out for
either college or general labor jobs, is one that high school
counselors are understandably hesitant to answer.
Frequently the garbage collector may
be driving one of the biggest cars and
owning one of the biggest homes
Tom Pappas, a counselor at Lincoln High, says that the
student's own view of their potential is the most obvious
. factor in their decision.
"I think students tend to have the idea they are either
cut-out or not cut out for college," says Pappas. "Basical
ly about half of our kids go to college, most of them to
the university (UNL), and most of them belong there."
"And there are some that are not academically orient
ed. They're not interested, or they never learned the skills
along the way," he noted. "But I think it's more of a
situation where they are molded in high school-and not
many break out of the mold ."
Not very far from Lincoln High, but economic poles
apart in Lincoln Southeast High School, where often the
higher standard of living relieves the pressure of initial
decisions from a student's shoulders.
Counselor Dennis Tinsley believes academics play a
smaller role in career decisions than motivation.
"There is probably a very small minority that are not
academically able to make it through college," says
Tinsely.
"The majority of the students I deal with come in here
with a mind set on whether they're going to college or
not. It's something they've decided from what their
friends are doing, or what their parents have done. This is
much more of an influence than whatever I might tell
them."
Southeast sends more students to the university than
any other school in Nebraska. At one time over 80 per
cent of Southeast graduates went right on to college.
"We live in an area where college is a major factor, it's
expected," said Tinsley. "I don't think there is any need
to have a student sit down and say 'this is what I want to
do.'"
I think students tend to have the idea
they are either cut-out or not cutout for
college ...it 's more of a situation where
they are molded in high school
Still, the emphasis in recent years has been to establish
better career guidance programs in high school to increase
student exposure to the many varied possibilities in the
job market. According to Pappas, Lincoln High has
excellent examples of such programs, but not enough stu
dents take advantage of them. The promise of immediate
high pay in so-called unskilled labor jobs serves as an
effective lure to some.
"We had an honor roll student leave last year before he
graduated, and he got a Pepsi route," says Pappas. "I
think he made $18,000 as starting salary. And that's more
than-well, his counselor. "
For many, the good pay and secure job doesn't mean
the end of career decisions.
Julie DeBoer, a 22-year-old graduate of Lincoln North
east, has reached another fork in the road after three and
a half years of employment at State Farm Insurance. She
says she has good job security, a good salary, and a com
fortable position. But nevertheless things have grown
stagnant.
"I've had the urge to go back to school hundreds of
times, but after four years of not studying, the thought
also scares me," says DeBoer.
"Every day I see people who started like me, only it's
20 years later. They reached the fork in the road and
decided to stay, and many are dissatisfied," she says.
"They want to pass their experience to me, they say
'don't get in this rut'. I don't want to be giving the same
advice to someone in 20 years."
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Magazine editor: Jill Denning, Fathom layout editor:
Krm Hachiya. Editor in chief: Rocky H.A." Strunk. Ad
vertising Manager: Denise Jordan. Photograph Chief:
Mark Billingsley. Production Manager: Kitty Policky.
Business Manager: Anne Shank.
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