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Finding Real Intellectualism
A person will be told once in their lives that the smartest student is the one who has straight A’s in all his or her classes. Now a day, however, the smartest student can be textbook savvy, but have a hard time thinking critically, or debating about a situation at work or school. In “Hidden Intellectualism” by Gerald Graff, the author suggests that intellectualism should be measured by how a person is able to bring thoughtful questions about any topic, regardless of how simple or difficult it is. In order to portray this, the author effectively appeals to the audience about his topic by first, using his personal experience; secondly, advocating for a different approach to be taken in the classroom; and lastly,
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In a typical class, the teacher lectures on a book written years ago and expects the students to dissect and analyze it with ease. Graff takes a different approach. He suggests that professors should start encouraging students to analyze basic and simple literature critically (400). The author understands that making students analyze hard prose will only frustrate them and get them to give up. This method only discourages learning as in the long run, the student will not try anymore. Graff’s method will teach the student that real intellectualism does not mean that books have to be involved. Real intellectualism is just analyzing literature critically (400). Taking a step further, even parents at home can use this type of thinking for their children. Nothing frustrates more than a child giving up or feeling dumb because he or she does not understand something. A parent may then try to figure out the child’s true potential in a specific area that is not school. Some children are great at music, fashion, or even sports. The parent may then teach the child how to debate and think critically about passionate subject and then relate it back to school. The author advocated for a simple approach to be taken in the classroom and can be applied at home. Although this is true, Graff wrote this article the way he did in order to stress out his …show more content…
If one were to analyze this essay, they one is to find out that it is written the way he advocates teachers to teach. Most of this essay is written in a story context, but it is meant to be analyzed. Once the reader analyzes the essay, the essay being a simple one, he or she will have involuntarily tested out Graff’s suggestion stated in the last paragraph. In writing this essay, Graff also assumes that the reader will now try to analyze everything they read in their everyday lives, not just what they read at school. This advocates the thought of real intellectualism because the reader is able apply this many things like the news, Facebook, homework, and any other reading. In doing so, the author actively promotes his thinking of finding real intelligence (400). Graff uses his audience in order to promote his thinking of real
Gerald Graff expresses his concern in “Hidden Intellectualism” about how the education system does not accurately measure true intelligence. If the education system used each individual’s interests, Graff argues, the individual would be much more intrigued in the subject matter; therefore, increasing his or her knowledge. Throughout the article, Graff also draws on his love of sports to support his argument, saying that it includes elements of grammar, methodologies, and debate. He believes this proves that interests can replace traditional teaching. Graff contends one’s interest will create a community with others throughout the nation who share the same interests. While it is important to pursue your interests, there
Author and Harvard graduate, Leonid Fridman, in an excerpt of his article, America Needs Its Nerds, points out America’s anti-intellectualism. Fridman’s purpose is to inform the reader of the contempt held for the intellectually curious and call for a change in the country’s attitude. He adopts a condemning tone to make the reader aware of the issue and encourage them to change their mindset.
In the essay ”Hidden Intellectualism” by Gerald Graff, he discusses different types of intellect, more specifically the ways they can apply to us in our lives. He discusses the different types of “smarts” referred to in his paper as street smarts, and school smarts. Graff hints upon the missed opportunities by colleges to embrace the form of intellect called “street smarts” because of a preconceived idea that there is no way to use this form of knowledge in an academic setting. To quote Graff directly “Colleges might be at fault for missing the opportunity to tap into such street smarts”. We then learn some of Graffs personal experiences pertaining to this very thing. He shares a story about himself which reviews his underlying love for sports and complete diskliking for books or any form of intellectualism, until he became college aged. He shares that he now believes, his love of sports over over school work was not because he hated intellectualism but perhaps it was intellectualism in another form. He shares his
The journey begins at the heart of the matter, with a street smart kid failing in school. This is done to establish some common ground with his intended audience, educators. Since Graff is an educator himself, an English professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago, he understands the frustrations of having a student “who is so intelligent about so many things in life [and yet] seems unable to apply that intelligence to academic work” (380). Furthermore, Graff blames schools for not utilizing street smarts as a tool to help improve academics; mainly due to an assumption that some subjects are more inherently intellectual than others. Graff then logically points out a lack of connection “between any text or subject and the educational depth and weight of the discussion it can generate” (381). He exemplifies this point by suggesting that any real intellectual could provoke thoughtful questions from any subject, while a buffoon can render the most robust subjects bland. Thus, he is effectively using logic and emotion to imply that educators should be able to approach any subject critically, even non-traditional subjects, lest they risk being labeled a buffoon.
The average human would think that going to school and getting an education are the two key items needed to make it in life. Another common belief is, the higher someone goes with their education, the more successful they ought to be. Some may even question if school really makes anyone smarter or not. In order to analyze it, there needs to be recognition of ethos, which is the writer 's appeal to their own credibility, followed by pathos that appeals to the writer’s mind and emotions, and lastly, logos that is a writer’s appeal to logical reasoning. While using the three appeals, I will be analyzing “Against School” an essay written by John Taylor Gatto that gives a glimpse of what modern day schooling is like, and if it actually help kids
In the essay, “Other Voices, Other Rooms” from Inquiry to Academic Writing, Gerald Graff argues that students learn things differently from class to class and are not taught to use information from one class in another. This is a problem especially in higher education today because there is such a large gap from professor to professor. Although the disagreement from one subject to the next may seem like a problem to some, if there were no disagreements, nothing would be worth learning. While these problems may occur, they are essential in the evolvement of education. Without these disagreements there would not be any search for more information to solve the problems. Also, students would not be motivated to continue to learn. The disagreements between the two are what seem to confuse students, but what confuses them more is how the education system is set up. Students must learn to make
Graff also gives his childhood experience as an example of himself successfully becoming more intellectual due to his passion with sports. Thence, Graff suggests schools to encourage students to exercise their personal interests in an intellectual serious way, and by doing that, it will help students to apply their unique intelligence into academic effort.
A famous quote by Martin Luther King states “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.” The two articles “Hidden Intellectualism” and “Blue Collar Brilliance” both emphasis the author's opinion on the qualifications and measurements of someone's intelligence. “Hidden Intellectualism” focuses on students or younger people who have trouble with academic work because, they are not interested in the topic. Today, in schools students are taught academic skills that are not very interesting, the author mentions this is why children are not motivated in schools. The main viewpoint of this article is that schools need to encourage students
When Beatty explains to Montag why books are being burned, he describes the method used when teaching students: “Cram them full of noncombustible data, chock them so damned full of ‘facts’ they feel stuffed, but absolutely ‘brilliant’ with information...And they’ll be happy” (Bradbury 58). Later, on the train, an advertisement blares, “Denham’s Dentifrice” while Montag struggles to read “the shape of the individual letters” (Bradbury 75). Montag’s society is convinced that education means mindlessly memorizing facts. However, a large amount of information and facts is not a proper substitute for deep, critical thought. When information is just given and not analyzed, it prevents questioning why facts are true and inhibits the development of basic thinking skills, such as when Montag struggles to understand the book he is reading. Additionally, with so much information and entertainment circulated in Montag’s society, significant ideas that promote questioning and changing life cannot be developed. Without thoughts that allow people to question their ways and change themselves, people believe they are perfect, cannot realize their faults, and are unable to change the way they are. When Montag consults Faber for some insight on books, Faber states that books have been abandoned because “they show the pores in the face of life” and, because of this, their society is “living in a time when flowers are trying to live on flowers, instead of growing on good rain and black loam” (Bradbury 79). Instead of taking the time to think and develop thoughts, the citizens of Montag’s city take the easy way in life, by avoiding any deep thought and personal opinion altogether. It is much easier for the citizens to enjoy mindless entertainment than to think about the issues in the world and their solutions. However, this can create problems within
Graff begins by talking about the educational system, and why it flawed in many ways, but in particular, one: Todays schools overlook the intellectual potential of street smart students, and how shaping lessons to work more readily with how people actually learn, we could develop into something capable of competing with the world. In schools, students are forced to recite and remember dull and subject heavy works in order to prepare them for the future, and for higher education. “We associate the educated life, the life of the mind, too narrowly and exclusively with subjects and texts that we consider inherently weighty and academic. We assume that it’s possible to wax intellectual about Plato, Shakespeare, the French Revolution, and nuclear fission, but not about cars, dating, fashion, sports, TV, or video games.” (Graff, 198-199) In everyday life, students are able to learn and teach themselves something new everyday. It is those students, the “young person who is impressively “street smart” but does poorly in school” (Graff, 198), that we are sweeping away from education and forcing to seek life in places that are generally less successful than those who attend a college or university.
When Gerald Graff was younger he and his friends would have various debates about sports including what team had the best pitcher in baseball. Graff pointed out that while having these arguments with his friends, they would have evidence to support their thoughts whether it be using statistics to find batting averages or using their argumentative abilities in general to support their opinion. This proves that even people who do not do the best in school are capable of brilliant things, the school system just needs to encourage students to use their hobbies to enhance their academics. Instead of dividing the different forms of intelligence, book and street smarts could merge and grow into a more detailed educational system that can help not just with academics, but with life itself. While it is good to know proper grammar, knowing about dating, sports, or cars can actually get people farther than anticipated in life. Graff thought that in the school system, street smarts is perceived as less than compared to “book smarts” which are encouraged in school. If the two forms of intelligence were to merge instead of separate, the educational system can transform into something
Why street smart students are considered anti intellectual in academic area? In the article “Hidden Intellectualism” by Gerald Graff, he accounts the idea that street smart students are way more smarted than book smarts. He explains that street smart student will be able to solve an issue much faster than book smart because of his/her previous experience. According to author, the problems with considering street smarts as anti intellectual are they are actually much smarter that book smart students, they don’t equal opportunity , and schools along with colleges never challenge their mind get them to succeed in academic work.
Co-author of “They Say/I Say” handbook, Gerald Graff, analyzes in his essay “Hidden Intellectualism” that “street smarts” can be used for more efficient learning and can be a valuable tool to train students to “get hooked on reading and writing” (Graff 204). Graff’s purpose is to portray to his audience that knowing more about cars, TV, fashion, and etc. than “academic work” is not the detriment to the learning process that colleges and schools can see it to be (198). This knowledge can be an important teaching assistant and can facilitate the grasping of new concepts and help to prepare students to expand their interests and write with better quality in the future. Graff clarifies his reasoning by indicating, “Give me the student anytime who writes a sharply argued, sociologically acute analysis of an issue in Source over the student who writes a life-less explication of Hamlet or Socrates’ Apology” (205). Graff adopts a jovial tone to lure in his readers and describe how this overlooked intelligence can spark a passion in students to become interested in formal and academic topics. He uses ethos, pathos, and logos to establish his credibility, appeal emotionally to his readers, and appeal to logic by makes claims, providing evidence, and backing his statements up with reasoning.
Traditional theories of intelligence do not account for the ambiguity of classes such as philosophy or for the wide range of interests a child can have. For example, contemporary theories such as Sternberg’s Theory of Intelligence and Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences both account for more than the general intelligence accounted for in traditional intelligence theories. According to Robert Sternberg’s Successful (Triarchic) Theory of Intelligence, are Hector’s difficulties in philosophy indicative of future difficulties in the business world? According to Sternberg’s Theory of Intelligence, Hector’s difficulty in philosophy will not negatively affect his future. Sternberg would instead focus on elements of successful intelligence like Hector’s involvement and contribution as an individual, as opposed to relying on intelligence measured by tests.
Northrop Frye is one of the most influential literary critics of his time, and today. Indeed, one of his most applicable articles was published in 1986, titled, “Don’t You Think It’s Time to Start Thinking?”. He uses several key points to argue that most of society does not think critically and that the skills are purposefully not being taught to keep society compliant. This article, which criticizes how students are taught to think, is still very relevant today. While some may argue that the curriculum has changed over time to incorporate more of critical thinking, that is still not the case. Frye’s article is pertinent even today, especially with the inception of the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test. Society still encourages reading