Hidden Intellectualism Gerald Graff Summary

In Gerald Graff 's essay “Hidden Intellectualism” starts of by talking about the stereotype of being so called “street smart” and and being “book smart” and how in school when you see someone who is street smart but doesn’t do go in school get a bad wrap. People look at them as a waste because they can’t apply there intelligences that they have and use it towards school, so people view them as not the right kind of smart because they are not a A student in school. Graff then goes on to say that maybe it is not the students that are the problem with how they do in school but maybe it is the school that have missed or overlooked the intellectual potential that kids with street smarts have. Graff also says that we only view the educated minds through schooling as the right way and schools and colleges look at kids who do not like school and don’t do well as anti-intellectual people. As Graff continues his essay he says that he was on the side of being more anti-intellectual and he found that through sports he was more interested in sports then he was in school. He would use this love for sports to build up his hidden intellectualism with sports. I think that Graff is right about what he is talking about with how we as a society think if you want to be smart them you need to do well in school and get all A’s or then you are not that smart. In all reality there are many times that kids go through school and don’t do well not because they are not smart,but because people don’t

Gerald Graff’s essay “Hidden Intellectualism” contemplates the age-old idea that street smarts are anti-intellectual. However, as Graff points out, “schools and colleges are at fault for missing the opportunity to tap into such street smarts and channel them into academic smarts.” (244). What Graff means by this is that being street smart does not mean a person lacks intelligence. Rather, educational institutions need to find a way to effectively ‘tap into’ this different format of intellectualism to produce academic intelligence. Graff goes on to point out that society associates ‘weighty’ subjects, like Shakespeare and Plato, with intellectualism, but not less serious subjects, such as sports and video games. In consideration of this overlook

“Hidden Intellectualism,” by Gerald Graff starts off with an older argument between being book smart and street smart. Throughout the reading, Graff uses his own life experiences to critique the education system today. Points made focus on the idea of overlooking the intellectual potential of those who come across as being, “street smart”. Different authors cited in the reading to show how to accept another’s different intellectual. However, we realize that people who come across as being intellectual weren’t always labeled as that.

Intellectualism is the factor of being intellect or intelligent. The idea of what it means to be educated can be interpreted many different ways by different people. Some think it’s having a 4.0 and going to Harvard, while others believe in the idea of having common sense. In the essay, “Hidden Intellectualism,” Gerald Graff reflects how lack of education is viewed negatively in society. On top of that, a question also lies what it means to educated. In order to be truly educated, a person should be well rounded not in just tests of intelligence, but the tests of life as well.

Gerald Graff’s “Hidden Intellectualism” goes through many reasons why not being book smart could be a good thing. The sports world is a way of people connecting through the competitive sports that always lead to some sort of debate (268). Graff grew up always liking sports and being “street smart” living in Chicago. He always read sports magazines growing up and realized that reading magazines was a good tactic for schools to teach street smart kids how to write good essays based on their hobbies of reading magazines (265). “What doesn’t occur to us, is that schools and colleges might be at fault for missing the opportunity to tap into such street smarts and channel them into good academic work”(264).

In Gerald Graff’s essay “Hidden Intellectualism” he implies that “street smarts” is an underappreciated trait that many people view as “anti-intellectual. He believes that street smarts can pave the way to becoming book smart and that schools may be at fault for these students not doing well by “overlooking the opportunity to channel it into good academic work” (1).

The mental capacity is treated as a disadvantage in the America, despite the fact it already helped the country many times. This long-term problem became the main topic of the Leonid Fridman’s essay “America Needs its Nerds”. The work first appeared on January 11, 1990 in the New York Times as a part of the series “Voices of the New Generation”. The author spoke about the negative attitude the American society has to smart people and demonstrates it with the usage of words like “nerd” or “geek”. Fridman’s essay applies to different groups of people, as the problem exists on different layers of the society: from schools to universities and the adult life. The author’s purpose is to demonstrate

Writer, Brad Wolverton, in his article “The Education of Dasmine Cathey” first appearing in The Chronicle of Higher Education, conveys the journey of a former University of Memphis football player who was poorly educated and how he struggled to be academically eligible. Wolverton’s purpose is to illustrate the widespread of educational shortcomings of NCAA athletes and the complicated ways athletes struggles gets brushed under the proverbial carpet. (Wolverton) In this article Wolverton utilizes a straightforward tone by using pathos to appeal to the readers with Mr. Cathey’s difficult situation also utilizing logos and ethos etc. to help make a presentable argument to which I will be analyzing.

In Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger appeals to his audience’s sense of emotions in order to persuade his readers that the obsession with high school football negatively affects everyone’s future in Odessa, Texas. Bissinger relies on emotional appeals by employing devices and techniques to present individuals’ personal stories and experiences. His searing portrayal of Odessa, and its Permian High School football team, exposes the side of sports that severely impacts the people living in this society. Bissinger shows the long term consequences of this delusion on the people who are directly and indirectly associated with Permian football. This demonstrate how detrimental the burdens are for the children, which touches the reader’s heart.

In Gerald Graff’s “Hidden Intellectualism”, Graff argues that there exist common misconceptions about being “street-smart”, or having a versed background in dealing with situations of life outside of the school environment. He states that people too often view street smarts and the knowledge gained at schools as being unrelated but, in actuality, they are two sides of the same coin. What is learned at school, which are “too narrowly and exclusively” categorized into subjects and texts, is considered by society’s viewpoint intellectual. However, the knowledge obtained from growing up on the streets is viewed under those same lens, “anti-intellectual,” as coined by Graff. These two perspectives, as Graff claims, are not black and white because

Many people disregard the idea of young people being able to learn aspects of intellectualism through worldly experiences. When it comes to the modern idea of being intellectual, most people believe that subjects such as history or science, have more value than fashion or sports. Few people are able to realize the connection between academic intellectualism and street smarts. Students who have a hard time learning general concepts in classrooms tend to have an easier time recognizing, and learning those same concepts in the real world often without even realizing it. For example, take a child who has a difficult time focusing on history lessons in the classroom, but enjoys learning about the background of football teams and their players;

According to " The Case Against High-School Sports" (2013), sports could create some study, health, and time management problems for schools and students. In this post, Amanda Ripley initially shows the benefits when involving in the high-school sports: exercise, sportsmanship lessons, some positive personalities, more fun and staying away from vices. She also writes some tales to inform readers that in the US, students are interested and enjoy in sports more than other peers in other countries. However, she claims that the high-school sports have negative effects on schools and students. Next, she gave some schools ' examples to show the problems when schools and students spent too much time and money in high-school sports. Moreover, she reports

We all have stories and memories tied to songs that have become a part of who are. Remember the violins playing in the background while watching a sad movie or the song that helped you through difficult times or the song you and your friends sang while attending a concert? Whether it’s on the television, the radio, in a movie, in the car, or at a sporting event, music is everywhere. Feeling the rhythm of music brings us so much joy and excitement but playing musical instrument is even more fulfilling because it has many benefits. Everything I do revolves around my music. I have been around music all my life, whether it was listening to it or playing it. I’m very passionate about music and I love playing an instrument. The instrument

Imagine walking 4 miles with a 100 pound bag full of metal sticks, balls, tees, towels and other equipment. Anyone would have a good cardio workout for the day. Golf I believe is one of the most misunderstood sports of all time. A lot of people tell me, “Golf is not a sport.” When they claim that I ask them, “Have you ever walked over 7,000 yards carrying a heavy bag on your back, and try to get the ball up in the air and into the hole?” The response I get most often is, “no.” How can someone claim that golf is not a sport and had never played it?

Preview Statement: I’d like to share that interest with you by discussing how sports raise awareness of important issues, how athletes are role models, and how sports bring people together.