Hidden Intellectualism And School System

In the Hidden Intellectualism essay, the author, Gerald Graff, analyze the dilemma with intellectualism and the school system. He initiates that almost everyone knows someone who isn’t by the most diligent person but is astonishingly street smart. Graff advocates “we associate the educated life, the life of the mind, too narrowly exclusive with subjects and texts that we consider inherently weighty and academic,” (Graff 244). In other words, he believes that the school system sees these street smarts as unskilled or unintelligent.

Graff admits that a student’s brilliance may be “hidden” when observed from the viewpoint of the educational system. He suggests all of us directly towards the review of intellectual expertness we maintain. Graff then advises a narrative from his own life. During the time he was in elementary school, he not in the least way was interested in textbooks given to him in class. He found sports magazines more appealing like Sports Illustrated and other sports texts. School-based intellectualism was overlooked by the children he wanted ratification of.

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In addressing the question “What is intellectual”? What mean by Hidden Intellectualism? Well, I think he defines the word Hidden Intellectualism simply by the title hidden. Something that is unrecognized, unseen. Graff clarifies that intellectual is often looked down upon and is labeled as being nerdy or geeky.” As a young child, he feared that he would be the victim of bullying if he revealed his intellectual side. By conversing about sports, and other entertaining things, he was approving his hidden intellectualism.

Several studies have recently suggested that schools and colleges are to blame for the negligence of street smarts and not transmitting them efficient scholastic work. Although none of them have ever said so directly, people assume that philosophers or “book smarts” are studied as intellectuals because they grasp sharp topics like Shakespeare, The Civil War, etc. We suppress the fact that knowing about sports, videogame, fashion topics are not expressed as “smart.” In Graff’s view, knowledge goes far beyond academic learning and continues into the everyday world.” The essence of his argument is that being smart is not all about being academic smart, because some people can know all the knowledge there is but not have any common sense.

Graff concludes by stating guiding students discover their intellectualism within their self is a continuing process. The idea of someone being “book smart” would be characterize as well-informed, brilliant, and rational. Street smart is someone who is seen as well-rounded, experienced, and educated into topics surrounding them.

In his article, Graff mentions Deborah Meier who advocates that violence that teachers or administrators are considered to be brought in by outside sources can manufacture inside students, Meier states “fighting with ideas would be a welcome substitute for fighting with fists or guns or nasty sound bites.” Also she says “schools, in small and unconscious ways, silence…. Playground intellectuals.”