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AP English Language and Composition
Multiple Choice
Fridman’s “America Needs its Nerds”
Teacher Overview
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Multiple Choice
Leonid Fridman’s “America Needs Its Nerds”
(References the 2008 AP* English Language Exam Question 2, Form B)
Teacher Overview
Skill Focus
Remember
Understand
Apply
Analyze
Close Reading
Grammar
Reading Strategies
Annotation
Determining Author’s Purpose
Determining Fact and Opinion
Determining Main Idea
Generalization
Inference
Paraphrase
…show more content…
Although most students try to keep up their grades, there is a minority of undergraduates for whom pursuing knowledge is the top priority during their years at Harvard. Nerds are ostracized while athletes are idolized.
The same thing happens in U.S. elementary and high schools. Children who prefer to read books rather than play football, prefer to build model airplanes rather than get wasted at parties with their classmates, become social outcasts. Ostracized for their intelligence and refusal to conform to society’s anti-intellectual values, many are deprived of a chance to learn adequate social skills and acquire good communication tools.
Enough is enough.
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Nerds and geeks must stop being ashamed of who they are. It is high time to face the persecutors who haunt the bright kid with thick glasses from kindergarten to the grave. For America’s sake, the anti-intellectual values that pervade our society must be fought.
There are very few countries in the world where anti-intellectualism runs as high in popular culture as it does in the U.S. In most industrialized nations, not least of all our economic rivals in East Asia, a kid who studies hard is lauded and held up as an example to other students.
In many parts of the world, university professorships are the most prestigious and materially rewarding positions. But not in America, where average professional ballplayers are much more respected and better paid than faculty
Leonid Fridman, in his work “America Needs Its Nerds”, argues that American society has a misaligned view on the value of education and intellectuals in comparison to social skills and physical abilities. Fridman juxtaposes the literal definition of a “geek” with the current American societal use of the term to emphasize America’s misconstrued comparison of an intellectual with a strong interest in education and knowledge to “a freak biting the head off a live chicken.” He continues on to contrast the unpretentious fame and respect that university faculty receive when compared to professional athletes in America to the overwhelming fame and respect that university faculty receive in “very few” countries. He continually focuses on the ostracization
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In his essay “America Needs Its Nerds”, author Leonid Fridman discusses the stigma against so-called “nerds” and how these nerds are essential to America in keeping up with other countries. He does this providing several examples. However, this essay is ultimately weak because of the broadness of his examples, as well as the overarching strawman he creates to represent “society”. By relying solely on these examples, he creates a very simple one sided argument
In the passage, “America Needs Its Nerds,” by Leonid Fridman he develops his argument by using the three pillars of literature: pathos, ethos and logos.
In “America Needs Its Nerds”, Leonid Fridman develops his argument that American society undermines and devalues intellect. He develops this argument by showing how schools discourage intelligent kids early, how these “nerds” now feel ashamed of themselves and how America treats the intelligent compared to the rest of the world. The author states “Children who prefer to read books rather than play football...become social outcasts.” The author emphasizes that society discourages children and people early, that being interested in learning is not acceptable socially.
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Society has created labels to where being intellectually well-formed is an inadequate trait. Through examples and flaws in society, Fridman establishes his argument for “America Needs Its Nerds.” He states that at a school as esteemed as Harvard, “anti-intellectualism is rampant” (9). When the name Harvard is heard, one tends to think of adjectives such as, respected, intelligent, and prestigious. Thus, the impulse to think that people at Harvard are embarrassed to admit how much they study is slim. Even so, Fridman expresses that if people at Harvard are ashamed to admit their intelligence then there is definitely something wrong with society’s perspective. He shares this opinion when he states that “a society that has only derogatory terms”
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