Hidden Intellectualism Summary

In his essay titled “Hidden Intellectualism”, Gerald Graff questions the traditional academic approach that correlates the school curriculum of colleges and high schools with intelligence. He believes that schools may not be promoting the full potential of students because they rely too much on the academic skills rather than the topics themselves. This means that schools often focus on the analysis and interpretation of academic papers rather than considering expanding the curriculum to have more topics that interest students. As a result, many students cannot express their true potential because they cannot get engaged in these school enforced topics. Schools underestimate their “hidden intelligence” because they do not try to promote their

In Gerald Graff’s essay Hidden Intellectualism he aims his writing towards schools, universities, teachers and the academic community. He responds to the situation of; teachers, schools and colleges overlooking intellectual potential of “street smarts”. His purpose in this essay is to acknowledge the readers that that there are different types of intellectualism and to point out flaws in the academia. The message Graff is trying to convey is that schools and teachers need to approach education in a different and more engaging way. In this paper, I will explain Graff’s point of view by showing you how he uses sports, personal experiences, students non-academic interest and rhetorical appeals. To give you a better understanding of Graff’s

Abernathy, Scott Franklin. No Child Left Behind and the Public Schools. U of Michigan P, 2007. eBook Academic Collection (EBSCOhost). In this eBook, Scott Franklin Abernathy, an Associate Professor of Political Science and a Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Minnesota, presents a balanced critique of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Abernathy argues that all policy makers must ask themselves “Can we ever really know if a child’s education is good?”, rather than assuming any test can accurately measure the elusive thing called a good education. Along with strengths and weakness of NCLB, Abernathy also presents many new models that law makers have been seeking to replace or use

In Hidden Intellectualism, Gerald Graff begins with the age-old arguments of the difference between “book smart” and “street smart.” Graff writes about the lost potential in street smart, and how the intellectual world does not seem to capitalize on the topic, explaining the title “hidden” intellectualism. Graff then states, “Nor do we consider one of the major reasons why school and colleges overlook the intellectual potential of street smart.” (957). This is a key to the main point in the article. Graff’s point of the article is street smart is more essential to daily life than book-smart is. One of Graff’s fears as a child was to not fit in with the “hoods.” He was afraid to be a nerd, and grow up more

In many college courses today, we are asked to think and analyze critically. We are usually asked to examine a subject, write about it, and then explain its significance. In a way, the plan was usually to do X, then Y, and then you have a result of Z. However, English 1C took that plan of XYZ and added a dose of steroids to it. This course challenges writers to think outside the box and apply it to what we normally don’t think or associate with. It is because of this, that makes the course challenging. Gerald Graff, author of Hidden Intellectualism, describes the challenge that English 1C imposes. Graff explains the problem foundation that many college course objectives rely on:

In every school throughout the nation, students all have different interests; whether that be writing, math, acting, or drawing, each child is entitled to expressing their own interests in their own ways. In modern society, however, many schools are cutting back on subjects that are not tested including the arts, history, literature, government, and others. The author of “The Essentials of a Good Education,” Diane Ravitch, believes that there is more to education than testing students and labeling them based on scores. She thinks that making cuts in areas outside of mathematics and reading is a mistake and will be detrimental to society in the long run. Even though the purpose of “No Child Left Behind” was to make sure each child had a fair opportunity to be proficient in certain areas, Ravitch’s writing, “The Essentials of a Good Education” questions whether it has caused an unequal opportunity for children to learn and have a well-balanced, rich curriculum.

The argumentative essay “Anti-Intellectualism: Why we hate the smart kids” by Grant Penrod is marketed towards intellectuals as well as those in the realm of education. The author also emphasized that society often trivializes the work of academics. He used the example of how in a typical high school when the football team wins almost the entire student body knows about it and when the more intellectual teams on campus win their events and competitions it's unknown to the majority of the student body.

It’s hard to imagine a world without doctors to help save our lives in times of need, lawyers to defend us when we are being wrongfully accused or need someone to defend our personal freedoms, and even engineers who lead the way in creating a more advanced and luxurious society to live in. While it is hard to imagine a world like this it’s quickly becoming a harsh reality. In today’s American society kids across the nation are being ridiculed and alienated by their peers for having a love for school and learning and left to feel inferior. Leonard Fredman a noted writer passionately explores the injustices that the intellect of America’s youth must endure on a daily basis as anti-intellectualism runs rampant in our society. Fredman’s argues

College preparations have been instilled into the minds of young teenagers at the start of ninth grade. Parents, teachers, and state officials aim for students to get accepted into a large public or private schools after proving themselves in their academic progress. The one thing faculty neglects is their students do not feel prepared to enter the real world because they have not been exposed to endure the grueling work process required by universities. Schools teach students the basic core classes and group each into a box leaving little room to explore and enjoy the classes they are enrolled in. The real world is more open to change and new ideas which help people thrive on their own. Gerald Graff the author of, “Hidden

Rather than focusing on an individual student's education, this act was only concerned with schools as a whole. Just as Cooper (2007) explains that a “one size fits all” does not work in the education department, Gentry agrees completely in writing, “This one-size expectation does not account for variation among individuals on variables that affect learning such as socioeconomic status, environmental experiences, aptitude, school readiness, and home environment” (2006, p. 25). In other words, Cooper and Gentry understand that students do not develop, learn, or grow in the exact same fashions. One particular multiple choice test does not account for any outside factors; therefore, the statistics that the government uses to make life and death decisions are irrelevant. Furthermore, in Cooper’s view, high ability students were being deprived of learning opportunities due to teachers devoting all of their attention to students along and below the proficiency line (2007). In complete unisense, Cooper writes, “The classroom simply cannot prepare struggling learners and stimulate advanced learners at the same time”; simultaneously, Gentry argues, “By conforming and playing the score boosting game, we are denying an entire generation of children quality education while we scramble

Having read The Ignorant Schoolmaster, the book informs an individual about the intellectual quests of Joseph Jacotot, a man who put in great effort to advance his views of intellectual emancipation in the 18th and 19th centuries. He explains how people are too dependent on others in order to obtain knowledge which they can do on their own. *Upon reading his argument, I begin to agree with his view on our education system and how it’s dulling the minds of individuals. *

Through the norm-referenced test a student is compared to students within their state. Ruth Mitchell of the Education Trust, a Washington D.C.-based education advocacy group, “insists that no matter how good the teaching may be, 50% of the children will always be below average and 50% above.” Since the government holds the schools responsible for the advancement of a student’s intelligence, more pressure should be put on the teacher to place the student in the upper 50% to show their achievement. The students are also responsible for their education because their progression through school and graduation depend on their scores.

     The beginning of the school year is possibly one of the most stressful experiences for a student to endure due to mandatory placement testing—ultimately deciding where and what level a student belongs to based upon their test scores. However, what if a student does not do well on the placement testing because the subjects that the educational system deem ‘intelligent’ are not the student’s strongest attribute? Based upon the low score, the educational system would declare that student to be unintelligent. But is that student really unintelligent? Or are we “brain-washed to restrict the notion of intelligence to the

Learning is perceived differently among society’s population, although the majority of these people have a common understanding on how to measure one’s intellectual abilities. Two important factors come into play when discussing one’s intelligence: one that Bell Hooks talks about which is background and one that Howard Gardner studies which is intelligence. Two tests made to test one’s intellectual abilities are IQ tests and SAT test. These test one’s linguistic intelligence and one’s logical-mathematical intelligence. So I raise the question: is that the only kind of intelligence we as students posses? And does a person’s background influence what they learn and how much they learn?

Night's darkness of room is cut by a bright kaleidoscope of a rectangular light from the monitor. A girl sits in front of the display with a fluffy owl on it in large headphones and quietly talking with the people behind the screen. Suddenly, a door opens up with yelling "Turn this off and go do your homework! Stop wasting your time, stupid!" This sad scene is familiar to many people all around the world: parents often think that games are useless time-killers and that teens do not get anything from it that could be used in the academic world. Despite the widespread opinion, it is not true. In fact, video games are one of many other non-academic interests which make people so-called "street smart" and it is largely underestimated intelligence. One example of such games actively played worldwide is World of Warcraft (WoW). In the game, a person chooses a character among many classes and goes to explore the world - kills monsters, accomplishes achievements, and investigates stories of thousands of non-playable characters. All the activities help a player to develop qualities which are useful in the real world - both academically and not. Some writers also investigate the theme of underrating of street smarts. One of them is a professor of English and education at the University of Illinois at Chicago Gerald Graff. In his essay "Hidden Intellectualism" Graff highlights that schools fail to employ "street smart" people and turn the quality into academic intelligence, plus,