Essay on Street Smarts versus Book Smarts

Society believes there are two types of people, when it comes to dexterity.There are those who have the knowledge and skills necessary for academics. And then there are those who seem to be full of information about life itself, but do not appear to have perception, when it comes to school. I define “Book smart” as someone who is intelligent and well educated academically. For example a straight A student, or a person who can in a heart beat, give you an answer about history, english, math, or science. On the other hand, a person who is considered “street smart” is one who is dull in school, but has a very bright mentality about life itself and common sense. In Hidden Intellectualism, from They Say I Say, Gerald Graff tells us about how he considered himself “street smart,” but unintentionally became quite an intellectual over time. Using a topic that interests a student is a better way of persuading them to learn, and help them discover they are intelligent in their own way. We should not classify things into different judgmental groups, there is hidden intellectualism amongst every person although we all experience it differently based on past exposures.

People with street smarts can just be as intellectual as a person who is book smart if you can get them to open up and willing to talk about their personal interests. Schools will be more successful in taping in the minds of a street smart kid by having them introduce personal interests in their academic work. These street smart kids are more willing to be academically intelligent if they introduce personal interests into their own school work. It allows the kid to be free and talk about a subject that they have more knowledge on than a subject they barely touched base on a couple weeks ago. By having students introducing personal interests in their academic work they are more willing to succeed in their work because they have plenty of support. Graff says in the last paragraph of his essay, “Give me a student anytime who writes a sharply argued, sociologically acute analysis of an issue of Source over the student who writes a lifeless explication of Hamlet or Socrate’s Apology.” (Graff 270) Schools need to identify both sides of the human being and notice that one is just not alike as the

In paragraph 5, Graff opens with his own experiences in school in the 1940s. He discussed how he only liked reading sports magazine and that he was often faced with the issue of being accepted by two different set of school boys, the hoods and the well dress, clean cut boys. He learned through his own experiences that showed him that “street smarts” were a part of an intelligence. (Graff, "Hidden Intellectualism", 2017)

The issue being debated in the article “Hidden Intellectualism” by Gerald Graff is street smarts versus book smarts. Gerald Graff is an English professor at the University of Illinois and has written many books. The author claims that people are better off if they are more street smart than book smart. The authors is very persuasive using real life examples. I although disagree with this claim. I think that you need an equal mix of both street and book smarts.

Both Carol S. Dweck and Annie Murphy Paul use the term intelligence in their essays, but they have slightly different meanings. While Carol S. Dweck uses the term intelligence as a measure of how smart someone is that can be expanded through effort, while Annie Murphy Paul uses intelligence in the same manner (a measure of how smart someone is), but in how it can be suppressed.

A college degree is a valuable asset that could ultimately lead to a productive life in society due to the received education, but people without a college degree do turn out more than adequate in regards to societal success. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, of the forecasted 30 fastest growing jobs between 2010 and 2020, five do not require a high school diploma, nine require a high school diploma, four require an associate 's degree, six require a bachelor 's degree, and six require graduate degrees to get the jobs (College). In an article called “College Education” by ProCon.org,

Everyone knows some young person who is impressively street smart but does poorly in school. What a waste, we think, that one who is so intelligent about so many things in life seems unable to apply that intelligence to academic work. This is how Gerald Graff’s essay titled “Hidden Intellectualism" begins. Although this is not Graff's personal belief, he is approaching us with a common stereotype. After reading Graff's article I would say that I agree with him from beginning to end. Gerald Graff begins with differentiating between “book smarts” and “street smarts". Book smart is defined as a person who is intelligent and very well educated academically. People that are book smart can write and discuss subjects taught in school. On the

Intellectualism is most often described as someone who has a vast amount of knowledge, is well spoken, and most people’s idea of intelligence is someone who is “book smart”. Book Smart would be described as someone who van write and converse about subjects that are most often taught in school. Another type of “smart” would be someone who is known as “street smart”. They are seen as intellectuals who are knowledgeable in the world around them, and today’s culture, and individuals who learn through personal experiences. In the essay Hidden Intellectualism, by Gerald Graff he insists

In his essay, “Blue Collar Brilliance” Mike Rose claims that “competence was synonymous with physical work.” He addressed this subject because working class citizens were often looked down on for not having a college education. His mother was a waitress at a busy restaurant and from a young age he and his father often watched her at work. He learned his mother had the ability to multitask, manage her time at work and also observe the psychological needs of the people she both worked for and with. I fundamentally agree it does not require an academic education to be considered intelligent.

Academic work should not define intelligence nor should a job define ability; a person, regardless of grades, degrees, or job title, is an intellect. Together, Gerald Graff, a coauthor of They Say I say, professor, and former anti-intellect, author of "Hidden Intellectualism," and Mike Rose, professor, author, and in depth thinker, author of "Blue-Collar Brilliance," share two different perspectives on what an intellect truly is. Yet, both writings hold meaningful points and experiences to prove who qualifies to be an intellect. Society continuously focuses on what leads to a successful and rounded life: go to school, graduate, go back to school, get a degree, and then a job. It is believed that these high expectations of higher academics enables one to be more successful is correct; however, it is not. It is a person’s individual goals that give them the success they wish to have whether that be education, volunteering, or donating. Also, street smarts is not to be overlooked; a person with common sense can know more than a Doctor. Typically, a person can have either common sense or intelligence, not both. Street smarts is, without a doubt, a superior quality to possess as it encompasses more in life than just a degree does. For example, it is more appropriate to know how to cross a street properly in life than know how to perform a craniotomy. Furthermore, one does not gain knowledge and life lessons through school alone, but through experience,

As I read Gerald Graff’s Hidden Intellectualism I agree that “street smart” can also be adapted in a scholarly setting. Graff attest that “street smart” overpowers academic intellect. Graff uses his childhood experience to prove his arguments. I’m on Graff’s side of argument on his beliefs that “street smart” is gained before academic intellect. In my own experience as a child growing up, I was around agriculture from the day I was

In his essay “Hidden Intellectualism”, Gerald Graff argues that street smarts are much more important as school smart. Graff explains how many people are street smart, but do not perform well in school. The street smarts are the ones who are focused on sports or entertainment and the school smarts are the ones who love books and are into their academic lives. He believes students who are in school need to read literature to become more intellectual. Graff believes schools should encourage the street smarts and make them have more focus on their academic work.

Gerald Graff insists “Street smarts beat out book smarts in our culture not because street smarts are non intellectual, as we generally suppose, but because they satisfy and intellectual thirst more thoroughly than school culture” (248). I believe that school generalizes the students to a point where academic work can be very unsatisfying. By putting them in a box, there are less chances to expand thoughts, and creating new ways of understanding. Graffs opinions on this subject are correct because many people who are successful, and contributing member of society are not formally educated. Even if they had more interest in sports rather than books, they still succeeded later in

Getting a “good” job is not straightforward as it used to be. In past generations, someone in an entry-level position could work their way up the ladder simply through hard work and determination; whether or not one had credentials or a diploma mattered very little. This is not the case today. Higher education is now critical to obtaining a better job because the demand for skilled labor is rising. For this reason, the value that a degree offers is higher than that of one’s actual intelligence or merit. Furthermore, workers without college degrees will quickly be outpaced in position and salary by degree

Ever since we were young, we have always heard how college is the only way to excel in a career and make more money. However, people need to realize that not all college degrees are comparable. If someone wanted to become a fire fighter, then college may not be a necessity. However, if you wanted to become a lawyer or a doctor, then college is essential to follow in this career path. Undoubtedly a person with a college degree can make up to