The Expectations Of Intellectuals : Why We Hate The Smart Kids

"the word, 'intellectual', of course, became the swear word it deserved to be...the boy in your class who was exceptionally 'bright', did most of the reciting and answering while the others sat like so many leaden idols, hating him. And wasn't it the bright boy you selected for beatings and tortures after hours? We must all alike. Not everyone born free and equal...not everyone made equal." (Bradbury, p. 58).

Society’s view on intelligence is becoming watered down from the truth. In Rose’s article, “Blue Collar Brilliance” Rose discusses societies outlook on intelligence. Rose explains how society thinks blue collared jobs don’t involve any intelligence, and anyone can do a blue collared job. He explains how society thinks that since you don’t have to have a high education to perform well in blue collared jobs, it takes little to no intelligence. Rose says, “We reinforce this notion by defining intelligence solely on grades in school and numbers on IQ test” (Rose 279). Rose explains that even though most blue collared jobs don’t require a college degree, they still demand many forms of intelligence. Rose also explains how his brother dropped out of school in the ninth grade but eventually became a successful employee of the company General Motors. In Graff’s article, “Hidden Intellectualism” he explains how there are many students in today’s world who have an outstanding amount of “street smarts” but are failing school. He explains

If it wasn’t for people acting against conformity and developing their interests in academics America wouldn’t be where it is in technical advancements. Fridman argues that for America’s success it’s necessary that, “the anti-intellectual values that pervade our society must be fought” to raise more citizens to be intellectual (Fridman 20-21). He urges for society’s values to be challenged in order for individuals to get more involved with educating themselves. Fridman points out, “There are very few countries in the world where anti-intellectualism runs as high in popular culture as it does in the U.S.”

Knowledge isn’t all about what people know or how well they are in school. IQ tests test the intelligence of the person; however they test the pure thinking capacity rather than what people know. This means that intelligence comes from the entire cognitive thinking ability and not what they

Most people, when asked, say that a person is intelligent if they have “book smarts.” People that are book smart can write and converse about subjects taught in school. On the other hand, people with “street smarts” aren’t seen as intellectuals because the subjects they are knowledgeable about are not traditional. In his essay called “Hidden Intellectualism,” Gerald Graff insists that schools and colleges are missing an opportunity to translate street smarts into academic work.

It appears that in today’s society, intellectual beings, or “geeks” and “nerds” as they’re often referred to, are being pressured in everyday life events because they don’t quite seem to “fit in” even though they are the backbone of America’s economical and technological advances. Although these “nerds” play an important role in keeping America ahead in the scholarly and technological world, they’re rarely ever praised, for instead, they are bashed and labeled with derogatory terms for being too much of a “geek.” As for Leonid Fridman, he addresses America’s behavior towards “nerds” in his essay, “American Needs Its Nerds,” by using irony and antitheses to draw attention to anti-intellectualism values in America and uncover how society is stepping down on its “geeks” and “nerds.”

Being a smart kid is an honor to most, but as a child, Mark Bowden believed otherwise. In “The Dumb Kids’ Class” he tells his unique experience in Catholic school, where he was in the dumb kids’ class and then switched into the smart class, and discovers the true differences between them.

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,

What is the first thing people think of when they hear the “smart” kid talks about his accomplishments? Those smart kids get called a nerd and automatically have to deal negative things all because society itself thinks it is okay to do so. In “Anti-Intellectualism: Why We Hate Smart Kids”, Grant Penrod explains why anti-intellectualism exist. People will remember what the anti-intellectuals do but not so much the intellectuals. Society envy those who are smarter than them and only look at any other accomplishment besides education accomplishments. Anti- Intellectuals tend to bash others around them for their success academically. That is how society works in every generation. Penrod informs everyone of an example of how nerds can be treated differently especially in the school system. More recognition goes to sports teams instead of debates teams, which is factual. Penrod’s lack of credible information and the tone that has been presented has brought a lot of thoughts that need to be analyzed more closely on why he presented this article this way.

Most of the time when you hear the word nerd or geek you picture a guy or girl with a serious case of acne, wears glasses, and has braces. Someone who is not cool, basically a person you would refuse to be. You do not think about the fact that they are smart and that they can achieve great things later on in life for being a “nerd” or “geek”. Leonid Fridman, in his article “America Needs its Nerds”, creates an argument about the fact that nerds and geeks are “ostracized for their intelligence” and America's anti-intellectual values need to be stopped. Fridman develops his argument through the use of rhetorical questions and comparisons.

For the most part, intelligent people are not appreciated for their astuteness. This often tends to hinder their emotional development as they rarely find someone who can think on their level or have mutual emotions towards things. Which can make intelligent people feel more sad, depressed, or even lonely at times. Having this information brought to my attention has intrigued me in the recently read and discussed paper on “Anti-Intellectualism: Why We Hate the Smart Kids.” When I had finished reading that paper I had found myself interested in the part where he states, and I quote, “This argument, however, merely accounts for the perpetuation of…feelings. Those feelings must also originate somewhere…ignoring intellectuals both in school and later on in life crushes its victims” (NFG 755-757). That part left me questioning, how do people earn the title of intelligence or are there different types of intelligence? Does that mean our society reveres more standard or emotional intelligence?

They bring up hateful mentions about intellectuals and has no issue in doing such thing. According to the article, “The trend to dislike intellectuals stems at least in part from an inescapable perception that concern for grades and test scores excludes the coexistence of normal social activities.” In the author’s argument, discrimination against smart people thinks when you care most about your results in academics, there would be less time to be involved socially with others and any type of event. The less talkative you are the more intellect the person may be. I support that following the trend and bandwagon involves anti-intellectualism because of personal experiences with the people at my age group. Popularity is an important part of knowing that a person is going to get bullied or not and this is one of the main causes of

Intelligence by definition is “the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills” (Oxford Dictionary, 2014). However, many psychologists argue that there is no standard definition of ‘intelligence’, and there have been many different theories over time as psychologists try to find better ways to define this concept (Boundless 2013). While some believe in a single, general intelligence, others believe that intelligence involves multiple abilities and skills. Another largely debated concept is whether intelligence is genetically determined and fixed, or whether is it open to change, through learning and environmental influence. This is commonly known as the nature vs. nurture debate.

The future of America as a superpower depends on educated people who can develop political, financial, and military strategies to keep the country strong. Fridman questions how a country where parents are ashamed of children who choose intellectual activities over sports and social events can maintain its world-class status. Indeed, it seems that soon football players will control the government and the academic will be spurned and forgotten. The intellectuals and academics are ostracized for their desire for education and information and compared to an outcast street performer through the term ‘geek’. Fridman develops his argument for the return of respect for those who desire knowledge through real-world examples, and thought-provoking

Intelligence is defined by the American Heritage Dictionary as being the capacity to acquire and apply knowledge. When knowledge is spoken of, it is generally used in terms of education. The extent of education a person has achieved is then what most often determines how much knowledge one has accumulated. Nevertheless, with this definition of intelligence in mind, one might possibly consider the average person to be intelligent. After all, even a person who has never gone to school a day in their life is capable of acquiring knowledge and applying it to some area of their life. Acquiring and applying knowledge could be something as simple as being shown how to mop a floor and then conducting the job using the newly gained know-how.