Hidden Intellectulism Essay

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I found Hidden Intellectualism to be a very interesting article by Gerald Graff. It was an argument that I hadn’t heard before and completely agreed on. I say this because I know more than one young person who is impressively street smart but does very poor in school. Gerald Graff makes some very interesting points in his story, saying that schools might be at fault for missing the opportunity to tap into such street smarts and channel them into good academic work. One of the major reasons why schools and colleges overlook the intellectual potential of street smarts is the fact that we associate those street smarts with anti-intellectualism. Regarding the topic of intellectualism, there seem to be two schools of thought. On one hand, many people believe that in order to be an intellectual individual, one should read, write, and discuss great literature and other aspects of classical education. On the other hand, there are those who believe that reading, writing, and discussing various topics that are not usually identified as “intellectual” such as cars and sports are in fact just as impressive. Graff argues that intellectualism is good, and that schools ought to encourage learners to read, think critically and write about their fields of personal interests like fashion, music or cars. I however hold the view that what is good for some individuals may have a negative impact on others. Moreover, asking students to merely write about their interests may not necessarily help them to acquire intellectual skills. I believe that intellectualism is partly an inborn trait, which Graff has. Due to this fact, non-intellectual activities such as debates and sports helped Graff to develop his intellectual potentiality. It can be argued that there are some people who lack the ability to come up with logical arguments and points of view after reading articles or magazines.

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