Social class puts us all in separate groups, depending on our experience with wealth and power. In the articles “Blue Collar Brilliance” and “Hidden Intellectualism,” we are exposed to a different form of intellectualism that is not entirely based on academics. Authors Mike Rose and Gerald Graff describe how education plays a significant role in today’s society. The amount of money one has and the type of area one lives in affects the type of school a student attends. Those that live in a richer neighborhood often have schools that provide a strong education. Neighborhoods with people of a lower class often don’t have their school systems built as strong. The different levels of education we accomplish determines our value in society. Our …show more content…
Rose believes that the people who obtained a higher level of education should not be the only ones considered intellectuals. The working class also have a high intellectual understanding because they gain knowledge through hand on hand experience. He shows us several examples of how his mother, uncle, and others gained skills taught at schools by working at their everyday jobs. Rose believes that those of the social class are constantly learning something new and should receive more credit. He believes society should recognize them also as intellectuals “ they have generally focused on the values such workers exhibit rather than on the thought their work requires” (Rose 1036) meaning that we have to realize the amount of intellectual skills these people are capable of. Rose states “ generalizations about intelligence, work, and social class deeply affect our assumptions about ourselves and each other” (Rose 1036), meaning we should not generalize each other because we are reinforcing social separation and destroying our ability to talk about cultural …show more content…
He believes that street smart beat out book smart in this society because street smart “satisfies an intellectual thirst more thoroughly”(Graff 960), Graff makes the relation that schools should not only educate their students on subjects known to be intellectual but also subjects that interest them.. He says “the fact that we associate those street smarts with anti-intellectualism concerns” (Graff 957), meaning this society doesn’t see the significance of being street smart.Graff states that being what is academically known as “book smart” won’t benefit you in a real life situation. In his article we are exposed to two types of social classes that are divided by their level of academic intelligence. One of the social groups appreciates the importance of getting a good education. The other social group known as the “hoods” value street smarts and doesn’t view academics with the same value that the “book smart” social class does. Graff is a part of the group with the book smart mentality. Although Graff already has his role in society he has a desire to seek acceptance from the