...In Grant Penrod's "Anti-Intellectualism" Essay at the Arizona University Printer’s Devils Competition in which his essay won him second place out of hundreds of other essays; Mr. Penrod’s main point and thesis argument was that today’s intellectuals are being highly mistreated and sadly disrespected. To make a clear understanding on what he really means by this, Mr. Penrod gives prime examples of this unfortunate time for intellectuals including the extremism of anti-intellectuals, how some celebrities like Sammy Sosa never graduated, and how these anti-intellectuals are hurting these people. He mentions about how online websites like Talkingcock.com have some users who post very malicious and violent opinions towards today’s intellectuals....
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...Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, "Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." Ray Williams wrote the article “Anti-Intellectualism and the ‘Dumbing Down’ of America,” Williams argues that people are anti-intellectuals who dismiss the art of science, and humanities and replaced by entertainment, ignorance, and gullibility. These individuals believe they know and understand everything when in reality, all we are aware of happens to be replaced by ignorance. American culture is easily entertained and almost always uninformed however society doesn’t stop and questions what going on. American people accept media foolery such as what’s trending and the latest gossip without hesitation because...
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...Intellectuals are looked down upon and seen as insignificant in today’s society and one might wonder why that is. Grant Penrod explores this claim in his article Anti – Intellectualism: Why We Hate the Smart Kids. In his article, he explains that there is a problem with degrading the smart kids and it needs to stop. Throughout his article, his argument is convincing due to his use of ethos, logos, and pathos. He introduces the topic by describing a personal experience of his from when he attended Mountain View High School. Because he starts off with a personal experience, he has just increased his credibility in the reader’s eyes. He points out that only athletes get recognized for their achievements and academic accomplishments are simply...
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...Hit the books! Is it better to be book smart or street smart? This question of what we consider to be intellectualism; Gerald Graff goes on to explains this through his the Chapter “Hidden Intellectualism” in his book Clueless in Academic: How Schooling Obscures the Life of the Mind. I agree with Graff’s point about how teachers should try to get students more engaged in schoolwork using subjects students find interesting. Graff clarifies how being intelligent is not only about being academically smart, but also being “street smart”, using his own experiences. At the beginning of his chapter, Hidden Intellectualism Graff says, “We assume that it’s possible to wax intellectual about Plato, Shakespeare, the French Revolution, and nuclear fission, but not about cars, dating, fashion, sports, TV, or video games.” (245). What I believe Graff is trying to convey is, how it is viewed more important to know what started the French Revolution, than it is to know how to keep a conversation going, even when the two people have nothing in common. Although keeping up conversation would not be viewed as non-academic, but could very well be used to give presentations or speeches in class or in a debate. Graff goes on to offer his own experience of his youth. He describes himself as a typical anti-intellectual teenager that preferred sports to schoolwork. He explains how intellectualism was treated very hostile in the 1950’s and because of that he tried avoiding seeming book smart. He explains...
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...In “Hidden Intellectualism” by Gerald Graff, he claims that intellect does not just exist in academics. Graff insists that street smarts can also be a form of knowledge. In addition, he claims that even if individuals do poorly in school, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t smart. It could just mean that they are very street-smart with a knowledge on different subjects. Furthermore, schools usually overlook street-smarts and associate them with non-intellectual interests. Graff thinks that students should find something they are actually interested in first so then they can build from there and eventually become intellectuals. Additionally he suggests that if they could somehow see these interests through “academic eyes” with language they understand,...
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...Last year was the best year in North Carolina's history with a graduation rate of “85.4 percent” (NC State Board of Education). The title of the article is “Hidden Intellectualism” from the book Clueless in Academe; How Schooling Obscures the Life of the Mind by Gerald Graff. The book was written in 2003. The purpose of this text is to teach people that people can be taught to use academic methods and thoughts for items in the domain of “street smarts” Graff tries to tell readers about different intelligence and how they could be reached. Often they are deemed street smart and told and treated as if it is incompatible with academics. To overcome this he tells about his experiences bridging both and how others can do this. In “Hidden Intellectualism”graff uses a unique style of writing to show how we can write about subjects usually considered non-intellectual in an academic way. he does this by mixing a professional style of writing with a simple and easy to understand style of writing using reminders of childhood and modern language. The book that the essay is from was released short after the passing of “No Child Left Behind”. This legislation was an attempt to...
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...To Be or Not To Be One of the Smart Kids In the article, Anti-Intellectualism: Why We Hate the Smart Kids, Grant Penrod writes how society stereotypes intellectuals and how their efforts are trivialized. He states that the football players are held up on a pedestal and treated as if they are gods, that they receive all the attention. Intellectuals are on the other hand are treated as outcasts because they are smart. That they are left out of all social aspects of high school. Or that they are labeled as “nerds”. Although I agree with Penrod up to a point, I cannot accept his overall conclusion that everyone dislikes smart people and the media glorifies celebrities that have no education. Or that we all make fun of someone because they are smart. In the beginning of his article Penrod tells us of how a high school football team won their state championship and that the same high schools science, debate, speech and academic teams also won championships. According to Penrod no one will give the academic teams the recognition they deserve, but the football team will get all the glory, the football players get a “virtual barrage of praise and downright deification. As for the three academic teams, they received a combined total of around ten minutes of recognition.” I agree that in high school the jocks do get the attention and praise as where the smart kids don’t because in my experience in high school confirms it for me. I saw it so many times. Penrod’s use of a...
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...In his article, ‘Hidden Intellectualism,’ Gerald Graff’s main point is, street smart people can be just as, if not maybe more intellectual than people who are book smart. Everyone is smart in their own different ways. Graff goes on and talks about whether he is “street smart,” or “book smart.” Graff thinks that he was street smart. The author states, “Nor do we consider one of the major reasons why schools and colleges overlook the intellectual potential of street smarts: the fact that we associate those street smarts with anti-intellectual concerns.” What I think he is trying to say is, most teaching industries over look some of the important things in life. Some things that schools do not teach, like how to do taxes, or fill out a mortgage....
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...A wise man once said “A man can live on his wits and his balls for only so long” (Hunter S. Thompson, 1998) meaning that book smarts will only get you so far . In Gerald Graff article “ Hidden Intellectualism,” Graff states how intellect doesn't only come in scholarly form but can also come in the form of “streets smarts”. In today society Graff feels that “schools and colleges might be at fault for missing the opportunity to tap into such starters smarts and channel them into good academic work.” (P. 244) Meaning that schools are not making an enough into trying to combine the two. Many people often construe that street smarts are things you picked up in life and book smarts are your typical 100 average student. Graff feels that “ real intellectuals...
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...Many people have shared a problem that has kept them from reaching their full potential in academic studies. One place where students have trouble is when they are unable to relate to course work material, but have a knowledge of their own. Communities may also feel the same affect when someone’s intellect is not accepted as the norm; in this case, street smarts is looked downed upon. In the essay, “Hidden Intellectualism” Gerald Graff explains the troubles these students face when trying to apply their own street smarts towards an education. Graff starts his essay arguing how the academic system is flawed and that it overlooks an important aspect in capturing a persons interest and revealing their intellect; he says that a person’s true intellect will generally reveals itself; Graff then connects his thesis to George Orwell’s essay, “Cultural Meanings.” Graff then gives his own personal experience, he says that throughout his schooling, he...
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...Associate Level Material Appendix G Ethical Actions Worksheet Write a 100- to 150-word response to each of the following questions: • Was there anything in either the University Of Phoenix Student Code Of Conduct or the Student Code of Academic Integrity that surprised you? If so, what was it? Why were you surprised? If not, why not? From reading the texts outlined in the ethics game I am surprised but not as you think I should be. I am surprised actually that the writings should have been said. First of all, everyone that makes a conscious effort to attend University of Phoenix holds themselves higher than some of the dredges of society. Part of holding yourself higher would be to have the morals as to not do the negative things to coast through a class. Someone that does this has the potential to become the danger in their field of study. An example is a person plagiarizes their paper in their IT class. By doing this they acknowledge the do not know what they are exactly doing and could create a bigger problem in the long run. • What did you learn about the behaviors considered important for an ethical learner or student in the University of Phoenix learning community? Being an ethical learner and a Student in the university of Phoenix community is a lot more highly honored than I thought. What they said about if people commit plagiary; as a whole the community starts to fail. Holding ourselves responsible as an ethical learner is vitally important...
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...In Gerald Graff’s “Hidden Intellectualism” he goes into detail as to why intelligence is not just about book smarts but also street smarts. He goes on to state that “…schools and colleges might be at fault for missing the opportunity to tap into such street smarts and channel them into good academic work” (264). Many people discredit students all the information that street smart students possess since now days’ intellectualism is only accredited to subjects such as philosophy or historical wars. While students do need to read writers such as Shakespeare and George Orwell they will be more intrigued to gain a higher intellect if they being by doing research on subjects that they are fond of instead of being forced to study about something they have no interest in....
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...In the article “Hidden Intellectualism” by Gerald Graff, he speaks an abundance about his experiences with being an intellectual, and feeling satisfactory with it. When he was young, he never thought it was “cool” to be smart, or into reading, and he tried to “fit in” with the different crowds of people in his school and neighborhood, who were not known to be the brightest. Ultimately, bold figures in society no longer popularized this “idea” of street smarts being the means of knowledge, and started subtly promoting book smarts. By the end of the article, Graff makes the point that if schools began allowing students to write about things that interest them, such as sports or hobbies, rather than writers and novels, kids would not be so paranoid about being interested in literature and being an intellectual....
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...only to have it regurgitated back at them (Freire 72). Freire is concerned because students are educationally restricted by this method, however his alternate form of “education consists in acts of cognition, not transferals of information,” which is a free-thinking form of education (79). Freire’s system creates certain types of students who possesses characteristics such as perceiving the teacher as their equal, has transferable skills, and is in possession of a “critical consciousness.” Max embodies all of Freire’s characteristics, which rubs off on others as well. Everywhere that Max goes, he is continually emulating Freirean ideals, especially in an “oppressive” high school and by “overcoming authoritarianism and an alienating intellectualism” (86). Max, one of the worst Rushmore students, comes off as an atypical student in a completely different sense, but embodies what Freire believes as the best form of a student. Most students in college are fearful of asking their professors questions because most students regard their teachers as authority figures that will view the students as ignorant. However, Max is blind to such concepts as respect toward one’s superiors; they simply do not exist in his world. Instead he speaks to teachers and authority figures as if they’re his equals “by reconciling the poles of the contradiction so that both are simultaneously teachers and students” (Freire 72). This method is a crucial piece of the “problem-posing education system.” Freire...
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...“Disliking Books” Gerald Graff begins his academic article with the statement, “I have a certain advantage as a teacher of literature”. He began his literary career as a person who disliked and feared books principally history, philosophy, science, and social studies. Graff disliked history for the most part. However he is fond of science since it had a practical application and to him it was enjoyable to solve the problems in the textbooks. Literature in history had no apparent application to his experience. He grew up as a middle-class boy in a Jewish family, and was always in fear of being beat up by working-class boys. As a young boy, at the time, reading and loving literature, a boy was in constant fear of being called a sissy. Unlike...
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