Gerald Graff

In "Hidden Intellectualism", Gerald Graff argues that being street smart is just as important as being academically smart, if not, more. Graff states, “I believe that street smarts beat out book smarts in our culture not because they satisfy an intellectual thirst more thoroughly than school culture, which seems pale and unreal.” Being street smart gives individuals infinite amount of opportunities to learn anything that sparks interest to them and the information they learn have practical applications in life. On the other hand, the information students learn in school is limited to the curriculum given by the school or teacher. The syllabus is stated clearly and strictly with no room for adjustments. If students are uninterested in what is on the syllabus, they will have little motivation to work hard. Also, what is taught in school typically does not have practical applications in the real world.

           

            Graff uses personal experience to support his claim. He writes how reading and arguing about sports, which is something he is interested in, taught him to create solid arguments that is backed with evidence and support. By using his personal experience to support the thesis, he becomes a somewhat credible author. It is true that if people argue with others more often, they will naturally become better at arguing. This goes with any skills; the more you practice, the better you get. However, I doubt that reading sports magazine provided Graff with knowledge of creating concrete arguments.

Graff also advocates for teachers to allow students to write academic reports on magazines but he does not take in consideration the fact that magazines are simply written for entertainment; there are no intellectual values to them. Of course magazines can teach readers how to become more fit or stylish or even wealthy but they do not provide readers with deeper knowledge. Knowledge that can be found in books such as teaching readers to think for themselves or to search for their meanings in life are not found in magazines. Also, the stories in books have many interpretations to them and every reader can come up with their own meaning whereas magazine articles are straight-forward and concise and do not give room for interpretation.

I do agree with Graff’s point that students should be allowed to read stuff that they are fascinated by. However, that does not mean they should do academic reports on magazines and stop reading books altogether. Students should still read books but be given permission to select books from a genre they enjoy or a book that completely captivates them.