Gerald Graff Essay

realization or moment of clarity. Both Richard Rodriguez, author of “Scholarship Boy,” and Gerald Graff, author of “Disliking Books,” had a moment like this in their schooling experience. Each went on to become intellectuals with their own habits of mind, or common thinking patterns. Both men wound up at about the same place in their lives, but they have differing habits of mind. Even though both Rodriguez and Graff have their own thinking patterns, they also share some common habits of mind.…

Samual Yisehak C. Petitti ENGL 1105-42R 29 September 2016 Hidden Intellectualism Response Gerald Graff, a professor of English at the University of Illinois, wrote Hidden Intellectualism, an excerpt from the book They Say/I Say. The essay tackles the issue that one cannot be intelligent in any context except for the academic world. Intellectualism by any other subject is just as academic. I agree with Graff’s main point, however, I take umbrage with small details used in the essay. In any other…

indoctrinate students into what the system believes to be “academic”. Gerald Graff’s essay “Hidden Intellectualism” argues that there is knowledge and intelligence beyond what the traditional education system is practicing. Graff contends that incorporating the interests of students into the lesson will help students think more effectively and logically. “Intellectualism” is seen by how well a student does in traditional subjects. Graff however argues that “Real intellectuals turn any…

opportunity for an optimal education due to the standing of a family 's economic and social status. Many people day after day fail to realize, however, that knowledge and teaching in some areas are unique and present in many forms other than school. Both Graff and Rose were able to leech and strive for intellectual ability, not solely based on education, but rather experience. Those part of the higher social classes is more likely to have greater educational attainment than those residing in the…

school, lacking motivation to try because the topics being taught did not interest you in the slightest. What if the topics you were most passionate about was the ones being taught? There are multiple ways of being intelligent outside a classroom. Gerald Graff writes “Hidden Intellectualism” where he argues that opportunities are being missed to apply kids street smarts to a path of success. Schools are only teaching kids how to be academically intellectual whether it’s the right path for the…

Richard Rodriguez’s Scholarship Boy was slightly confusing. Throughout the essay, Rodriguez discovers that he needs to take all the information he had written and use it to return back to his roots and transform himself into a better person. I felt as though, during his early school years, the author was incredibly insensitive in regards to his family. He was embarrassed because his working class family was not as educated as he was, which is inconsiderate. But eventually he realized that he had…

In “Disliking Books” (an excerpt from the 1993 book, Beyond the Culture Wars: How Teaching the Conflicts Can Revitalize American Education) Gerald Graff tells his story about growing up as a middle-class Jew in Chicago (22). He grew up disliking and fearing literature, history, and other advanced books. His explanation for his disdain towards reading was his fear of being bullied by the other boys in the working-class. Reading at the time was only acceptable for girls. When entering college, he…

able to learn that failing is an option for greatness, performing in front of an audience creates courage, it is alright to rely on others, managing my own time and becoming an adult, all creating me to become a better person. As Nicholas Carr and Gerald Graff has taught me how to incorporate and connect my passion to my learning for academic success. Their lessons are carried through, which I was able to finally realize and it opened my eyes as to how successful I have become after cheer.…

A brick wall of freezing air hits your face as you walk down a seemingly clean and populated part of town. Your pace shifts as the weather on this particular day seems like the coldest in ages and yet you start to warm up as you near the epicenter of a part of town that seems to glow with its radiant warmth. The sidewalks are clean and well maintained; the shops are vibrant and lively with people enjoying the day. As you enter the Metropolis you are only greeted with a harsh and cold flurry of…

Two professors of different backgrounds, Gerald Graff, of Illinois, and Deborah Tannen, of Georgetown University discuss “teaching the controversy” and classroom dynamics that are “fundamentally male” in college education. Both have suggested that our education system is not providing the best education for the students. Do these conflicts in education is due to cognitive dissonance or linguistic exclusion? In “Other Voices, Other Rooms”, Gerald Graff discuss the problems…