Anti-intellectualism

Grant Penrod’s “Anti-Intellectualism: Why We Hate the Smart Kids”, makes the argument that academic achievement should be rewarded just as much as athletic achievement. He continues with the fact that today’s society tends to praise non-intellectuals, such as famous celebrities and athletics, while the intellectually skilled individuals get left no recognition for their accomplishments. I agree with Penrod that there is a hatred and inattention in society for those who are smarter than others, and that public examples and currency obsession contributes to anti-intellectualism. It seems that the disapproval comes from the stereotypical image of nerds being “too smart”. It is true that “nerds” or “losers” will be picked on and bullied. As Penrod…

Anti-intellectualism was first proposed in an American historian Hofstadter Richard's book "Anti-Intellectualism in American Life". As Anti-intellectualism has different forms in different countries, he did not give a precise definition for "anti-intellectualism". However, he mentioned a rough definition for it: Anti-intellectualism is hostility to and mistrust of intellect, intellectuals, and intellectualism commonly expressed as deprecation of education and philosophy, and the dismissal of…

athletic achievement. Penrod believes that nerds are disliked because of their intellectualism, yet the reason they are excluded from social activity is due to a self-fulfilling prediction. He shares with us that today’s society tends to glorify non-intellectuals, such as athletes and celebrities, while the intellectually skilled individuals get left on the sidelines with little recognition for their accomplishments. Most high schools contribute to anti-intellectualism. Several people will not…

Gerald Graff’s Project in Hidden Intellectualism Name Institution Gerald Graff’s Project in Hidden Intellectualism In his article Hidden Intellectualism, Gerald Graff attests that intellect does not exist only in the scholarly form of thinking. Instead, he argues that intellect can also take the form of “street smarts”. In his opinion, this kind of intellectualism is obscured under the mask of normal discussions about sports, soap operas, and fashion, among others. Most students harbor…

In a passage from America Needs Its Nerds, Leonid Fridman writes about the flaws within the system of values in our society. The main fault he focuses on is that society only has disrespectful or demeaning terms such as geek and nerd for the “...intellectually curious and academically serious.” (Lines 3,4). Fridman continues to discuss the widespread of anti-intellectualism that takes place at all academic institutions including colleges and elementary schools. He utilizes numerous rhetorical…

Looking back, Graff realizes that sports are actually more intellectual than school because they are full of debates, analytical problems, and relevant statistics. Thus, Graff logically concludes that street smarts can satisfy the intellectual thirst better than school, since they are more compelling and real. Moreover, they also satisfy the thirst for community, one beyond that of friends and family. Graff supports this claim by pointing out that sports are a national discussion, a public…

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…

I agree that students are judged to be either book smart or street smart because my experience in Pattonsburg High School confirms it. In my small school of merely 75 high school students, students are considered either book smart or street smart, and like it states in the book, the two groups tend to not get along very well. I think that society believes that in order for a person to become successful in the world they must be book smart; however, I believe that some students are challenging…

Can a person who never went to school be smart? Or are books the key to education? The misconceptions of society sees being smart is a person who went to school to learn a subject, or got a degree in a specific field. Others see book smarts as knowing your way through life. Gerald Graff argues in his essay, “Hidden Intellectualism,” that being street smart is better than being book smart. I agree and disagree with this because, being smart depends on where you grew up or your culture. I disagree…

Hide & Seek with Intellectualism Life is full of advantages and disadvantages but it's mainly determined depending on your background. In society now, you can either be book smart or street smart. People have one or many types of intellectual knowledge on a topic and/or subject that's interesting to them, driving them to intake and learn as much information as possible. However, at the end of the day, those people discovering their interests often use it to benefit themselves, motivate and…