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Jim Brockel

Mrs. Lohmeyer

English 101: Composition

5 September 2017

Summary of Hidden Intellectualism

In his essay, Hidden Intellectualism, Gerald Graff challenges the idea that

intellectualism can only come from being book smart. He argues this point by telling

his personal story, citing relevant pop culture material, and criticizing schools for missing

teaching opportunities. By using personal experiences, Graff reveals his persuasions of

not only making learning more interesting, but also making teaching easier.

Graff begins by addressing that schools are missing opportunities to get kids

excited to read and learn. Schools fail, in Graffs opinion, to first draw students into

intellectualism due to a lack of material relevant to them. He makes this point by

proposing that students, would be more prone to take on intellectual identities if we

encourage them to do so first on subjects that interest them rather than interest us (Graff

265). By using these more student-relevant materials the kids will get more involved,

therefore leading to less kids tuning out and learning opportunities.

Following his critique of the educational model, Graff addresses his challenges to

be book smart. In offering up his own adolescence he draws in readers with his own

personal struggles. Though he read, he did not read what is considered by most to be

intellectual material. In his youth he loved reading sports magazines, articles, and novels

(Graff 265). He notes that societal ideals, focusing on the physical toughness of a man as

part of his draw toward the anti-intellectual pursuits (Graff 266). Yet, with further
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analysis a realization that, though these types of materials were not considered by those

academia to be intellectual, he gained a great deal of knowledge from them.

Graff often mentions his love of sports throughout the essay. He read every sports

magazine he could get his hands on. After many years of reading, it struck him that these

sports articles and arguments brought forth just as much, or more intellectual thought

than what he gained from Shakespeares plays (Graff 266). He attributes this to the

challenging arguments, debates, problems for analysis, and inaccurate statistics

discussed with this topic (Graff 266). Based on this idea, Graff points out that though a

student cannot dig deep into Mills On Liberty, because they find the subject matter to be

incredibly dull, the same student could write a sharply argued, sociologically acute

analysis of a popular magazine, thus improving their critical thinking skills while

enjoying themselves (Graff 267).

Graff believes that this hidden intellectualism is found throughout the world in

places deemed to be less sophisticated. With his personal experiences that led him to be

the intellect he is today, he is convinced other childrens eyes can be opened to the

knowledge that is there for the taking. As teachers become more aware of what is

interesting to students, advancements will be made in the classroom to help the overall

experience. Without individual interests and points of view we would not live as diverse,

and thriving human beings.


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Works Cited
Graff, Gerald. Hidden Intellectualism. They Say I Say With Readings. Ed. Cathy
Birkenstein, and Russel Durst, 3rd ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company,
Inc., 2014. 264-71. Print.

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