When first reading Gerald Graff's essay, "Hidden Intellectualism", I thought his thesis was this, "What doesn't occur to us, though, is 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." I assumed that this was his rightfully placed thesis because it explains the main topic of the essay - but I assumed it's purpose because of it's placement. I'm so used to reading essay in high school where the thesis is located right in the first paragraph. So naturally, that is where I search for it. However, with further reading, I realized that the following is thesis, not only because it discusses the main topic, but because it clearly shows what they author is trying to argue. "But they would be more prone to take on intellectual identities if we encouraged them to do so at first on subjects that interest them rather than ones that interest us"
To back his thesis, Graff gives two major ways in which intellectualism is more important than academic intelligence. His first is shown in his account of the Chicago neighborhood in which he grew up. "I grew up torn, then, between the need to prove I was smart and the fear of a beating if I proved it too well; between the need not to jeopardize my respectable future and the need to impress the hoods." Aside from wanting to prove himself book-smart, Graff grew up with the threat of getting beaten up by the neighborhood kids. So, he had to develop a sense of protection physically and mentally. He began to play sports, and learned how to get around the "hoods". His other major back-up is how talking and writing about sports eventually helps one to be able to form and write perfect English. "It was in reading and arguing about sports and toughness that I experienced what it felt like to propose a generalization, restate and respond to a counterargument, and perform other intellectualizing operations, including composing the kind of sentences I am writing now.
I agree with Graff in the sense that schools need to implement current issues and topics of interest to peak the interest of their students - thus encouraging them even further to create the best work that they can create. However, with all of the talk of sports and entertainment, I don't agree that such topics within those generalizations should be taught in schools. If schools were to implement these such topics into their curriculums, then they should pick apart details from them that they know would benefit their students.
To back his thesis, Graff gives two major ways in which intellectualism is more important than academic intelligence. His first is shown in his account of the Chicago neighborhood in which he grew up. "I grew up torn, then, between the need to prove I was smart and the fear of a beating if I proved it too well; between the need not to jeopardize my respectable future and the need to impress the hoods." Aside from wanting to prove himself book-smart, Graff grew up with the threat of getting beaten up by the neighborhood kids. So, he had to develop a sense of protection physically and mentally. He began to play sports, and learned how to get around the "hoods". His other major back-up is how talking and writing about sports eventually helps one to be able to form and write perfect English. "It was in reading and arguing about sports and toughness that I experienced what it felt like to propose a generalization, restate and respond to a counterargument, and perform other intellectualizing operations, including composing the kind of sentences I am writing now.
I agree with Graff in the sense that schools need to implement current issues and topics of interest to peak the interest of their students - thus encouraging them even further to create the best work that they can create. However, with all of the talk of sports and entertainment, I don't agree that such topics within those generalizations should be taught in schools. If schools were to implement these such topics into their curriculums, then they should pick apart details from them that they know would benefit their students.
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