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Essay / Comparing the Ideas of Hidden Intellectualism and Home Education
Table of ContentsIntroductionHidden Intellectualism and Home EducationConclusionIntroductionGerald Graff, Professor of English and Education at the University of Illinois in Chicago questions the effectiveness of the education system in his narrative essay "Hidden Intellectualism." Graff's goal is to convey the idea that intellectualism cannot be strictly defined by an individual's ability to interact with academic topics and texts. In the text, he shares the relationship he has with sports books and magazines and how it allowed him to learn the fundamentals of intellectualism. He uses both an assertive and compassionate tone, with the assertive tone appealing to school boards and the compassionate tone appealing to students. On the other hand, civil rights activist Malcolm Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Hidden Intellectualism vs. Home Education Malcolm's purpose in the text was to show how self-education propelled him beyond his eighth grade level of education and enabled him to be aware of the many problems within humanity. Malcolm adopts a formal tone to gain credibility and gain approval from his audience. “Hidden Intellectualism” aims to expand the idea of intellectualism while “A Homemade Education” shares the power of self-education. In “Hidden Intellectualism,” Graff begins the narrative essay by drawing the audience in and making them feel like they are part of his concerns. It uses words and phrases such as “we” and “our” to increase audience relevance and make them feel inevitably invited to pay attention to what the text has to say. Graff first explains that everyone knows someone who is considered street smart, but is unable to apply the same type of intelligence in an academic environment. He then proposes that "schools and colleges might be wrong to miss the opportunity to harness this street knowledge and channel it into good academic work." In doing so, Graff is able to effectively shift the audience's attention to the topic he wishes to educate them with. As Graff stated, one of the main reasons why schools and colleges overlook the value of street smarts is that they exclusively associate intellectualism with a student's ability to interpret topics and “important and academic” texts. He then backs up his claim and increases his own credibility by stating that "no necessary connection has ever been made between any text or topic and the educational depth and weight of discussion it can generate." Next, Graff suggests that to seek intellectualism in a wider variety of students, they should be more encouraged to delve into topics that pique their interest. He then follows the text with his own personal experience of sport to give an example and prove his point. He begins by telling the audience how much he hated books until he started college; however, he talks about how much he took care of the sports magazines. He lists magazines such as Sport, Sports Illustrated, as well as annual professional baseball, football, and basketball magazine guides, to really demonstrate that he was truly passionate about sports and knowledgeable about that aspect as well . Graff remembers that in the neighborhood in which he..