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There is some possibility of hidden intellectualism other than the traditional academic intellectualism.

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Schooling through the eyes of Hidden Intellectualism

There is some possibility of hidden intellectualism other than the traditional academic intellectualism. The above statement is the argument of Gerald Graff from the essay "Hidden Intellectualism." Gerald goes on ahead and indicates that this from of intellectualism is buried deep under the mask of casual discussions about sports, fashion and other aspects. It is because of hidden intellectualism that schools do miss a form of intelligence that cannot be seen through academic work. There are various evidences that Graff used so that he can be able to prove that intellectualism also exist outside academics. For instance, by using his own experiences, looking back on them, he was able to form his own ideas. Additionally, Graff elaborates more on hidden intellectualism by narrowing down to two theories that are the "book smart" and the "street smart." Even though hidden intellectualism is not seen in academics, it is present among individuals in a school system.

As indicated above, Graff used his own personal experience to explain to the audience especially educators like himself that hidden intellectualism does exists. According to him, he used to be a typical anti-intellectual adolescent or he believed this for a long time, but he recently came to discover that his fondness to sport over academic work, wasn't anti-intellectual at all (Graff, p. 22). Given this experience and example from Graff, I can argue that it is clearly that intelligence does exist in other fields other than the academic realm alone. I agree that when one is not that good at school work, it does not necessarily mean that there is no intelligence within them, there is but not in the academic field. Thus, educators should keep in mind that when they allow learners to read and write from the fields that they are suited in other than academics, they will channel this into academic work and be successful as book smart learners.

To strengthen his idea that hidden intellectualism exists, Graff goes ahead to look back when he was still an adolescent and displays how his experience was influential. Gerald contends that, the discussions that he had with friends about being tough and sports, and also through him reading sport magazines and books, he was able to learn the essentials of intellectual life (Graff, p. 23). From these topics, street-smart learners can be taught by their educators on how they can channel their knowledge that is untapped by the school system. When an individual constantly debates and discusses about topics they enjoy and are familiar with, it causes a learner to think in the ways an academic would, that is intellectually, critically, and analytically. The intelligence will not be different from that of academic intelligence because it will comprise all the elements of intellectual processes that academic subjects do follow. The only difference will be these topics will consist items that the learners have a good background on and if they are allowed to research on and write on, they will improve their academic studies.

When educators decide to introduce subjects like cars, sports, and fashion into the classroom, the learners will develop their own hidden intellectualism which they can possibly apply in other academic subjects they are involved with.Hence, the thought that non-academic programs need to be established in schooling environment, not only will they improve the knowledge of learners, but also, it will develop the learning skills that are necessary to be applied in academic subjects and topics. Graff indicated that,him having worked as a teacher made him realize that in each and every street-smart child, there was an intellectual striving within them that strived for discovery. He goes on to add that it is his role as an educator to aid these street-smart learners to be able to pronounce their identity. However, it should be noted that, hidden intellectualism is not there beforehand waiting to be discovered, rather the hidden intellectuals need to be put through some challenges to form new identities or discovering those that are in existence. With all these being done by educators, the street-smart will be able to apply all they know in their academic studies and become successful in their studies.

The statement that Graff gives, "it's a good bet that if students get hooked on reading and writing by doing term papers on sources, they will eventually get to On Liberty" (Graff, p. 24),plays an essential role because it will increase the level of education in schools due to the fact that learners have the liberty to explore their interesting fields and can directly channel them to their academic subjects thus improving both hidden and non-hidden intellectualism. Additionally, the world of non-academics, will bring choice and freedom to the learners. Therefore, the learners will be allowed to freely express themselves and they will greatly enjoy their work because their smartness is not limited to books alone but also other fields. With all said about hidden intellectualism, the only lingering question will be finding a way to tap the critical theory in street-smart learners and what action to take if they already have a form of critical theory. From Graff's point of view, street-smart children need to portray themselves in a more intellectual manner. Without doing this, their influence on the public will remain to be minimal and thus a long stretch in the gap between these street-smart learners and the educators. To aid these learners in their educational endeavors, schools should appreciate that they too exist along the book-smart students in schools.

Graff by using his own personal experience examples to support his foundation on hidden intellectualism, it is evident enough to prove to educators that his argument is credible. By him going down memory lane and expanding on his own experience, his point come to a full circle. It can be noted that intellectualism not only comes from the academic realm but also other subjects that are non-academic. Debates, analyses, and arguments that are used in academic subjects can also be used in non-academic subjects. With positive dedication and attitude towards hidden intellectualism, a learner can apply the non-academic subjects and be able to develop their hidden intellectualism. Therefore, it is up to the school system and the educators to support the hidden intellectualism in their learners to improve the academic results. It will show how diverse the school system and educators are to support each and every learner in their school.

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