Example Of Family And Consumer Science Essay

Hidden Intellectualism by David Graff

Context
Hidden Intellectualism by Graff is a topic and essay in which the author discusses some of the misconceptions of the intellectualism ideas in the societies. His primal focus is on the way that the adolescents view the intellectualism ideas as negative aspects or traits that only a few people strive to have. He also provides an elaboration of his own experience in exploring and revealing his hidden intellectualism, especially after being in a literature class in college and growing up in an anti-intellectual society in the 1950s. Nevertheless, through the approaches of Graff and other individuals, they have hopes of making the students debate and think argumentatively as the intellectuals would. As such, they attempt to get the students to behave and see their potentials as intellectuals.
Throughout the essay, Graff cites various works from different authors that are in relation this topic and continually examines the challenges of recognizing and accepting an individual’s own intellectualism. Although it is not conventional, there is a great significance and value in all types of intellectualism. However, the current society only maintains its focus on the classroom and textbook intellectuals. Nevertheless, through the realization that those individuals considered as great minds today were not always perceived as such. For this reason, bringing the intellectual opportunities in different hidden ways into the classrooms through progressivism methods of education can create futures that are more auspicious. This essay is important to the family and consumer science basing on its key elements.

Key Points, Arguments, and Information

If the hidden intellectualism talked about by Graff is applied to the discussion of the schools revealing various levels or types of intellectualism, there could be an occurrence of a similar outcome to that postulated by the reminiscent of progressivism in education by John Dewey. That is, if the teachers brought more of the outside influences that students are likely to enjoy into their classrooms, these students will not only learn the outside material, but will also understand that they have intellectualism of learning just as well as their peers. For instance, in a physics class, final projects can involve the students having to relate scientific topics that they learned to real life situations. If a student who has passion for skateboarding did a given project on potential energy during the rolling down a ramp, the aspect could unleash a hidden talent within that student, regardless of whether they thought about science outside their classrooms or not.
As such, Graff is referring to this type of example throughout his essay and arguments. For instance, in the case of the skateboarding student, such a student would not be considered normally as a prime candidate or individual for an intellectual. Nevertheless, if the interests of such as student are channeled in effective ways, the true hidden intellectual potential of the student is revealed. In addition, the possibilities of such endeavors are endless of correctly used. Hidden Intellectualism explores an important topic seldom discussed. Each student has an intellectual capacity or potential and needs the appropriate opportunity to expose the potential. Although the discussion and element of Graff do not provide a concrete solution to the issue of hidden intellectualism, it provides then readers with a challenge to explore their own hidden intellectual capacities.
In his essay, Graff provides a summary of his anti-intellectual experience as an adolescent in which he had more interest in sports than then schoolwork. As such, through various experiences with other students of different calibers, he developed an understanding of the issue of hidden intellectualism and explored it. He writes that through arguments concerning the toughness of others with his friends, he started acquiring the rudiments of making arguments, weighing various types of evidence, moving between the particulars and the generalizations, summarizing others views and entering conversations on ideas.
In his piece of work, Graff adds Meier in his citations who suggest that the forms of violence that most administrators believe to originate from outside the environments can be build-ups among the students. Graff adds to the proposal rebuttal by Meier by suggesting that schools, in unconscious and small ways, silence all the playground intellectuals. Graff understands the significance of developing, exploring, and individual’s hidden intellectual potential. As such, he takes on an approach that will enable his audience, the readers, to have an understating and appreciation of his work. First, he provides his experience with the concept of hidden intellectualism then proceeds to compare the works of other people on the same topic.
In his work, Graff full-heatedly believes in the idea and creates a lesson plan with a high school teacher to enable the students familiarize themselves with the concepts of hidden intellectualism. According to him, failing to identify and explore one’s hidden intellectual potential is a drawback on the involved individual. They do so by assisting these children to exercise through debates the significance of becoming intellectuals in the society and hidden intellectualism of various main characters in different literary works.