Maggie Pfaff EN 102 Response Essay 28 January 2019 Athletic Intelligence Gerald Graff, a professor at the University of Illinois, emphasizes in his essay “Hidden Intellectualism,” “Only much later did it dawn on me that the sports world was more compelling than school because it was more intellectual than school, not less” (384). Graff presents readers with the idea that he became more intelligent by participating in sports rather than by sitting in a classroom. Throughout Graff’s essay, he delineates problems within school systems and uses his own life experiences as examples to support his claim (380-386). In doing so, Graff correctly affirms that schools ignore “street smarts,” possess no sense of athletic community, and fail to integrate athletics with academics. In his essay, Graff recognizes the importance of schooling but believes that school systems are flawed. Graff insists, “... schools and colleges might be at fault for missing the opportunity to tap into such street smarts and channel them into good academic work” (380). He believes that schools are accustomed to judging students’ intelligence solely on their ability to perform well in school rather than using students’ outside intelligence to help enhance learning within a classroom. For example, colleges often only look at applicants’ standardized test scores when deciding if a student should be accepted or denied admission. How can a college admissions office decide if a student is suitable for its program when the only aspect taken into consideration is a test score? Colleges should not only look for a student’s ability to perform well in school but also for other unique characteristics that set students apart. Without taking an individual’s “street smarts” into consideration, a school system fails to put students in a position to succeed. Graff also believes that sports provided him with a better social life than school ever did. Graff brings this up when he states, “They [sports\ also satisfy the thirst for community” (384). Graff argues that through his involvement in sports, he was able to interact with a much larger group of people, not just those sitting next to him in the classroom. As a high school student who is involved in athletics, I find truth to Graff’s claim. I know many of the people who attend sporting events, and if I were not a player, I would never have met them. I am able to make many connections through sports, and I am confident that these connections will serve me well in the future. These connections are something that academics and schooling can not offer. One can talk to complete strangers about sports, but rarely can one engage in a conversation about what they learned in class on that particular day. Without sports, many people would lack a diverse social background. Not only do sports provide one with a sense of community, but they also supply a sense of excitement that school often lacks. Graff discusses this issue when he asserts, “...my school missed the opportunity to capitalize on an element of drama and conflict that the intellectual world shares with sports” (385). Graff believes that while there was a sense of competition, his schooling lacked excitement because there was no drama or conflict; success was placed only in the student’s hands and nothing was left up for chance. For example, as a basketball player, if I do not perform to the best of my ability on the court, then my teammates suffer the consequences. On the contrary, if I were to do bad on a test, the only person who suffers is myself. Graff makes a compelling point when he claims that sports are more exciting than school. Graff does an excellent job persuading his readers that schools fail to recognize “street smarts,” lack a sense of community, and fail to connect academics with athletics. While education is an important part of a student’s life, one must realize that academic success is not the only pathway to being considered intelligent. A student should not be judged on his or her ability to perform well on tests or be ridiculed for a lack of interest in academics. Instead, a student’s intellectual capacity should be evaluated based on all his or her personal experiences both in and out of the classroom.
Work Cited Graff, Gerald. "Hidden Intellectualism." They Say I Say with Readings, by Gerald Graff et al., 2nd ed., New York, W.W. Norton and Company, 2012, pp. 380-386.