Gerald Graff

      In Gerald Graff's essay "Hidden Intellectualism", he believes that those who are "street smart" are no less than those who are "book smart." Gerald Graff clearly states his thesis in his first paragraph when he says,"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." He basically says how maybe the schools should use a subject of interest to guide people into academic work.  
     He supports his thesis by giving a personal experience from when he was in college. He hated books but was so interested by sports that he would read anything that had sports like magazines,novels, or even autobiographies. It was through his reading that he engaged in debates and arguments with his peers. He concluded that sports was more intellectual than school to him. Gerald Graff also stated how sports allowed not just your friends to get involved but also the public, leaving the door open to anyone to join in and debate whereas school does just the opposite. 
      I agree with Gerald Graff's argument because I feel that students do tend do stay focused and do better when they get the chance to do something that interests them like how sports interested Gerald. People would have much more to say and talk about when they know the topic really well.