Gerald Graff's Hidden Intellectualism

In a way, our entire world is founded on independent learning. Since the beginning of time, humans have used their own creativity and autonomous ideas to transform mere settlements into great, thriving civilizations. It's the reason we've come so far and continue to propel ourselves forward into the unknown. But is it an effective way to learn for everyone, old and young, mature and naive? Can anyone intellectually thrive without guidance other than their own, or are there those that are better off with the structure of a classroom and teacher? In a time ruled by technology and instant everything, it is important that our schools and students can adapt to keep up with the times. That's why, in American society today, we are lucky to have the freedom to explore new ways of teaching and redefine the timeless strategies to better accommodate modern education. In this essay, I intend to investigate one of these strategies, independent study, that is already widely used in higher education.

Graff's idea is that schools fall short in encouraging and nourishing interests that aren't strictly “educational.” Society has built an ideal intelligence and told us for years that doing well in these specific classes is what it means to be an intellectual. But is it really that simple? Graff doesn't think so. He states, “Real intellectuals turn any subject, however lightweight it may seem, into grist for their mill through the thoughtful questions they bring to it...” (Graff, 245) So, we are trained to think that math, English, and science are the end-all of education and while they are important, they have the same basic lessons that we can apply to any other thing of interest. The general idea is to be able to analyze and think deeply, no matter the topic, so schools should offer students more opportunities to take classes that interest