book smart essay

Street smart vs. book smart: 12 Differences

Smartness or intelligence can be defined in several ways. I won’t bore you with all the definitions. No matter how you slice and dice it, smartness boils down to problem-solving. You’re smart in my book if you’re good at solving problems, especially complex ones.

What determines how well we’re able to solve a problem?

One word: Knowledge.

In a previous article on overcoming challenges , I said that we could best think about problem-solving using the analogy of puzzles. Like a puzzle, a problem has pieces you absolutely need to know about.

When you know about these pieces, you can then ‘play around’ around with those pieces to solve the problem.

Knowing the pieces is all about learning everything you can about the nature of the problem. Or, at least, learning enough to be able to solve the problem.

Hence, knowledge or understanding is essential for problem-solving.

It follows that the more knowledge you have, the smarter you will be.

Street smart vs. book smart

This is where street smart vs. book smart comes in. Both street smart and book smart people are trying to achieve the same thing- an increase in knowledge to become better problem-solvers. Where they differ is how they predominantly gain knowledge.

Street smart people gain knowledge from their own experiences . Book smart people gain knowledge from others’ experiences , documented in books, lectures, courses, and so forth.

Street smartness is gaining first-hand knowledge by being in the trenches and getting your hands dirty. Book smartness is second-hand knowledge gained while you sit comfortably on a chair or sofa.

Key points of difference

Let’s list out the main differences between street and book smart people:

1. Knowledge source

As mentioned above, the knowledge source for street smart people is the pool of their own experiences. Book smart people learn from the experience of others. Both are trying to become better problem-solvers by increasing their knowledge.

2. Knowledge type

Street smart people are focused on learning how to do things. They have practical knowledge. They’re good at getting things done. Execution is of utmost importance because that’s how they learn.

Book smart people care about the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ in addition to the ‘how’. Learning deeply about the problem at hand is of utmost importance. Execution tends to fall by the wayside.

Street smart people tend to be generalists. They tend to know a little bit about everything. They know enough to get the job done. They tend to have good survival, emotional and social skills.

Book smart people tend to be specialists. They know a lot about one area and little about other areas. They’re focused on developing their cognitive skills. Emotional and social skills tend to get ignored.

4. Decision-making

Street smart people can make quick decisions because they know they don’t have to know everything to get started. They have a bias for action.

Book smart people take a long time to decide because they keep digging and looking for the pros and cons of a decision. They tend to suffer from analysis paralysis.

5. Risk-taking

Risk-taking is at the heart of ‘learning by experience’. Street smart people know that not taking risks is the biggest risk.

One of the reasons book-smart people are so highly invested in understanding the nature of a problem is so they can minimize risks.

6. Rigidity type

Both street and book-smart people can be rigid in their ways. However, they differ in the way they’re inflexible.

Street smart people have experience rigidity . Their knowledge is confined to their experiences. If they haven’t experienced something, they do not know about it.

Book smart people have knowledge rigidity . Their knowledge is mostly confined to theoretical knowledge. If they haven’t read about it, they don’t know about it.

7. Structures and rules

Street smart people loathe structures and rules. They feel trapped in a structured environment. They’re rebels who want to do things their way.

Book smart people feel safe in a structured environment. They need rules to thrive.

8. Speed of learning

Experience may be the best teacher, but it’s also the slowest. Street smart people are slow learners because they rely entirely on their experience.

Book smart people are fast learners. They know they can’t have all the experience to learn all that they need to learn. They shorten their learning curves by learning from the experiences of others.

9. Abstract thinking

Street smart people tend to be limited in their thinking. While they can think enough to solve everyday problems, they struggle with abstract or conceptual thinking.

Abstract thinking is a forte of book-smart people. They’re deep thinkers and like playing around with concepts and ideas. They can articulate the inarticulable.

10. Scientific temper

Street smart people tend to have less regard for science and expertise. They tend to over-rely on their own experience.

Book smart people tend to respect science. Since they have expertise themselves, they can appreciate other people’s expertise.

11. Improvisation

Street smart people know how to think on their feet and improvise. They have high situational awareness and can devise creative solutions to problems.

Book smart people tend to lack improvisation skills. If something goes against what they’ve learned from others, they find it hard to deal with.

12. Bigger picture

Street smart people are tactical and focused on the details. They tend to miss the bigger picture. Book smart people are strategic, reflective and always have the bigger picture in mind.

You need both

Having gone through the above list, you may have realized that both learning styles have their pros and cons. You need both street and book smartness to be an effective problem-solver.

It’s rare to find people with a good balance of book and street smartness. You often see people at the extremes: Book smart people who keep gaining knowledge without implementation. And street-smart people who repeat the same actions without making progress.

You want to be both book and street-smart. Book smart so you can adopt a scientific mindset, focus on the bigger picture, be strategic and learn fast. Street smart so you can be a fierce executor.

If you forced me to choose one, I’d lean slightly more toward being book smart. And I have good reasons for that.

Why I think book smartness is slightly better

If you ask people which type of smartness is better, most of them will say street smartness. I think that stems from the fact that book smartness is easier to acquire than street smartness.

While it’s true, I’ve realized that people grossly underestimate the importance of knowledge. They underestimate how much they need to know and the depth of knowledge they need to solve complex problems.

Today, we live in a knowledge economy where knowledge is the most valuable resource.

Book smartness helps you learn fast. The faster you learn, the quicker you can solve problems- especially the complex problems of the modern world.

Not only do book-smart people learn faster, but they also learn more. A book is nothing but a person’s collection of their experiences and what they’ve learned from others’ experiences.

Street smart = Own experiences

Book smart = Others’ experiences [Their experiences + (What they’ve learned from others’ experiences/books)]

Book smart = Street smartness of others + Their book smartness

This is what makes learning via book smartness exponential. Humans have thrived because they found a way to crystallize knowledge in books/poetry and transfer it to the next generation.

Thanks to this knowledge transfer, the next generation didn’t have to make the same mistakes as the previous generation.

“One glance at a book and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for 1,000 years. To read is to voyage through time.” – Carl Sagan

It’s great to learn from your own mistakes, but it’s much better to learn from others’ mistakes. You don’t live long enough to make all the mistakes you need to make, and some mistakes can be too costly.

Do you want to be the guy who learns that a plant is poisonous by eating and dying? Or would you rather that someone else did it? You learn not to eat that plant by learning from the experience of a noble soul who sacrificed themselves for humanity.

When people accomplish great things in life, what do they do? Do they write books, or do they tell others:

“Hey, I’ve achieved great things, but I won’t document what I’ve learned. You go learn on your own. Good luck!”

Anything- literally anything, is teachable. Even street smartness. I just did a quick search on Amazon, and there’s a book there on street smartness for entrepreneurs.

While it may seem ironic at first glance, you can learn street smartness via book smartness, but you can’t learn book smartness via street smartness.

Many street-smart people don’t pick up a book because they think they know everything. If they did, they’d become invincible. 

Take the street vs book smart quiz to check your level of street vs book smartness.

Hi, I’m Hanan Parvez (MA Psychology). I’ve been writing about Psychology for 9+ years. My work has been featured in Forbes , Business Insider , Reader’s Digest , and Entrepreneur . If you have any queries, use the contact form or reach out to me on my socials.

77 Booksmart (2019)

Booksmart (2019) and the Lesbian Icon We All Needed

By Annie Rasmussen

Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut, Booksmart (2019) has all the qualities of a hit young-adult comedy. It has quirky characters, a great soundtrack, hilarious escapades, and most importantly an iconic duo played by Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein. When Booksmart premiered it was warmly received by many viewers and some even went as far as to name it the “female Superbad ”. The film follows two brainy seniors, Amy (Dever) and Molly (Feldstein) on their last night before graduation. The two main characters have played it safe all four years of high school, meaning no parties, no drugs, and no distractions. As valedictorian and salutatorian, and accepted into ivy league schools, their hard work has definitely paid off, but on the last day of school, they come to find out that other people partied and got into those schools as well. This new revelation catalyzes a night full of comical chaos as the two girls make an attempt to live it up for the first time right before their high school journey ends. While the premise sounds fairly typical, it’s the characters that really make the film stand out, one, in particular, is Amy and the LGBTQ+ representation we see with her role.

Amy is an important image of lesbian visibility, especially amongst young people. Amy has been out of the closet since her sophomore year but she has never had any romantic or sexual experiences with another girl. Part of her storyline revolves around her feelings for a girl named Ryan, and her attempt to muster the courage to confess those feelings before the night is over. Her character is refreshing because being a lesbian is part of who she is but it is also just one aspect of the many amazing things about her, and the film makes this very clear. They also show that while a person can be open about their sexual identity, they still can still struggle with being confident in other parts of their expression. By having a character who is out and proud but still navigating romantic and sexual interactions, young queer viewers get to see someone they can connect with in an authentic way.

The topics of difference and LGBTQ+ representation are tied together in the film. With an abundance of heteronormativity in media, it is important to have more stories of LGBTQ+ characters and their relationships. Viewers, regardless of their own identities, should be able to see more queer characters in film and television that reflect the diversity of the real world. An article written by Carly Larsen titled,” Representation of LGBTQ Youth in Education and Media” goes into detail about the lack of representation of LGBTQ+ characters and how there is an even further lack of representation for female members of the community. Larsen writes, “out of the number of LGBTQ characters in inclusive films, gay men appear in 68%, lesbians in 36%, and bisexuals in 14%” (Larsen). The literary design of Booksmart and its depiction of difference makes it stand out in a positive way. Amy’s romantic feelings and storyline are given as much attention and detail as Molly’s feelings for a boy. Oftentimes in media, queer storylines are pushed to the side to shine more light on straight characters, but this is not the case with Booksmart as Wilde embraces the differences between the two main characters equally.

The equality between Amy and Molly’s storylines also plays into the topic of power in the film. Quality representation in any form empowers the group it is representing. When one group is consistently underrepresented, it can give the idea that they aren’t as valuable, leaving the represented group in a superior position. This is a big reason why Booksmart stood out to me. Having a film where the main character is a lesbian high school student that is out of the closet is extremely uplifting and empowering because it is a quality representation that is unfortunately difficult to come by.

The way queer women’s sexualities are portrayed is a necessary topic in the discussion of LGBTQ+ representation and empowerment in film. Lesbian characters are often conventionally attractive, promiscuous, and hypersexual. There’s nothing wrong with having characters with these traits but those traits shouldn’t be tied to the fact the person is a lesbian. In an essay titled, “Lesbian Perceptions of Stereotypical and Sexualized Media Portrayals” the author, Laura Ramsey states, “qualitative findings revealed that lesbians found media portrayals mostly negative and stereotypical, in that they were hypersexualized and for the male gaze, with lesbian relationships portrayed as temporary” (Ramsey). This concept goes along with the idea of power and discrimination in film because when the portrayal of queer women is catered to meet the standards of straight men, it is putting the control in their hands. Accurate representations of queer experiences such as what we see with Amy are actually uplifting to the queer community.

Towards the end of the film, there is a scene that takes place in a party bathroom where Amy has her first sexual encounter ever with a classmate named Hope. It starts with a random passionate kiss initiated by Amy and as things get more intense, we see a realistic depiction of an intimate moment. The two girls struggle to untie their shoes and unbutton their pants, Amy lacks some confidence as she doesn’t really know what to do, and the interaction ends when Amy accidentally takes a sip out of a cup filled with cigarette butts and then vomits all over Hope. While the ending might have been a little dramatic for comedic effort, the scene felt like a very genuine depiction of sexuality. It didn’t feel like it was being thrown in for the sake of having a sex scene or to please the male gaze. This scene is also intertwined with difference and power because as the only sex scene in the film, it forces viewers to reflect on heteronormative expectations.

On another hand, it could be argued that Amy’s experience with Hope feels like a negative representation of lesbian sexuality. This girl isn’t the person she has had feelings for throughout the film and it’s a very temporary relationship. I would argue against that, as this very PG-13 scene felt natural and endearing and was important for Amy’s character development. The fact that it wasn’t an overly romantic encounter doesn’t make it any less valid, in fact, it felt more true to real life. Plus, at the end of the movie, we see that a relationship between the two could be possible in the future.

The final aspect that should be discussed is the topic of LGBTQ+ discrimination and how that is connected to the film. So many queer storylines revolve around the adversities and discrimination that queer people face. These stories are definitely important and it is necessary for them to have a place in film but Booksmart strays away from this. In the film, we don’t see Amy really face any discrimination for her identity. She has been out for a couple years, we don’t see her getting bullied or harassed in any way, and her parents are very accepting. Amy talks a little bit about discrimination against gay people when she tells Ryan that she is volunteering in Botswana for a year and how people like her in other parts of Africa would be killed. Obviously, in America Amy will face plenty of discrimination as it is a white patriarchal society but it is nice to have a lesbian character whose storyline doesn’t revolve around the hardships of her identity.

I still vividly remember the day I saw Booksmart in the theater. Just like the characters in the film, I was a high school senior about to graduate soon. I absolutely loved the film and I remember leaving the theater with my friend with such a warm feeling because I felt seen. Film has been a comfort I’ve turned to for as long as I can remember, finding myself in characters and their stories. As a young, queer woman it took me a long time to find stories that connected with that part of me. I felt like so many representations of queer women relied heavily on sexual experiences and not what it was like to be a queer person. It didn’t feel like those stories were really made for people like me. Seeing Amy in Booksmart was so refreshing because her experiences of being a young queer woman were relateable. It didn’t feel like they were made just to be a visual device for the male gaze. Amy was the first character that made me feel so validated and secure. In an interview with People magazine to promote the film, Beanie Feldstein who is also queer, said, “I think if I could have seen our film earlier, I would have found myself a bit sooner”(Murphy). This is exactly why this film means so much to me.

Like me, so many viewers loved this film because they were able to see pieces of themselves in it. Movies are important because the people and the stories we see are what we assume are reflective of real life. When people hardly ever see representations of themselves and their communities on the big screen, they start to feel like the world doesn’t see them either. This is why films like Booksmart are so important. LGBTQ+ teens deserve to see characters that are openly expressing themselves and proud of who they are. Queer and lesbian women deserve well-developed characters that aren’t just there to promote harmful stereotypes. We need more movies like Booksmart and more characters like Amy.

Annati, Arienne, and Laura R. Ramsey. “Lesbian Perceptions of Stereotypical and Sexualized Media Portrayals.” Sexuality & Culture, vol. 26, no. 1, Feb. 2022, pp. 312–38. EBSCOhost, doi.org/10.1007/s12119-021-09892-z.

Helen Murphy and Carly Breit May 22, 2019 03:39 PM. “Beanie Feldstein Says Being Queer Is ‘Just Part of Who I Am’: ‘It’s Not My Defining Feature’.” PEOPLE.com, https://people.com/movies/beanie-feldstein-says-sexuality-not-her-defining-feature/.

Larson, Carly. “Representation of LGBTQ Youth in Education and Media.” Grant Larson Productions, Grant Larson Productions, 13 May 2021, https://www.grantlarsonproductions.com/blog/representation-of-lgbtq-youth-in-education-and-media.

Wilde, Olivia,, et al. Booksmart . Beverly Hills, Calif.: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2019. DVD.

Image credits

Molly (Feldstein) on the left and Amy (Dever) on the right. Citation: Geisel, Natalie. “Molly and Amy .” The Thirbly,  https://www.thethirlby.com/camp-thirlby-diary/2019/6/7/booksmarts-amy-is-the-lesbian-teen-representation-ive-wanted-my-entire-life. Accessed 14 Mar. 2022.

Ryan (Ruesga) and Amy (Dever) watching a karaoke performance at the party. Citation: Geisel, Natalie. “Ryan and Amy.” The Thirbly,  https://www.thethirlby.com/camp-thirlby-diary/2019/6/7/booksmarts-amy-is-the-lesbian-teen-representation-ive-wanted-my-entire-life. Accessed 14 Mar. 2022.

Hope (Silvers) and Amy (Dever) Booksmart (2019). Citation: McCormick, Jason. “Hope and Amy.” Flim, https://beta.flim.ai/dop/SmFzb24gTWNDb3JtaWNr?wa=true. Accessed 14 Mar. 2022.

Difference, Power, and Discrimination in Film and Media: Student Essays Copyright © by Students at Linn-Benton Community College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Street Smarts vs. Book Smarts: The Figured World of Smartness in the Lives of Marginalized, Urban Youth

• Published: 03 March 2007
• Volume 39 , pages 145–166, ( 2007 )

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• Beth Hatt 1  

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How smartness is defined within schools contributes to low academic achievement by poor and racial/ethnic minority students. Using Holland et al.’s ( 1998 ) [Holland, D., Lachicotte, W., Skinner, D., & Cain, C. (Eds.) (1998). Identity and agency in cultural worlds . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.] concept of “figured worlds,” this paper explores the “figuring” of smartness through the perspectives of marginalized youth. The youth made key distinctions between being book smart vs. street smart. This distinction is a direct challenge by the youth to the dominant discourse of smartness or “book smarts” as it operates in schools. To the youth, “street smarts” are more important because they are connected to being able to maneuver through structures in their lives such as poverty, the police, street culture, and abusive “others.” This distinction is key because street smarts stress agency in countering social structures whereas, for many of the youth, book smarts represented those structures, such as receiving a high school diploma. Implications for schools and pedagogy are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Nuusa Faamoe and all of the youth for allowing me to come into the classroom and learn from their perspectives and stories. George Noblit, Bryan Brayboy, and the anonymous reviewers provided insightful comments and/or feedback, which I appreciate very much.

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B.A. earned from Indiana University – Bloomington, Masters and Ph.D. earned from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Beth Hatt Fis an Assistant Professor of Educational Administration and Foundations at Illinois State University where she teaches research methods and social foundations of education. Her current research explores smartness as a cultural construct in schools and the media.

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Hatt, B. Street Smarts vs. Book Smarts: The Figured World of Smartness in the Lives of Marginalized, Urban Youth. Urban Rev 39 , 145–166 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-007-0047-9

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Scott Berkun

Book smarts vs. street smarts.

In a series of posts, called readers choice , I write on whatever topics readers submit.

[ Note : Polarizing questions are silly since rarely in life do you have to have truly binary choices. Both is often an option. But they are fun: so please assume someone took my lunch and refused to give it back until I picked a side. Also see: The false dichotomy of false dichotomies ]

There is no doubt in my mind street smarts kicks book smarts ass . To be street smart means you have situational awareness . You can assess the environment you are in, who is in it, and what the available angles are. Being on the street, or in the trenches, or whatever low to the ground metaphor you prefer, requires you learn to trust your own judgment about people and what matters. This skill, regardless of where you develop it, is of great value everywhere in life regardless of how far from the streets you are.

Most important perhaps, being street smart comes from experience. It means you’ve learned how to take what has happened to you, good or bad, think about it, and learn to improve from it. The prime distinction between street smarts and book smarts is who is at the center of the knowledge. On the street, it’s you. In a book it’s you trying to absorb someone elses take on the world, and however amazing the writer is, you are at best one degree removed from the actual experience. Street smarts means you’ve put yourself at risk and survived. Or thrived. Or have scars. You’ve been tested and have a bank of courage to depend on when you are tested again. Being street smart can lead to book smarts as the street smart sense what works and what doesn’t, and adapt accordingly.

Book smarts, as I’ve framed it, means someone who is good at following the rules. These are people who get straight A’s, sit in the front, and perhaps enjoy crossword puzzles. They like things that have singular right answers. They like to believe the volume, and precision, of their knowledge can somehow compensate for their lack of experience applying it in the real world. Thinking about things has value, but imagining how you will handle a tough situation is a world away from actually being in one (As Tyler Durden says in Fight Club – “How much can you know about yourself if you’ve never been in a fight?”).

Like the stereotypical ROTC idiot in war movies (e.g. The Thin Red Line, Aliens 2) who outranks the much more competent and experienced, but less well pedigreed sergeant, the book smart confuse pretense with reality, and only learn of the difference when it is too late. Or worse, even after the fact, they insist on seeking out more books and degrees rather than recognizing they are trying to improve the wrong skills: they are half blind by their own choice since they insist on looking at the world with only one eye.

I say all this as someone who has a deep love for books, and who has some degree of what might be called book smarts. But it’s that knowledge, used in service of street smarts, that best explains whatever I’ve achieved in life.

136 Responses to “Book smarts vs. Street smarts”

I think street smart is better than book smart because if you don’t have experience then how would you know what to do and when to do it. I also think this article is awesome because it helps me understand more about being street smart.

I think booksmart people could be dangerous, given enough time. Like who developed Nuclear weapons? Or who is out there operating Drones doing attacks in Syria while sitting at a computer in Iowa or those new robot soldiers?

You forget the part where the book smart people are usually scientists who works for the masterminds – the street smart people.

Thanks for this great article! A good definition between Street Smarts and Book Smarts. I just wrote a post about building street reputation and I listed there pros about having Street Smarts, so I was thinking if it would be okay for you if I link this article to that post? I would like to show my readers this article:)

I don’t think book smart is that better coz without u having the talent of being in the street you won’t be able to know what to do and when to do it

Dope article. So true

I faced life upstate when I was 18. In my gang, I did the shit nobody wanted to do. I enjoyed this article because it compliments my level of intelligence. Street smarts are priceless and valuable. Book smarts are a dime a dozen.

People who claim to be street smart are dumb people in denial who love to bring down book smart people. You need a little bit of both to have a good life lol

Ten, I think people who face a lot of adversity in life have valuable real-life experience to bring to the table and that is the point in this article I believe. I don’t know how you can call that dumb people in denial. It gets frustrating to be told about life from people that have barely scratched the surface, but they’ve read statistics in a book so they know… no they don’t. They are completely disconnected with no skin in the game. I agree you need both, but one is valued in society more than the other. Street smart is the underdog of intelligence because people are uncomfortable facing the life you had to live through to gain it.

Book smart people are only reading and learning from the stories created by street smart people

Both are equal in my opinion. The street smart people are those that live it. But when the street smart people get into a jam, or trouble they have to face the book smart people. Drs. Judges. Lawyers for help. When you have a person who has both that’s a plus!!

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Creativity Mesh

Written by: Lach Ravelo

Battle of the Brains: Street Smarts Vs. Book Smarts 

Personality

July 5, 2022

The battle of the brains is a debate that’s been going on for years, and it’s not likely to stop anytime soon.

Which is better? Street smarts or book smarts?

Let’s look into a few of the most common arguments and examine the real truth behind these claims.

Street smarts vs. book smarts – which side has the most advantage? 

The book smarts have their knowledge as their main weapon. They learned everything they have to know in school and excelled in it, too! 

Pop quizzes? Final exams? Aptitude tests? Book smarts can ace them all while half-asleep.

Street smarts also have a few tricks on their sleeves. Their years of experience have awarded them with the wisdom of the world, and they know how to make the best of every situation.

When two strong competitors fight against one another, it is a battle of two brains. In this case, it is a war between street smarts and book smarts.

Who wields more power?

Street smarts vs book smarts? 

Book smarts speak better, but they have less to say. Street smarts are more talented, and they do not need to study things out of a book. Borrowing ideas from other people is their skill.

But the question is, which of these two smarts have the bigger advantage? Who is more likely to make it through life’s pitfalls and hurdles? 

And more importantly, which type are you? 

Read on to find out who trumps over the other—the brainiacs or the know-hows.

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The Brainiacs: Who are Book Smarts?

Book smart—the name says it all.

These people have spent most of their lives with their noses deep inside a book—literally!

They’re the top-placers in an exam, the scholars with an outstanding degree, and the intelligent person who is most likely to win in a trivia game. 

By definition, book smarts are those who have flourished in an academic environment. If you identify as such, you’re the type who thrives in learning environments. You love lectures and have no problem reading textbooks from cover to cover.

As a book smart, you solve problems using your broad knowledge about the whats and whys. You stick by facts and approach matters from an intellectual point of view.

The main advantage of book smarts is that you’re a sponge when it comes to information. That means it’s easy for you to understand concepts and fill in the blanks of test papers. This skill gives you an edge when it comes to achieving graduate degrees, acing college applications, and creating a handsome résumé. 

The Know-Hows: Who are the Street Smarts?

Street smarts may not always have straight A’s. But you can count on their first-hand experience to get things done. 

Street smarts are not afraid to get their hands dirty. If you identify like this, you believe that the best way to learn it is to do it! 

As a street smart, you’re an expert in handling practical situations in your day-to-day life. Your main advantage is your years of experience. This has trained you to adapt and be confident in whatever situation you stumble on.

Even though you weren’t a born genius, you’ve managed to gain insight from being in the real world. In fact, you don’t need to have a Ph.D.—you can rely on your gut instinct and skills in situational awareness . 

Having situational awareness means that you have a good grasp of your environment. You can interpret social cues and make sound judgments to solve problems. When the circumstance requires it, you can think fast on your feet and make improvisations on the spot.

Can’t Have It All: Weaknesses of Street Smarts vs. Books Smarts

Street smarts and book smarts each excel in their careers through their own ways. But like any other human being, they have their weaknesses.

Here are some of the weaknesses that street smarts and book smarts experience:

• Book smarts have trouble with dealing with ordinary, everyday tasks. Their practical skills and common sense needs a little more improvement.
• Book smarts are not so good at analyzing their environment. Because of this, they may come off as naïve and easy to manipulate. 
• Book smarts are harshly called “smartest dumb people.” This is because they can have difficulty in ordinary situations.
• Street smarts are often underestimated in work environments. The reason is that they lack high academic degrees.
• Learning environments can be a hard place to flourish in for street smarts.
• Academic requirements and school settings can be quite a challenge for street smarts.

Of course, not all of them are always true. 

Some book smarts are good at handling practical circumstances. There are also street smarts who are knowledgeable about their practice. It all depends on you and how you handle yourself in this demanding world.

Who’s the better genius? Street Smarts Vs. Book Smarts

The debate on who is a better genius has been a subject of conversation for the longest time. But based on the opinions of people from the internet, the majority is swaying to the side of street smarts.

Author and speaker Scott Berkun believes that street smarts have always had the upper hand. He says that street smarts are survivors—they’ve been to the heart of the battle and came out alive. 

“You’ve been tested and have a bank of courage to depend on when you are tested again.”

Berkun also adds that street smarts don’t need other people to show them the road. They pave their path towards success. That initiative awarded them with a great experience.

Book smarts, says Berkun, are merely good followers. They can abide by the rules and answer questions. But, they can be inadequate when it comes to applying what they know. 

Even Ashley Fern echoes the same sentiment. Fern shares that she knows a lot of people who went to school. But those people aren’t precisely Einsteins and Edisons when it comes to the actual job.

“A college degree may help to open the door to a better job, but street smarts are what allow you to succeed once you walk through that door.”

To her, having the skills of a street smart is more significant. They can think logically, adapt to their surroundings, and work well in socialization.

For most people, street smarts certainly have the edge. Indeed, your expertise is not tested by how well you memorize information. It’s measured by your ability to roll with the punches of life outside the book. 

Who are well-known Street Smarts?

Are you still unconvinced that street smarts are the big dogs? Well, these people might prove you just that. Here are some street smarts whose names are now star-studded with success:

The Face of Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg 

When Mark Zuckerberg was in his college, he started to code Facebook in his dormitory room. After realizing its potential, Zuckerberg then dropped out of college to focus on the social media website. He was a sophomore then.

Even though Zuckerberg didn’t finish his degree immediately, he was a tremendously skilled engineer. But as a street smart, he had an instinct that what he had in his hands was an opportunity. Zuckerberg grabbed that chance and capitalized on his discovery.

A Record of Success: Richard Branson

Richard Branson ’s headmaster in school once told him that there were two ways he could end up: in prison or as a millionaire.

All his life, Branson had a tough time coping with school because of his dyslexia. It was at the age of 16 that he decided to drop out of his academics completely. But that doesn’t mean that he gave up—no, he was looking to become an entrepreneur.

At 16, he started a magazine entitled “Student,” which was his first-ever business venture. That got the ball rolling. 

In 1972, he co-founded the British record label called Virgin Records. This became the home of various famous artists and performers. Later on, he would open numerous Virgin Records stores that would soon be known as Virgin Megastores.

But his entrepreneurial gift didn’t end there. In 1980, he started a British Airline called Virgin Atlantic Airways . His success in these businesses has now made Branson a multi-millionaire.

The Dream That Worked: David Geffen 

Shrek, Madagascar, and Kung Fu Panda are movies that wouldn’t be possible without David Geffen .

Geffen’s school performance wasn’t good enough for Brooklyn College and the University of Texas. Just like Branson, his school difficulties were due to his dyslexia. 

But despite this setback, he was still able to bag the gold as a businessman. His first job was a talent agent, but with the help of his colleagues, he was able to start his management company. 

He later founded DCG Records, Geffen Records, Asylum Records, and Dreamworks Studios . Today, he has a net worth of 9.7 billion US dollars. It seems that flunking school wasn’t such a bad thing after all!

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How to become street smart

If you’re book smart, then it must be driving you crazy to see everyone on the street smart’s side. But don’t worry. The good news is, being street smart is something that you can learn.

Here are some tips to become more of a know-how about practical things:

1. Don’t stay in your comfort zone.

Tough situations can be challenging, but learn how to embrace them. They may be uncomfortable to be in, but they will allow you to grow. 

2. Be present.

Be aware of the things going on in your surroundings. When you are present, you become more in touch with your instincts. Not only does this make you safer, but it will also allow you to soak up more information about your environment.

3. Find ways to gain experience.

The only way to master your craft is to practice what you know. Be an active learner . That means getting your nose out of the book and getting to the actual work!

4. Grow your circle.

Don’t shy away from conversations with people of different backgrounds. Being open to opinions and new perspectives can improve your critical thinking. Get as much insight and advice from them so you can enrich your point of view. 

5. Be disciplined.

You’re going to encounter a lot of hurdles and challenges as you go about life. But when you’re knocked down, you should always get back up. Focus on your goal and keep working hard.

Born Entrepreneurs: Are Street Smarts Better in Business?

You might have noticed that the wealthiest businessmen and the most successful entrepreneurs are street smarts. But if you think that only street smarts can win the entrepreneurial game, you’re only half right.

For Tim W. Knox , being book smart or street smart isn’t the determiner or the key to success. 

He says that it doesn’t matter if you have years of experience. Nor does is it essential if you have a high level of education. What truly measures you as an entrepreneur is your achievements.

Knox explains that education might make you look good in job interviews, but it doesn’t automatically grant you your victories. The same goes for the experience. An entrepreneur may have a lot of experience, but those experiences may be failures. 

And so the question stands: Who can do better in business?

According to Knox, having both education and experience under your belt can boost your chances of success. But, if you only have one of the two, or none at all, you can still make it as an entrepreneur.

A lot of multi-millionaire business people today never stepped into college. But a lot of scholars with advanced degrees aren’t exactly living the life they wanted either.

So how does one get to the top? The answer lies in your hands. 

You may possess tools such as money, experience, education, connections, or luck. But it’s how you use these tools that will give you the advantage.

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The best of both worlds: Becoming a Book Smart and a Street Smart

It’s time to throw in the white towel. 

Instead of pitting one against the other, why not be a mix of a book smart and a street smart? Each smart comes with its weaknesses, but each has significant advantages, too. Adapting the best characteristics of both sides can make you a well-rounded person.

Excelling in academics and having a broad knowledge can size you up. But if you don’t apply what you’ve learned, it will be all for naught.

Having years of practice gives you wisdom and strength. But without studying the technical aspects of your work, you can be lost. 

Street smarts aren’t guaranteed to win all the time. Neither are book smarts. But if you strike a balance between both, you will get to where you want to be.

Study hard and study well. And after that, go out in the real world and test your abilities. The journey to success always starts with a step.

How about you? Are you more of a street smart or a book smart? Share your thoughts in the comments down below!

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educated. Furthermore, Graff shares a passion for sports but is seen as a non academic activity compared to book smart people. Growing up, the only “book smart” people were into academic studies while “street smart” people were athletes. The learning environment needs to understand that “street smart” students will be more engaged in writing an essay about sports, cars, fashion and other topics versus writing about Plato and Shakespeare. The author claims,”The only reading I cared to do or could do was

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Street Smart Vs Book Smart Essay

Books, are they a lost cause for Millennia’s? In the arguments of street smarts vs. book smarts some would argue that street smarts have more to offer than books, I don’t believe that to be the case. Books inform us about the past, present and several give us insight on the future. After all, our foundation has been built on the authors and published papers of scientists from the past. This is why book smarts have a greater impact on our future than street smarts. To clarify the differences in “book smarts vs. street smarts”. “Book smart” is someone who relies on books to succeed in learning life’s lessons; “street smart” is someone who has learned their basic life skills from first hand experiences. In selected cases, one could argue that …show more content… You can quickly become lost in a conversation with a friend or a lesson from a teacher when you have no text to understand their reasoning’s. It is often easier for somebody to understand the page in front of them over a person talking to them. For instance, one day in my AutoCAD class my teacher, Mrs. Ridley was trying to explain to us the dimensions we needed to enter as “limits” for our program. I quickly became lost in her explanation, being a visual learner, I need further than a quick mention of numbers to understand how to properly enter them, luckily I had my book open to the page then before I knew it I was ahead of the class in the project. Not only are books there when you desperately need a more definite answer, but several books and published papers offer the finding of our greatest scientists and physicists, such as Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking and Erwin Schrodinger to name a few of my favorites. If these three relied farther on street smarts than book smarts would they have ever tried their knowledge on something a immense as “General relativity” a theory of Stephen Hawking which explains gravitation, the theory that was built off of Einstein’s own theories. Nevertheless, where would we be without their theories. My point here is that books carry a wide range of uses, numerous hold extremely important life lessons and some Show More

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Street Smarts Vs. Academic Intelligence. Essay

The difference between smart and intelligent, “any fool can know. the point is to understand.” – albert einstein..

When it comes to intelligence, it can be divided into two broad categories. One of them is academic intelligence, while the other kind is the street smarts. Academic intelligence refers to education, training, classes, and so on. This is an exclusively theoretical understanding of facts or ideas. People do not possess knowledge from birth, but they collect it during their lifetime. Whether a person is more skilled in street smarts or academic intelligence depends on the conditions in which he or she has grown up. Academic smarts and street smarts have many similarities and differences. Street smarts help people survive while academic intelligence results in good grades.  These two are definitely necessary, and they are interchangeable in real life.

Concerning analytically intelligent (or book smart) people, their intelligence is employed to judge, analyze, and evaluate information. Book smart is merely an intelligent and well-educated person who performs well academically. However, such a person manages situations (especially severe or stressful ones) from an intellectual position, utilizing facts, information obtained mainly from books. In other words, it is a traditional school type of learning when a teacher shares information and students learn it and follow all the rules. Academically intelligent people excel in classes, exams, and know all the theories no matter whether they are valuable or useless in life. They believe that value lies in possessing information and reading books so they like everything that has the right answers.

In practice, academically intelligent people are pretty good at repeating particular information, but when they have to answer questions about real-world issues they cannot think of anything to say. However, personal opinion is appreciated more than a simple retelling of impractical facts. All people can be academically intelligent in school, college, or university but this does not mean that a person with a degree will possess common sense. Constant reliance on theoretical knowledge can lead to disastrous consequences. The ability to do math can help one pass the test, but this ability becomes unnecessary when it comes to the point when a person needs to get out of a dangerous situation. It is a myth that people need to succeed in school to earn a considerable amount of money. Neither Steve Jobs nor Mark Zuckerberg studied in college, and yet they became billionaires.

Concerning practical intelligence (or street smart), it is learning through experience from real life. A person learns everything from his or her personal experience, and this cannot be taught during classes. Regarding advantages, being street smart means that a person with this intelligence type can read people and knows when someone intends to take advantage of him or her. Moreover, street smarts know how to interact with different types of people in particular with unsavory characters. They know how to reduce tension and stressful atmosphere in a lousy situation.

Many people who never went to college started numerous thriving corporations. Some examples of such influential personalities are Steve Jobs and Bill Gates who quit college and became very prosperous in their careers. Their success came from a personal ambition rather than from knowledge obtained at college. The street smarts will never rely on books to teach them how problems are handled and how things work. They are strongly prejudiced and have more practical knowledge of how to act in a particular situation. They are independent and do not always look for assistance from others. Frequently they have their own approach. They can go to a remote area without Google tools and arrive at the destination place in time; they can tell a person’s character only by handshaking and keep their facial expression motionless when going past beggars. 

Street smart people rely more on intuition to plan their next steps. According to them, their life experience is their primary source of knowledge. They never attach themselves to what is written in the book.

The main difference between these two groups is in the sources of their knowledge. Book smart people receive their knowledge from theories and books, and street smart people obtain it from their own experience. Unfortunately, those who are academically inclined often lack strategy, genuine affection, and appeal.

Smart vs Intelligent

Overall, it would be a mistake to claim that book smarts or street smarts are not good. Both types of intelligence are equally significant and complementary to one another. Street smarts deal well with real-life situations while academic intelligence is essential at least for acquiring a job and breadth of knowledge.  It i s best to cultivate these both types.

Anton Kurapov

PhD, a professor assistant at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Fascinated by the role of psychology in lives of people and simply astonished by the complexity of the brain and its functions.

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Book Smart Vs Street Smart

Education is an everyday topic of a conversation for both the higher and lower class. It is believed to be the key to success, the key to a new life. According to Gerald Graff, the author of “hidden intellectualism”, educators should consider street smart topics as a form of teaching the students. He believes that although street smart topics are seen as non intellectual it could certainly be used to teach students the exact way they learn from the traditional academic topics. He makes it very clear that we should reconsider our believes on the street smart topic in order to saucer the students success. In the other hand, I argue that the way intelligence is seen is mostly influenced by the education system, they tend to have full on attention …show more content…

Street smart students should be given a chance because the outcome might be surprising. Street smarts could be much more intelligent than book smart students. According to Graff, he believes teaching students with stuff they are interested in will help them academically. Graff states “I believe that street smarts beat out book smarts in our culture not because street smarts are nonintellectual as we generally suppose, but because they satisfy an intellectual thirst more thoroughly than school culture, which seems pale and unreal” (268). In other words, street smart students would become successful not because they are as intelligent as book smart students but because street smart students will have the desire of learning from their passionate topics. They will feel confident learning in an environment that provides topics they truly know and feel passionate about. Some might claim that teaching students through non-traditional topics will not be considered not learning. When in reality according to Graff students can see “these interests “through academic eyes,” that is, to think and write about cars, sports, and fashions in a reflective, analytical way, one that sees them as microcosms of what is going on in the wider …show more content…

But in his case he managed to get a well paid job because of his experience, experience he received from past blue collar jobs that many thought did not require anything but physical work. But now the successful jobs book smart students who are meant to achieve are becoming rare because the American dream has changed. In other words, success has now become harder for people to achieve. The reality of the American dream, states the fact that students are going to college for stability. There are not as many opportunities like before, less people are buying houses and people are just getting educated to become stabilized. According to the essay “The American Dream: Dead Alive, or on Hold?”, Brandon King states “Americans were asked questions about what they believed constituted being “successful,” with the majority naming things such as a steady job, financial security for the future, being able to retire without struggling and having a secure place of residence” (611). The quote shows the danger that book smart people are being educated to just become stabilized and if book smart students are renting then it brings up the how will street smart students will end up concerns? Which brings me into conclusion that book smart people are only capable of achieving stability, but

Summary Of Hidden Intellectualism By Gerald Graff

In Hidden Intellectualism article, Gerald Graff begins the article with talking about “street smart” and that not everyone have to be good in school to be considered smart. He also said that schools and colleges overlook the intellectual of street smart. For Gerald Graff he noticed that he had intellectual when he noticed that he was using reason and arguments to talk about sports with his friends. Then Graff moves to saying that Intellectuals is looked down at and that he was scared to show the intellectual side of him because he was worried of people bullying him but when he was talking about sport he was sharing his intellectual without anyone knowing. Graf mentioned that sports is more intellectual than school.

Hidden Intellectualism Analysis

A Summary of Gerald Graff’s “Hidden Intellectualism” Gerald Graff’s “Hidden Intellectualism” goes through many reasons why not being book smart could be a good thing. The sports world is a way of people connecting through the competitive sports that always lead to some sort of debate (268). Graff grew up always liking sports and being “street smart” living in Chicago. He always read sports magazines growing up and realized that reading magazines was a good tactic for schools to teach street smart kids how to write good essays based on their hobbies of reading magazines (265). “What doesn’t occur to us, 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”(264).

Summary Of The American Dream Dead Alive By Brandon King

In the essay “The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold?” Brandon king argues whether or not the American Dream is still alive and well in the USA. The author makes a strong case that the American Dream is, in fact, still held to a high degree of belief in America. Not only does he successfully argue that it is still alive, he presents information that shows how the Dream itself has shifted from a rags-to-riches story to one of a stable, happy life. Overall, King’s use of strong emotional appeals, coupled with his employment of sound reasoning and statistics make his argument that the American Dream has evolved over time very effective.

Gerald Graff's Hidden Intellectualism

In Gerald Graff 's essay “Hidden Intellectualism” starts of by talking about the stereotype of being so called “street smart” and and being “book smart” and how in school when you see someone who is street smart but doesn’t do go in school get a bad wrap. People look at them as a waste because they can’t apply there intelligences that they have and use it towards school, so people view them as not the right kind of smart because they are not a A student in school. Graff then goes on to say that maybe it is not the students that are the problem with how they do in school but maybe it is the school that have missed or overlooked the intellectual potential that kids with street smarts have. Graff also says that we only view the educated minds through schooling as the right way and schools and colleges look at kids who do not like school and don’t do well as anti-intellectual people.

Hidden Intellectualism Gerald Graff

Gerald Graff’s essay “Hidden Intellectualism” contemplates the age-old idea that street smarts are anti-intellectual. However, as Graff points out, “schools and colleges are at fault for missing the opportunity to tap into such street smarts and channel them into academic smarts.” (244). What Graff means by this is that being street smart does not mean a person lacks intelligence. Rather, educational institutions need to find a way to effectively ‘tap into’ this different format of intellectualism to produce academic intelligence.

Comparing The American Dream In Nickel And Dimed

According to fivethirtyeight.com “ In 2014, only half of 30-year-olds could say the same. The slowdown in mobility shows up in all 50 states and is true across the income spectrum. The biggest declines were among the children of middle-class families” (Casslem). This is a good point because kids can’t go very far if they can’t if there parents can’t make money and help them go somewhere in the

Hidden Intellectualism Gerald Graff Analysis

“Hidden Intellectualism,” by Gerald Graff starts off with an older argument between being book smart and street smart. Throughout the reading, Graff uses his own life experiences to critique the education system today. Points made focus on the idea of overlooking the intellectual potential of those who come across as being, “street smart”. Different authors cited in the reading to show how to accept another’s different intellectual. However, we realize that people who come across as being intellectual weren’t always labeled as that.

Rhetorical Analysis Of America Needs Its Nerds

The Rhetorical Analysis of the “America Needs its Nerds” The mental capacity is treated as a disadvantage in the America, despite the fact it already helped the country many times. This long-term problem became the main topic of the Leonid Fridman’s essay “America Needs its Nerds”. The work first appeared on January 11, 1990 in the New York Times as a part of the series “Voices of the New Generation”. The author spoke about the negative attitude the American society has to smart people and demonstrates it with the usage of words like “nerd” or “geek”.

Hidden Intellectualism Gerald Graff Summary

The reading "Hidden Intellectualism" by Gerald Graff reflects views on being "street smart" and "book smart." He explains that society tends to associate people who are intelligent on solely being "book smart" and performing well in academics, rather than being street smart. He goes on to further explain that students perhaps can be intelligent on topics that interest them. Graff opens up the reading by giving his own personal experience on feeling torn between trying to prove that he was smart yet fearing that he was overdoing it. He was trying to prove that he learned just as much about the real world by reading his sports books and magazines as he would have if he had read the classic works of literature like most students in school.

Blue Collar Brilliance Summary

Graff feels that teachers should base some of their lesson on what students have a connection so they can be more focus because they are interested and not bored. He talks about how if schools and colleges will connect with the kids that are "Street Smart" they won't do a poor job in school they will do fairly better if they were more intact with the topic itself. Graff explains to us his growing up in the "hood" you were more respected for being street smart then you was for being book smart. It took a discussion about toughness for him to notice how intellectual he was, but he as just different from others , it wasn't about everything it was just about things he had a strong interest in. He noticed from how he us to have serious verbal altercations about sports and how he acknowledge the difference in players through

Gerald Graff Hidden Intellectualism Essay

Graff says street smarts offer more life skills than the education provided in school. In other words, you can be smart without being highly educated because knowledge goes beyond academics. He grew up thinking he was anti-intellectual because his writing skills were not great about the topics he’s expected to write in school. Graff describes how sports helped him excel in academics and discover his hidden intellectualism. He believes ‘’Making students’ nonacademic interests of an object study is useful, the, for getting students’ attention and overcoming their boredom and alienation, but this tactic won’t in itself necessarily move them close to an rigorous treatment of those interests.’’

Blue Collar Brilliance Essay

People believe students who go to college have intelligence more than students who’s in the work field after high school. UCLA Professor Mike Rose explain intelligence should not be measure by the level of school students completed and students can be successful in the work field or without finish school. In fact, Rose used his mother as an example of students might have intelligence without finish school. For instance, his mother drop off school in middle school who is a waitress at the coffee shop she has intelligence to memorize all the customer. According to Rose “he observe and studied the working habits of blue-collar job workers and have come to

The War On Stupid People Analysis

In the article, “The War on Stupid People”, Freedman depicted the emphasis the society has placed on determining or facilitating human capacity has failed the less intelligent people. Freedman detailed his argument by providing evidence on how intelligence played a huge role in employment opportunities and academic performance. Moreover, he illustrated the issue of the economically disadvantaged/less intelligent, the current approach is flawed in the favoring the intelligent. He asserted with the evolution of the view of intelligence to the point as becoming a detrimental measure for human worth. He developed his main message by first established a neutral tone by providing statistical evidence of what a significant role intelligence has played,

Martin Luther King Education Analysis

The diversity of student backgrounds, abilities and learning styles makes each person unique in the way he or she reacts to information. The intersection of diverse student backgrounds and active learning needs a comfortable, positive environment in which to take root. Dr. King continues by explaining, “Education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society. The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no morals.” From back then to today’s society, kids are failing because they lack those morals that they need to succeed.

The American Dream: A Narrative Analysis

The American Dream begins with an affordable living arrangement and a good job, but with remorse, these two pieces are not connecting (Thompson, 2014). A college graduate can expect expensive housing with a job not reflective of the high housing price. In an article published in The Atlantic, “Why it’s So Hard for Millennials to Find a Place to Live and Work” Derek Thompson talks about the inequality between upward mobility and the housing market. For example, Dayton has one of the most affordable housing markets in the United States, however unlike California there is no social mobility (Thompson, 2014). The American dream is different for everyone and changes the course of action an individual may take.

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Street Smarts vs. Book Smarts: The Figured World of Smartness in the Lives of Marginalized, Urban Youth

The Urban Review

How smartness is defined within schools contributes to low academic achievement by poor and racial/ethnic minority students. Using Holland et al.
s (1998) [Holland, D., Lachicotte, W., Skinner, D., & Cain, C. (Eds.) (1998). Identity and agency in cultural worlds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.] concept of ‘‘figured worlds,’’ this paper explores the ‘‘figuring’’ of smartness through the perspectives of marginalized youth. The youth made key distinctions between being book smart vs. street smart. This distinction is a direct challenge by the youth to the dominant discourse of smartness or ‘‘book smarts’’ as it operates in schools. To the youth, ‘‘street smarts’’ are more important because they are connected to being able to maneuver through structures in their lives such as poverty, the police, street culture, and abusive ‘‘others.’’ This distinction is key because street smarts stress agency in countering social structures whereas, for many of the youth, book smarts represented those structures, such as receiving a high school diploma. Implications for schools and pedagogy are discussed.

Related Papers

This study explores smartness as a cultural construct rather than a biological capacity. The cultural construction of smartness has broad consequences related to teacher expectations, student academic identity development, and schooling inequities. This study is based on a 1-year ethnography in a kindergarten classroom, and the author investigates smartness by first historicizing the concept of intelligence and then using the theoretical framework of figured worlds. Through the teachers’ disciplinary and pedagogical practices, students were taught and learned not just whether they were smart themselves, but how other student identities were constructed according to smartness as well. Analysis suggests smartness was used as a mechanism of control and social positioning along racial and class lines. Implications are discussed related to schooling practices and policy.

Beth C . Rubin

This dissertation uses both critical race theory and Afrocentricity to examine Black male students’ understanding of what it means to be “smart.” Through the use of individual interviews, focus groups and class observations, the researcher interviewed and observed a total of 14 10th-grade Black males over the course of 4 months. Five research questions guided this work: (1) How do Black males understand what it means to be smart? (2) How do Black males’ views and assessment of their own intelligence affect their engagement in the classroom? (3) How do Black males understand what it means to “act white or “act Black”? (4) What impact, if any, do their understandings of “acting white” and “acting Black” have on their academic performance? (5) How do Black males understand the stereotypes associated with Black males? The students’ discussion of what it means to be smart suggests that the need exists for ongoing conversations about how whiteness and negative stereotypes about Black male...

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Penny Crooks

Race Ethnicity and Education

Derrick R Brooms

Drawing upon resilience and educational urgency, this longitudinal study explores the narratives of 20 college-aged Black males as they make sense of their secondary school experiences at Marcus Garvey Academy (pseudonym), an all-boys public school in a large urban city in the U.S. In paying particular attention to some of the challenges they faced, findings indicate that a complex set of personal, family, peer, and school factors affect these students' lives during their secondary school years. In their efforts to overcome these difficulties, students scripted resistance into their self-concept, identified ways that they benefitted from a supportive schooling environment, and translated some of their self-learning into educational urgency. These students' experiences and meaning making serve as a critical counternarrative to how they are stereotyped and limited by deficit framing and lowered expectations and speak powerfully to ways to better theorize, understand, and appreciate Black males' schooling experiences, resistance efforts, and aspirations.

Journal of Latinos and Education 13:3

Magdalena L Barrera

Recent studies show many college instructors still believe that Latino students lack the “school smarts” for academic success. This essay challenges the notion of “school smarts” in order to highlight Latino students’ numerous strengths. I share my model for a mentorship program that facilitates better student-faculty communication and deepens a student-centered learning environment in a large general education course. Establishing the program led me to reflect on how the enduring belief in “school smarts” affected my own academic training. Directly challenging deficit thinking, I argue that Latino students contribute to a transformative educational process in which faculty are also learners.

Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education

Julia Duncheon

Background/Context To enhance postsecondary completion and minimize equity gaps, researchers have focused on defining, measuring, and developing students’ college readiness, or the preparation required to persist in higher education. While this work has been useful to identify the ingredients of postsecondary success, the emphasis on individual achievement runs the risk of portraying marginalized students as deficient. Culturally relevant studies that highlight institutional accountability for college readiness are needed to inform policy and practice. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study Using Holland and colleagues’ (1998) figured worlds theory, this study examines college readiness through the lens of student identity in an urban magnet high school. We investigate how first-generation, low-income students of color interpreted and negotiated local discourses and artifacts to “figure” college-going identities—that is, who they should become and how they should behave ...

Eric Ruiz Bybee

This article explores the way that discourses of smartness and whiteness are produced and reproduced in schooling. Using an approach grounded in narrative research, I explore the convergences and contradictions between my own educational autobiography and the representations of schooling found in my school pictures and yearbooks. In my analysis, I argue that white supremacy played an important role in the construction of my own story of smartness throughout my primary and secondary schooling experiences. I also argue that yearbooks form powerful " artifacts of smartness " (Hatt, 2011, p. 448) that can be used to interpret and interrogate personal experiences as well as larger societal discourses of smartness and whiteness in schooling.

Quaylan Allen

Journal of Research in Reading

Wendy Luttrell

Conventional wisdom holds that American teenagers do not read or write – that they are a media-driven group who prefer movies, television and playing video games. Ethnographic data gathered in the High School Literacy Project, a study of four North Carolina high schools, showed a far different picture of teenage literacy. This paper reports on partial findings of the larger study and argues that students use their literacy practices to form their identities within, and sometimes in opposition to, the figured worlds of school, work and family. Many students look to school to provide formal literacy experiences, but find their reading and writing passions at odds with the demands of the school curriculum.

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Olivia Wilde ’s electric feature debut, “Booksmart,” is a stellar high school comedy with an A+ cast, a brilliant script loaded with witty dialogue, eye-catching cinematography, swift editing, and a danceable soundtrack. Most importantly, it’s incredibly fun to watch again and again. While paying homage to the teen comedies that have come before it, “Booksmart” sets itself apart with the characters at its center. Molly ( Beanie Feldstein ), a type-A bookworm obsessed with being the top of her class, and her best friend Amy ( Kaitlyn Dever ), a quieter if no less driven feminist activist, worked hard to get into good colleges. When Molly finds out that their less studious classmates have also gotten into the same prestigious schools, it shatters her understanding of the world. Instead of enjoying their usual quiet night in, Molly convinces Amy to dress up -– they’re going to party at least once before they walk across that graduation stage.

After helming a few music videos and shorts, Wilde has blossomed into a fully-fledged filmmaker with style and voice to spare. Her sense of humor shines through every ridiculous situation, sharp quip or a visual gag, be it poking fun at a rich kid’s pimped out ride with a license plate reading “FUK BOI” or the existence of Gigi ( Billie Lourd ), a character best remembered for her unprompted wild antics, mysterious ability to pop up at all of the night’s parties and her “cool girl gone eccentric” vibe. Wilde also has fun riffing on Hollywood musical tropes and creating a stop motion drug hallucination that’s almost too bizarre to describe. It’s better if you just watch and laugh your way through it.

Wilde’s acting background helped lead the cast to give both wonderfully deranged and emotionally moving performances. We ride the highs and lows of Molly and Amy’s odyssey through Los Angeles at breakneck speeds but nothing feels lost. We get a sense of their deep friendship, much like the two best friends at the center of 2007’s “ Superbad .” They tease each other, they have their own shared language, like using the name Malala to ask each other for help, and rituals like over-complimenting each other’s outfits. Usually, so many names on a script would be cause for worry, but the contributions of Susanna Fogel , Emily Halpern and Sarah Haskins and a final draft by recent hit scribe Katie Silberman (“Isn’t It Romantic,” “ Set It Up ”) does not disappoint. When I spoke with some members of the cast and crew at South by Southwest, the actors said they felt supported by Wilde to build out their characters as they saw fit, which is likely why the high schoolers sound like kids their age talking about their chosen Harry Potter House.

Feldstein and Dever are perfectly matched to bounce off of each other’s personalities, even if their characters seem similar at first glance. Playing the best friend part in “ Lady Bird ,” Feldstein had limited screentime to show off her comic chops, but it was obvious that she already had great timing and hilarious exaggerated reactions. Given the spotlight in “Booksmart,” she takes her antics to 11 with a confident and determined energy for her misguided and strongwilled character. Dever makes a lot of Amy’s shy girl persona and her quiet crush on another girl. She subtly plays out Amy’s mortification at her parents’ cutesy enthusiasm, her reluctance to be honest about her feelings and her protective loyalty to Molly, even when she feels overwhelmed by her friend’s bombastic personality.

As wonderful as it was to watch a movie about strong and supportive female friendships, it was just as refreshing to see it set in a high school that’s full of diverse students, different sexual orientations and gender expressions. The supporting cast is just as wonderfully funny as the stars and is given something more to do than be the token high school stereotypes. In fact, many of Molly’s first impressions of her classmates turn out to be wrong, and while their characters may not get the full in-depth exploration, they weren’t reduced to one trait or reductive punchline.

Wilde’s film is a complete package delivered to theaters with a bow on top. The movie’s cinematography matches the teens’ wild “ After Hours ” adventure with dreamy yet colorful lighting. No high school party ever looked so good. There’s one scene where cinematographer Jason McCormick , who shares Wilde’s background in music videos, captures the moment Amy’s crush, Ryan ( Victoria Ruesga ), leans her elbow on Amy’s knee, causing time to slow and the pink and yellow party lights to saturate the karaoke room, like that moment when your heart skips a beat because someone you like acknowledges your affections. The snappy rhythm of Jamie Gross ’ editing makes the girls' adventure feel like it’s flying by to the infectious beats of Gorillaz’s Dan the Automator. It’s a sensational mix that left me with an elated feeling by the time the credits rolled.

In “Booksmart,” girls just want to have fun. Put aside the pressure to succeed or live up to strict ideals and focus on what’s important: our friends. “Don’t make the same mistake I made,” warns the teens’ favorite teacher, Miss Fine ( Jessica Williams ), and that statement feels like a warning for the audience, too. Focusing so much on work and success has pushed generations of women to burn out. Perhaps “Booksmart” is trying to teach the next graduating class that there’s nothing wrong with balancing all that hard work with some party time.

Monica Castillo

Monica Castillo is a critic, journalist, programmer, and curator based in New York City. She is the Senior Film Programmer at the Jacob Burns Film Center and a contributor to  RogerEbert.com .

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Booksmart (2019)

Rated R for strong sexual content and language throughout, drug use and drinking - all involving teens.

105 minutes

Kaitlyn Dever as Amy

Beanie Feldstein as Molly

Mason Gooding as Nick

Skyler Gisondo as Jared

Victoria Ruesga as Ryan

Billie Lourd as Gigi

Molly Gordon as Annabelle "Triple A"

Jason Sudeikis as Principal Jordan Brown

Lisa Kudrow as Amy's Mother

Will Forte as Amy's Father

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Book Smart Essay

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Education is an everyday topic of a conversation for both higher and lower socioeconomic people but mostly for the “poor”, it is believed to be the key to success or just a waste of time. But the real question is if education is meant for everyone. Well according to Gerald Graff, the issue is that many claim that non book smart students are not so intelligent. Which might be why the education system does not do anything to improve those street smart students academically. They tend to only help those who they think have the intelligence to understand academic work which are the book smart students. Overall, the education system would say that education is for every student but that is what they are expected to say. In reality, the education …show more content…

But in reality Beverly Hills are book smart students because they grew up with the pressure from both school and most likely college graduate parents. They are students who were raised with books in their faces since they were small. When African American and Hispanics students did not grow with the pressure from their school instead schools encouraged them to end up at a community college and who are most likely raised by uneducated parents who most of the time know nothing about education. Which is why they don’t complain about the education system. Now that is seen as the school system taking advantage, since streets smarts have parents who are working and have no time to complain or they have parents who simply do not …show more content…

Educating street smart people in a way could affect book smart people who are trying to get into college or trying to get a job once they graduate college. These claims might be true but I believe every student should have an opportunity to get educated. It is just not fair for students to not achieve a college degree because they simply have a different way of learning that is not taught by their school. It is not the student’s fault the education system does not provide them the change the students need. Instead, we should focus to see every student succeed not mattering what it takes a certain student to their success. We need to learn how to accept. We need to accept the fact that there are students who need that extra push that extra attention of changing a lecture. In other words, I agree with Graff that just because a student is identified as a street smart it does not mean they not smart it just means that they cannot learn from academic readings. I believe on Graff’s suggestion that if teachers teach street smart students from topics they understand then they might become academically intelligent just like the book smart

Hidden Intellectualism And Blue Collar Brilliance

A famous quote by Martin Luther King states “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.” The two articles “Hidden Intellectualism” and “Blue Collar Brilliance” both emphasis the author's opinion on the qualifications and measurements of someone's intelligence. “Hidden Intellectualism” focuses on students or younger people who have trouble with academic work because, they are not interested in the topic. Today, in schools students are taught academic skills that are not very interesting, the author mentions this is why children are not motivated in schools. The main viewpoint of this article is that schools need to encourage students

Gerald Graff's Hidden Intellectualism

Co-author of “They Say/I Say” handbook, Gerald Graff, analyzes in his essay “Hidden Intellectualism” that “street smarts” can be used for more efficient learning and can be a valuable tool to train students to “get hooked on reading and writing” (Graff 204). Graff’s purpose is to portray to his audience that knowing more about cars, TV, fashion, and etc. than “academic work” is not the detriment to the learning process that colleges and schools can see it to be (198). This knowledge can be an important teaching assistant and can facilitate the grasping of new concepts and help to prepare students to expand their interests and write with better quality in the future. Graff clarifies his reasoning by indicating, “Give me the student anytime who writes a sharply argued, sociologically acute analysis of an issue in Source over the student who writes a life-less explication of Hamlet or Socrates’ Apology” (205). Graff adopts a jovial tone to lure in his readers and describe how this overlooked intelligence can spark a passion in students to become interested in formal and academic topics. He uses ethos, pathos, and logos to establish his credibility, appeal emotionally to his readers, and appeal to logic by makes claims, providing evidence, and backing his statements up with reasoning.

Hidden Intellectualism, by Gerald Graff

The journey begins at the heart of the matter, with a street smart kid failing in school. This is done to establish some common ground with his intended audience, educators. Since Graff is an educator himself, an English professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago, he understands the frustrations of having a student “who is so intelligent about so many things in life [and yet] seems unable to apply that intelligence to academic work” (380). Furthermore, Graff blames schools for not utilizing street smarts as a tool to help improve academics; mainly due to an assumption that some subjects are more inherently intellectual than others. Graff then logically points out a lack of connection “between any text or subject and the educational depth and weight of the discussion it can generate” (381). He exemplifies this point by suggesting that any real intellectual could provoke thoughtful questions from any subject, while a buffoon can render the most robust subjects bland. Thus, he is effectively using logic and emotion to imply that educators should be able to approach any subject critically, even non-traditional subjects, lest they risk being labeled a buffoon.

The Rhetorical Analysis Of 'Hidden Intellectualism'

Intellectuality needs to be redefined; what does the word intellectual mean? Typically one would describe someone as either “street-smart” or “book-smart,” in other words someone who knows how to live in the real world versus someone who has knowledge about academics. But is one more “intellectual” than the other? In the article “Hidden Intellectualism,” Gerald Graff addresses this issue and brings to the audience’s—the audience being experts about the subject along with himself—attention that schools are missing the opportunity to fuse together street-smarts and book-smarts to increase overall academic performance. Graff definitively presents his opinion on this topic by manipulating ethos, pathos, and logos. Through ethos his credibility

An Analysis Of Gerald Graff's 'Hidden Intellectualism'

A philosopher once said ”A child educated only at school is an uneducated child”. As we are living in a world where everyone knows the importance of schools and the meaningful of being educated, then why does he believe that a child is illiterate when he only studies at school? Are schools actually limit on areas of study and overlook the essential of real life experience? In the article “Hidden Intellectualism”, Gerald Graff claims that schools and colleges are might at fault due to their omission of the “street smarts”-knowledge necessary to deal with reality-, and their failure to invest them into academic work. By stating the fundamental of intellectualism and the influence of personal interests, he informs readers that those street smarts,

Of Gerald Graff's 'Hidden Intellectualism' By Gerald Graff

Gerald Graff the author of Hidden Intellectualism points out that the poor should have a better education. He too thinks that street smart people are able to complete jobs that the educated cannot. But he goes a step further in saying if we were able to provide a form of education that worked around the environment of the working class It would make an ideal educational benefit that would end in the result of educated people regardless of their economic situation. Furthermore, it would provide them with better pay since they are educated. Graff talks about what is taught in schools are outdated that no one wants to read about Shakespeare anymore, the students feel like a fish out of water when all the material is based on old traditions and

Critical Analysis Of Gerald Graff's Hidden Intellectualism

Social class should not be used to define a person. Every person has the ability to overcome the roadblocks that society has placed in their path, so long as they have the determination and motivation. In Gerald Graff’s article, “Hidden Intellectualism” , he explains how social class is irrelevant when it comes to education, despite what society will lead you to believe. He displays how everyone is intelligent in his or her own way.Lynda Barry during her article, “ The Sanctuary of School” spoke about the importance of education to her and many other students like her.Another writer, Mike Rose shows how despite the thoughts that society puts in our heads we can still be successful in his article “Blue Collar Brilliance”.Regardless of social

Danielle Paquette's Article: Is Education The Cure To Poverty

It’s considered a rarity now days to walk down a major city street and not come across a single person who is fighting to survive poverty. The constant question is why don’t they go get help, or what did they do to become like this? The question that should be asked is how will America fix this? Over the past year, Americans who completed high school earned fifteen point five percent more per hour than that of dropouts (Bernstein, Is Education the Cure to Poverty). According to Jared Bernstein, in his article “Is Education the Cure to Poverty”, he argues that not only do the poor need to receive a higher education, but to also maximize their skill levels to fill in where work is needed (Is Education the Cure to Poverty). Counter to Bernstein’s argument Robert Reich expresses that instead of attempting to achieve a higher education, high school seniors need to find another way into the American middle class. Reich goes on to say “the emerging economy will need platoons of technicians able to install, service, and repair all the high-tech machinery filling up hospitals, offices, and factories” (Reich, Why College Isn’t (and Shouldn’t Have to be) for Everyone). Danielle Paquette, though, offers an alternative view on higher education. Paquette gives view that it doesn’t matter on the person, rather it’s the type of school and amount of time in school that will determine a person’s

Hidden Intellectualism: An Analysis Of Gerald Graff's Hidden Intellectualism

Street smarts are intellectual resources that are ignored by schools. It is the most informal version of intellect, generally relating to hobbies that seem anti-intellectual. Gerald Graff’s journal article Hidden Intellectualism shows that everyone is an intellectual whether they are aware of it or not. Using mainly ethos, he describes how sports can be a form of intellectualism because of the use of logic. He says it beautifully here, “I see now that sports provided me with something comparable to the saturation of life by argument… that my preference for sports over schoolwork was not anti-intellectualism so much as intellectualism by other means.”

Examples Of Low Class In America By Gregory Mantsios

In order to break through the status quo of poverty for generations, there needs to be more efficiency on education. In our current society, establishments would rather hire someone who well qualified with college degree rather than just a high school education. For our modern day survival we need education because it will give up opportunities and help we need to become successful. The higher a person educational degree the more invested opportunity to move up in the ranks in our

Hidden Intellectualism

...hether or not street smarts or books smarts is best can not be fully answered. To have every student pleased and working without any interruption is a bit of a far fetched idea, because not everyone will be happy with changes and adjustments. We can though, work towards a system that allows both sides of the educational field to succeed, no matter how they learn. By looking over Graff’s claim, it can be conclude that how a student learns may need to be reevaluated and changed into something new that can adapt and grow with every type of student in order to enrich the standard idea of an education really is for everyone.

Gerald Graff Hidden Intellectualism

When Gerald Graff was younger he and his friends would have various debates about sports including what team had the best pitcher in baseball. Graff pointed out that while having these arguments with his friends, they would have evidence to support their thoughts whether it be using statistics to find batting averages or using their argumentative abilities in general to support their opinion. This proves that even people who do not do the best in school are capable of brilliant things, the school system just needs to encourage students to use their hobbies to enhance their academics. Instead of dividing the different forms of intelligence, book and street smarts could merge and grow into a more detailed educational system that can help not just with academics, but with life itself. While it is good to know proper grammar, knowing about dating, sports, or cars can actually get people farther than anticipated in life. Graff thought that in the school system, street smarts is perceived as less than compared to “book smarts” which are encouraged in school. If the two forms of intelligence were to merge instead of separate, the educational system can transform into something

Why Street Smart Students Are Considered Anti-Intellectual in the Academic Area

Why street smart students are considered anti intellectual in academic area? In the article “Hidden Intellectualism” by Gerald Graff, he accounts the idea that street smart students are way more smarted than book smarts. He explains that street smart student will be able to solve an issue much faster than book smart because of his/her previous experience. According to author, the problems with considering street smarts as anti intellectual are they are actually much smarter that book smart students, they don’t equal opportunity , and schools along with colleges never challenge their mind get them to succeed in academic work.

Education as a Social Institution

Education is a vital part of society. It serves the beneficial purpose of educating our children and getting them ready to be productive adults in today's society. But, the social institution of education is not without its problems. Continual efforts to modify and improve the system need to be made, if we are to reap the highest benefits that education has to offer to our children and our society as a whole.

The Impact of Internet on Education

With the global economy relying more than ever on brainpower and innovation rather than raw materials and manual labour as generators of wealth, a good education has become the key factor determining who will succeed and who will be left behind.

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