Assignment 5.1, Group 10/Nicole and Scott

QUESTION 1:
The thesis of our reading is, “we associate the educated life, the life of the mind, too narrowly and exclusively with subjects and texts that we consider inherently weighty and academic.”

QUESTION 2:
A. On page 298, Graff makes the point that we can encourage kids to grow intellectually by introducing topics into school work that hold their interest rather than what we think they should be studying. He believes that if schools would incorporate some popular teen topics, it would create more enthusiasm and a deeper thought process.
B. On page 301, Graff points out the similarity between the world outside of school (what he calls the real intellectual world) and debates about sports. The comparison of intellectualism and team sports both having rival theories, interpretations, and evaluations mirror each other. He brings up an excellent point here; we really do learn our conversation and debate skills by talking things out amongst friends. Kids use their critical thinking all the time while they are socializing with friends, but focusing that type of thinking on school work is difficult to achieve.
C. On page 303, Graff makes the point that if you allow students to write about what they are interested in, it does not have to be a cop-out as long as students are required to see these interests through academic eyes and think about them in a reflective/analytical way.
D. Also on page 303, Graff makes the point that if a student is not interested in Mill's On Liberty but will read Sports Illustrated or Vogue or the hip-hop magazine Source with absorption it will promote intellectual growth. When students get hooked on reading and writing by doing term papers on Source, they will eventually get to On Liberty. If they still don't, then they will at least become more literate and reflective than if they did not read interesting magazines in the first place.

QUESTION 3:
A. How Graff would respond to the reading “Can You Hear Me Now.” –
I think that Graff would probably say that the technology was brought more people together because there is now more ways in which people are able to connect with each other. Having more connections will allow them to talk to the instructor about the paper they may be about online instead of talking in person. This allows students to open up more with their writing abilities and their potential problems and correct them. This writing online will help them become better writers instead of having to talk in person in which they may otherwise feel uncomfortable doing.
B. How Graff would respond to the reading “What’s the Matter with Kids Today?” –
Graff would support this author’s position in regard to alternative means of intellectualism being highly beneficial. Both of their writings explain that children are voluntarily spending endless hours reading, writing, analyzing facts and debating on subjects they are interested in. The classical education we are accustomed to is simply changing with the times. Graff would completely support this article’s point of encouraging children to do any type of reading and writing and to stop discounting its relevance in intellectual growth. Both of these authors are far more interested in children expanding their minds by exploring subjects they are interested in than the alternative of pushing classic literature on kids who begrudgingly do the assignments without gaining the intended knowledge.