Street Smart Vs Book Smart Essay
In recent discussions of education, a controversial issue has been whether it is better to be “book smart” or “street smart.” On the one hand, some argue that being book smart is more intellectual than being street smart. From this perspective, they say that doing well in school and being educated on things that we consider academic is how to be intellectual. On the other hand, however, others argue that being street smart is more intelligent than being book smart. In the words of Gerald Graff in Hidden Intellectualism, one of this view's main proponents, “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
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In fact, having a considerable amount of both is optimal. Being intelligent academically helps you get a degree, which in turn gets you a better job and more money, and being intelligent on nonacademic subjects actually helps you in the real world when you get a good job. Though I concede that street smarts satisfy an intellectual thirst more than book smarts, I still maintain that you need both to have the most success in the real world. For example, Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Inc., didn’t have a college degree, but BLS unemployment statistics show that the unemployment rate for people with a bachelor’s degree and higher in 2014 is 3.2%, compared to 9% for people without a high school diploma and 6% for those who have just a high school diploma. Although some might object that Steve Jobs was much more successful than the people with a bachelor’s degree, I would reply that they are correct, but that to be that successful is a million or possibly a billion to one shot. My point is not that you should not get a degree and try to be the next Steve Jobs, but that your best shot at success would be to have the street smarts of Steve Jobs and have a degree because you have to plan more realistically. This issue is important because many people wish to know if it is better to be “book smart” or “street smart” to achieve a good
In fact, having a considerable amount of both is optimal. Being intelligent academically helps you get a degree, which in turn gets you a better job and more money, and being intelligent on nonacademic subjects actually helps you in the real world when you get a good job. Though I concede that street smarts satisfy an intellectual thirst more than book smarts, I still maintain that you need both to have the most success in the real world. For example, Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Inc., didn’t have a college degree, but BLS unemployment statistics show that the unemployment rate for people with a bachelor’s degree and higher in 2014 is 3.2%, compared to 9% for people without a high school diploma and 6% for those who have just a high school diploma. Although some might object that Steve Jobs was much more successful than the people with a bachelor’s degree, I would reply that they are correct, but that to be that successful is a million or possibly a billion to one shot. My point is not that you should not get a degree and try to be the next Steve Jobs, but that your best shot at success would be to have the street smarts of Steve Jobs and have a degree because you have to plan more realistically. This issue is important because many people wish to know if it is better to be “book smart” or “street smart” to achieve a good