person with technological ability and who is a specialist in certain in certain areas, this style would lean…
“Nerds and geeks must stop being ashamed of who they are.” Leonid Fridman says this in his passage from “America Needs Its Nerds.” In this passage, Fridman uses a comparison of nerds to athletes, a comparison of America to other countries, and rhetorical devices to develop his argument that society is wrong for calling someone that is intellectually curious a nerd or geek.…
The statement shocks the reader in a humorous way, pulls the reader in, and allows for curiosity to build as they continue to read. The humor is a great way to make this article accessible to a broad audience. It puts people on a level playing field since most people don’t actually know the true definition of “geek”. He conveys this message even further by using irony to express the severity of the problem at one of America’s most academically rigorous schools – Harvard. Students are embarrassed and afraid to admit the hours spent studying. Instead, they focus on fitting in and being popular. Leonid Fridman uses a continuous comparison between nerds and jocks. Instead, athletes are held higher than the academic. Sports participation has consistently risen while American educational rankings continue to plummet in comparison to the rest of the world. The U.S. has won more gold medals in the Olympics but places 31st math, 23rd in science, and 14th in reading when compared to other global countries (Zhao). The comment also paves the way for one of his argument in the case that American culture applauds the jocks, while they make fun of those who accelerate academically.…
In the common American society, examples supporting the nerds are abundant. Fridman represents how nerds are treated in an average United States school with exemplification. He discusses how being scholarly instead of athletic causes the intellectuals to become outcasts. This example is very prevalent in today’s society. Parents, teachers, students, along with others witness the hardworking students being shunned. “Children who prefer to read books rather than play football, prefer to build model airplanes rather than get wasted a parties with their classmates, become social outcasts,” retorted Fridman with a tone of disgust. Not only does this problem occur on a high school level but a college…
Cool kids supposedly have great lives and are cool for most of their lives. The nerds are shunned by their classmates and prefer to focus on their studies. You may choose being cool after hearing about their lives in school but later on the nerd goes to a good college while the cool guy flips burgers at a fast-food restaurant. After college the nerd gets a good job which he uses to get a car, and changes his normal attire into suits and no longer wears glasses. The nerd finally has a good life because he worked hard and the no longer cool slacker is stuck having the job at the fast-food place. I would much rather be a nerd half my life and successful the rest than be popular and then end up failing at life…
The one word that my peers would always use to describe me is a nerd. I have the stereotypical glasses, gigantic book bag and I get straight A's. Most of my peers expect me to know everything, or do their work. My GPA is 100.3 and I am currently number one in my class, so I am always seen as the nerd. In the movie Brian is the nerd or the brain, so I am a lot like Brian.…
In the passage from “America Needs Its Nerds”, author Leonid Fridman dissect his argument by comparing and contrasting America’s on-going social beliefs and perceptions of the geek and the actual positive role taken on by the nerd and why the role that they play is so vital to our society.…
Fridman’s tone throughout the passage added to the overall strength of the paper by keeping a serious, valid, and respectable tone which made you take him seriously. He didn’t joke or use emotion without information to back up his opinion. The very first paragraph of the passage starts out “There is something very wrong with the system of values in a society that has only derogatory terms like nerd and geek for the intellectually curious and academically serious.” Fridman starts out with emotion and opinion by stating there is something wrong with the system of values. However, he follows by explaining up why that is his opinion, i.e. the derogatory terms, then backs up what the derogatory term geek’s true definition is according to Webster’s New World…
“Anti-Intellectualism: Why We Hate the Smart Kids” by Grant Penrod is an essay written by a college student from Arizona State University, who writes about his perspective on a particular high school ideal. His thesis explains the three reasons he believes society dislikes intellectuals. His first reasons are the social stereotypes that are present early in high school with physical activities and intellectual activities. His second reasons are the public’s examples of celebrities that have became successful without an education. His final reason is the monetary obsessions that are desired rather than intellectual prosperity. It is for these reasons, Penrod explains, why we hate the smart kids.…
In high school being a nerd is a fine line between being accepted and becoming a rejected. As you enter the school you will see a few students sitting on benches. Each of these benches will have one student, each with their head buried in a text book or a video game. This group of people may appear to be a clique but they do not socialize with each other. Giving the students who sit in this area the label “loners” or “socially awkward”. If this doesn’t seem like your kind of crowd, maybe the more social nerds will be the perfect fit. The social nerds ether have their own small group of friends or are extremely popular. If becoming popular is your goal in high school it will be in your best interest to be a student who participates in sports.…
Social setting - statements and behaviour that are understood by friends and family may not be understood by strangers. People might use different types of language in different…
My initial reaction to Grant Penrod essay was flabbergasting because even thou I am not in high school anymore I could look back and remember how all the jocks did get more recognition then the nerds. In my days at school the nerds were the smart people or the teacher’s pet. According to Grant Penrod, “Social stereotypes began to emerge as early as high school.”(Grant. Chapter 57 Pg. 692) I agree with Grant because I remember when I was in the 10th grade walking with my friend Amber. we would always hang out in the quad area because that’s where all the popular kids hung out until one day we asked each other, “ Why don’t we ever hang out in the back?.” So we were heading down to the back of the school, and as eyes took in the scenery Amber whispered, “We can’t stay here.” We knew we couldn’t stay because everyone in the back was “nerds” or Geeks” and we didn’t want to be perceived as any one of those titles so we scurried to the quad again. But you have to ask yourself,” If teenagers judge the smart kids, then how does society judge other groups?” But being Invisible follows you into adulthood it does not end in high school because if someone was to invent something new and helpful and it became a success a very few people would know who invented the item, and that’s because the name of the person is not gloried as much as the creation. “Ignoring intellectuals both in both in school and later on in life crushes its victims.” (Grant .Chapter 57 pg. 694)…
There are different ways to establish communication with an individual by using verbal or non-verbal communication for example non-verbal communication such as sign language as people who are hard of hearing may be reassured by the use of sign. Interpreters can be used to help language barriers by ensuring all care and wishes are being protected such as religious rules and preferences. Together with this your body language is equally important as the way we present ourselves to people can set the tone of the conversation we are about to have.…
The heros of the movie are outsiders, geeks, freaks, and social bottom-dwellers. They are physically awkward and wear virtually unflattering clothing.(DEnby 345 She is generally funny and sarcastic, with a hint of feministic views. She stands at an awkward still when spotting the jock, her handsome dream date. The male version of this awkward hero is a stuttering, shaking mass of sexual tension. He 's stringy and shrimpy with almost no bodily form, and he is usually some kind of genius. The female nerds tend to attract the jocks. Denby suggests that this comes from the fact that the authors of these films were once nerds themselves, and they are trying to provide some kind of closure for themselves. (Denby 345)…
Eckert, P. (1989). Jocks and burnouts: Social categories and identity in the high school. New York: Teachers College Press.…