The figured world of smartness in the lives of marginalized, urban youth. Someone who is intelligent, learns well, and educated very well academically. Its clear that some people have better judgment than others. But book smarts wont help you that much in the real world. Street smart, which is the shrewd resourcefulness needed to survive in an urban environment be it people management, project management, or business management, comes from experience. Malcolm x obviously had the street smarts, but like graff he mixed his new book smarts with his street smarts to be successful in life. This distinction is a direct challenge by the youth to the dominant discourse of smartness or book smarts as it operates in schools.
If you dont have street smarts, you wont last long out there. Using your intelligence effectively in college by frozenflan on january 31, 2014 its the question weve all had in our minds as soon as our brains were capable of thought. Both malcolm x, and gerald graff make very interesting points about street and book smarts. The rise of cities and the fall of cars schwartz, samuel i. Urban dictionary, now in its 20th year, is a digital repository that contains. It is are divided into two equally important catagories. Most people who are street smart arent very book smart and vice versa. When someone says im not book smart, im street smart, all im hearing is youre not smart.
The youth made key distinctions between being book smart vs. Urban survival is more than just street smarts, and here are some of the best tips and tricks to survive in a situation most people dont prepare for. If youre the kind of person who is brilliant on paper but clueless in real life, you can relate. On this program we talk about words and expressions that we use in everyda.
Whether one is more versed in street smarts or book smarts depends on the circumstances one has grown up under. The act of insulting someone via a reference to an embarrassing event in their past. However, the stereotype of a street smart person is someone who is. Book smarts in academia 28 words 6 pages our society has always had an obsession with labels whether in the form of fashion, our description of personal relationships, or the way we see ourselves as individuals. Definition of street smarts in the idioms dictionary. A good definition between street smarts and book smarts. Ive always wondered in the back of my mind what the actual outcome of this would be, so i was pretty excited when i saw your title. Attacking someone for previous shameful actions, giving the impression said acts are indelible.
A shrewd ability to survive in a dangerous urban environment. The general definition of street smart is someone who is intelligent, has good common sense, knows how to handle bad situations, and has the skills necessary to function where they live usually the ghetto or the streets. Ebscohost serves thousands of libraries with premium essays, articles and other content including street smarts vs. Street smarts definition, shrewd awareness of how to survive or succeed in any situation, especially as a result of living or working in a difficult environment, as a. The general definition of book smart is someone who is intelligent and very well educated. In the article, hidden intellectualism, gerald graff discusses the topic of book smart versus street smart. Street smarts definition for englishlanguage learners. However, the stereotype of a street smart person is someone who is intelligent and knows how to handle important situations in the streets but is not as welleducated academically. Smarts is a slang term for the knowledge and intellegence every person needs to get along in life.
The unbuilt streets of californias ghost metropolis. Urban dictionary says a street smart person has a lot of common sense and knows whats going on in the world. Streetsmart definition of streetsmart by the free dictionary. The first time i used urban dictionary, the online opensource dictionary of slang, i was looking for timbos. However, the term is usually used to contrast and compare with another term known as street smart. My friends in college who had more street smarts than book smarts were the first to receive job offers upon graduating. Proper usage and audio pronunciation plus ipa phonetic transcription of the word street smart. The term was popularized by a scene in goodfellas in which billy batts admonishes tommy devito for his subservient childhood job by exclaiming go home and get your fkin shinebox. Just as useful as book smarts, and in many cases more so. The stereotype of a book smart person is someone who is upperclass and well educated but less knowledgeable when it comes to handling important situations.
Street smart film, a 1987 film with christopher reeve and morgan freeman. Street smart tv series, a 2018 australian television series. Man, that kid is really smart, but he has no street smarts whatsoever. Why street smarts always win out over book smarts when it. This is what was approvingly described by my fellow prisoners as streetsmarts, as in you wouldnt think it to look at her, but pipers got street. Now, its time for words and their stories from voa learning english.
While many, if not most, people hold book smarts in the highest regard, the truth is. In a book its 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. Research neighborhoods, transport systems, and emergency services in whatever area you find yourself in. The general definition of book smart is someone who is intelligent and very well educated academically. This term is often seen more negatively in the context of college acceptance and level of general intelligence. There is no doubt in my mind street smarts kicks book smarts ass. On the flip side, being book smart comes from being wellversed with books. Street smarts definition in the cambridge english dictionary. You can have all the book smarts in the world, but the real world will eat you up and spit you out if you aint able to play the game.
Urban dictionary is a crowdsourced online dictionary for slang words and phrases, operating. Street smarts are based mostly on common sense and include things such as the ability to interact well in social situations. Street smarts definition of street smarts by the free. However, the term is usually used to contrast and compare with another term known as book smart.
Street smarts richard sargent, annie nguyen, colin anderson, denon wong, rachel heng, and nick hanna, oh, and tim vu book smarts intelligence associated with academic success. The ladies of the real share their views, in this girl chat. Whereas, street smarts refers to the experiential knowledge on things. Book smarts refer to the education, schooling and other kinds of knowledge that one has acquired. Being street smart is an important skill to have and a good way to take care of yourself. In the beginning he emphasizes that his knowledge of business comes from street smarts, beginning with the lessons he learned on the street from his father. Shrewd awareness of how to survive in an often hostile urban environment. Tomas chamorropremuzic, hr examiner editorial advisory board contributor. I respect what graff, and x have to say and agree with them, both book and street smarts are very important. Graff debates the common belief that having book smarts gives one an intellectual advantage over other forms of intellectualism. Being street smart means having interest in other activities more than in school work, while being book smart is the complete opposite of that. Street smarts vs book smarts, the epic debate continued.
And when common, everyday survival in prison required getting over, i could do that too. It solely is a theoretical understanding of facts or ideas. It usaly means skills such as fighting well, knowing how to get around large cities, it can also refer to talking smart, knowing how to manipulate people and avoide bad situations. Essay on street smarts versus book smarts 706 words. Street smart video game, a 1989 arcade game by snk. Know a good few people who are just street smart who do quite well for themselves. Growing up, i was very street smart but not so book smart. As pejoratives, the book smart is one who relies on structured knowledge and suck at real life naive, easily manipulated, bad judgment and the street smart is unintelligent or uneducated or incapable of being educated, hardboiled, unsentimental. But, by far, the most common definition of smart is to be very good at learning and understanding things.
Thats the easiest way i know how to explain those two expressions. Street smarts is a worthwhile business book, and i do recommend this book to anyone interested in entrepreneurial material, however the author played a bit of a deception in the reader. Street smarts vs book smarts talking about thinking. Street smarts over book smarts gerald graff is a professor of english and education in the university of illinois at chicago. For many people, there is no difference between smart and. Go get an apartment, or reach for a more challenging job. With wisdom, humor, and amusing antidotes, the investment biker recounts his lifes experiences in a manner that is as entertaining as it is educational. Know plenty of people with a ton of book smarts who didnt go to far in life. Competition, entrepreneurship, and the future of roads, a book about private highways.
Book smart vs street smart essay research paper example. However, the underlying idea is that the person deals with situations especially bad or difficult situations from an intellectual d. The prime distinction between street smarts and book smarts is who is at the center of the knowledge. Book smart is simply describing that the person as generally intelligent, well educated and do well academically. Street smart the psychology of good and bad judgment. Many studies support higher education for police officers, encouraging the disciplines beyond what is actually taught. People who are too book smart are too prudish and uptight for me, while people who are too street smart are too loose and uncouth for me. Getting along with others knowing which questions to ask and not asking too many,being polite and friendly, but also being assertive. Issues and ideas in public education, v39 n2 p145166 jun 2007. However, get on i95 or any other major interstate and without a little street smarts, that book will do very little for you. How smartness is defined within schools contributes to low academic achievement by poor and racialethnic minority students. If youre book smart and not street smart, then get out in the freaking world.
Book smarts, as ive framed it, means someone who is good at following the rules. Common sense knowing who you can trust, which areas in town are good and which are bad, etc. Definition of street smarts written for english language learners from the merriamwebster learners dictionary with audio pronunciations, usage examples, and countnoncount noun labels. In graffs essay, hidden intellectualism, graff compares street smarts to book smarts. What is the difference between book smart and street smart.
While which one is more helpful can be a matter of debate and also depends on the context, it is generally seen that street smarts weigh more on the. I personally have no street smarts, so i like being around people who have a similar educational backgroundinterest to me who can also teach me a thing or two about how the real world works. The stereotype of a book smart person is someone who is upperclass and well educated but less knowledgeable when it comes to handling important situations faced in bad neighborhoods and lowerclass city areas a. While intelligence has been defined in many different ways including as ones capacity for logic, understanding, selfawareness, learning, emotional knowledge, planning, creativity, and problemsolving. Street smarts also known as practical knowledge or common sense is essential to orienting yourself in everyday situations, whether its getting around a new neighborhood, keeping yourself safe, taking risks or making decisions.