Narrative Essay Genre

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Narrative Essay

Charles Darwin’s theory of individual differences propounds the most intriguing yet compelling notion about the uniqueness of human beings. Although our genes share similarities to some extant yet our cognitive patterns, thinking, feelings, emotions, perceptions, intellectual abilities, preferences, outlooks, orientations and coping follows holistically unique patterns. Darwin attributes such qualities as the product of genes and environmental experiences that we encounter throughout the span of our physical, psychological, social and emotional development.

Based on the theory of Individual Differences, it can be inferred that every individual is different with his own aptitudes and interests. There is an equal probability that one motivator that directs and energizes certain behaviors in one individual might be unexpectedly ineffective for the other ones. For instance, two students who love to attend school might have different underlying reasons behind their affinity for school; one might find sports and games striking his interests whereas classroom activities might compel the other student to attend school regularly.

Which student might be termed as more resourceful? The one who takes active participation in sports and performs poor in academics? Or the one who scores excellent grades in academics but never joins sports? Certainly, the one who score good at academics! Why this happens even when we are profoundly insightful about the incorporation of genetic predispositions behind human preferences? Why the one with sports mind is thought to be as a waste? The answer is unexpectedly simple; immensely erroneous categorization of success benchmarks in schools.

Such students are said to be street smarts because they perform exceptionally good in anything outside the academics whose intellectual potential is constantly overlooked by the schools and stakeholders—considering them as anti- intellectuals. “What a waste, we think, that one who is so intelligent about so many things in life seems unable to apply that intelligence to academic work” (Graff pp.61).The benchmark of success is narrowly and exclusively associated with the text that is taught in the books. In reality, however, anti- intellectuals are more embraced and consecrated than the book- smarts.

The first perk of being street smart is getting the opportunities to augment the interpersonal growth. This is because street smarts are the part of vast sports community and their connections become much more diverse that book- smarts whose academic obligations makes them aloof and confined to the books. They have a lot more to learn from the practical life experiences. They learn what life gives them; not through reading and analyzing what others get from the life.

Moreover, if you are anti- intellectual, you can learn meritoriously from the trial- and- error formula. You have a super- colossal margin to practice and experiment your potentialities without any lingering fear of being failed and getting banished from the community—which is something too frequent for book smarts. Another advantage of being street smart is the immediate gratification of results that is usually something lacking for the book smarts—they have a long period to wait between putting efforts and having outcomes. Street smarts play and get a glimpse of success or failure even before the course ends. Hence, street smarts are free from any sort of anxiety and distress brought by the delayed gratification and uncertainty.

Street smarts learn from the sports that not only strengthens their physical attributes but also their personality development takes place based on the realistic and practical knowledge attained from their mastery experiences.“Sports is the only one of the domains whose potential for literacy training is seriously underestimated by educators” (Graff pp.64).Despite accepted efficacy of sports as learning tools, substantially limited on- the- ground implementation of sports is manifested in literary education.

The above presented narration communicated the fine- distinction between street and book smarts based on the Darwin’s Theory of Individual Differences. In my view, street smarts learn more profoundly and realistically than the book smarts and educators must consider this during daily practice.

Works cited

Graff, Gerald. “Hidden Intellectualism, An excerpt from They Say/I Say:

The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing.” What’s Next? Thinking About Life After High School, pp. 61-64.