Discussion Topic #5: What Can We Talk About at School?

I need an explanation for this English question to help me study.

In this week’s reading “Hidden Intellectualism,” Gerald Graff argues that schools should encourage students to think critically, read and write about areas of personal interest as long as they do so in an intellectually serious way. Do you agree with this? What if a student wishes to write about horror movies or Barbie dolls, for instance? Can these topics be written about in an academic setting and if so, how? What area of personal interest could you write about? Keep in mind that you will be asked to write an argument about an area of personal interest for you in Essay 2 so this post will help you start brainstorming.