Intellectual knowledge appears to be innate and privy to the
few, but in fact, access to information, development of
intellectual work skills, time investment, and the maintenance
of intellectual appearances are key to being perceived as an
intellectual. To make education more equitable, professors must
go beyond knowledge transmission and instruct students in the
concrete skills of knowledge acquisition and knowledge
presentation. Instruction in intellectual skills-acquisition
implies the breakdown of the traditional professor-student
relationship and of the academic intellectual hierarchy and
professors must learn to cope with the consequences of adopting
new pedagogies. If we wish to share the secrets of our
professions, how do we prepare our students for such a
democratic approach and at the same time maintain our
professional status? The author, a professor of Spanish language
and literature, presents strategies for democratizing education
and demystifying intellectual work through the application of
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