“Cult Of The Individual”: A Two-Pronged Concept

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“Cult of the Individual”: A Two-Pronged Concept Reading Bruce Pirie’s book, Reshaping High School English has become an exercise in self reflection and frustration at seeing some of my own classroom practices as being shallow. In Chapter two, entitled Beyond Barney and the Cult of the Individual, Pirie asserts that many teachers have become focused on the individual thoughts and feelings of their students to the point that it has become doctrine. While I do not believe teachers should forget that their students are individuals and have unique interests and background, I am compelled to examine my own routines and practices. Perhaps, as Pirie suggests, I am contributing to a generation of narcissistic young people. Classrooms by their very nature are social environments. When students interact with one another and with a teacher, they must follow certain understandings of social responsibility. They learn that they must raise their hands to speak, and that they may not simply criticize other students’ ideas. Students also learn, however, that their opinions and interpretations of literature are valid. They learn to take risks within the classroom. Where the problem lies, however, is, as Pirie suggests, when teachers do not challenge students to think outside of their own opinion. Teachers have the responsibility move students beyond themselves, recognizing and reflecting back to students that “whatever personal identity any of us has develops within a matrix of circumstances outside our psyches…” (Pirie, 10) and that simply stating what one feels is insufficient. In doing so, teachers can use the English classroom, and the rich literary environment, to teach students about cultural and social responsibility, to show them that in literature, as in life, the actions and interactions between characters or people have real consequences. Most importantly, we

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