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PERENNIALISM

Perennialism is an educational philosophy that focuses on teaching timeless, classic works that are just as important and applicable today as when they were written. Examples include works by Shakespeare, Dickens, and Dante. The goal is to teach students critical thinking skills through a structured environment and exposure to great ideas from history's finest thinkers. Perennialists believe mastery of content and reasoning skills are most important, developing these sequentially from an early emphasis on reading and writing to later study of literature, history, and philosophy. The Paideia program implemented in many U.S. schools is based on this philosophy, using lectures, seminars, and coaching to discuss classics.

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PERENNIALISM

Perennialism is an educational philosophy that focuses on teaching timeless, classic works that are just as important and applicable today as when they were written. Examples include works by Shakespeare, Dickens, and Dante. The goal is to teach students critical thinking skills through a structured environment and exposure to great ideas from history's finest thinkers. Perennialists believe mastery of content and reasoning skills are most important, developing these sequentially from an early emphasis on reading and writing to later study of literature, history, and philosophy. The Paideia program implemented in many U.S. schools is based on this philosophy, using lectures, seminars, and coaching to discuss classics.

Uploaded by

John Lloyd
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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PERENNIALISM

Is the educational philosophy that the importance of certain works transcends time. Perennial works are
those considered as important and applicable today as they were when they were written, and are often
referred to as great books. Common examples include Melville’s Moby Dick, Shakespeare’s Macbeth,
Dickens’s Great Expectations, and Dante’s Inferno. Perennialism is sometimes referred to as “culturally
conservative,” because it does not challenge gender stereotypes, incorporate multiculturalism, or
expose and advocate technology, as would be expected of contemporary literature.

The goal of a perennialist education is to teach students to think rationally and develop minds that can
think critically. A perennialist classroom aims to be a closely organized and well-disciplined environment,
which develops in students a lifelong quest for the truth. Perennialists believe that education should
epitomize a prepared effort to make these ideas available to students and to guide their thought
processes toward the understanding and appreciation of the great works, works of literature written by
history’s finest thinkers that transcend time and never become outdated.

Perennialists are primarily concerned with the importance of mastery of the content and development
of reasoning skills. The old adage “the more things change, the more they stay the same” summarizes
the perennialists’ perspective on education. Skills are still developed in a sequential manner. For
example, reading, writing, speaking, and listening are emphasized in the early grades to prepare
students in later grades to study literature, history, and philosophy.

The Paideia Proposal, a book published in 1982 by Mortimer Adler, described a system of education
based on the classics. This book inspired the school model referred to as the Paideia program, which has
been, and still is, implemented by hundreds of schools in the United States. Teachers using the Paideia
program give lectures 10% to15% of the time, conduct Socratic seminars for 15% to 20% of the time,
and coach the students on academic topics the remaining 60% to 70% of the time. Socratic seminars are
lectures in which the teacher asks a specific series of questions to encourage the students to think
about, rationalize, and discuss the topic. Perennialist curricula tend to limit expression of individuality
and flexibility regarding student interests in favor of providing an overarching, uniformly applicable
knowledge base to students. Vocational training is expected to be the responsibility of the employer.

Understanding essentialism will enable you know and improve basic teaching skills and perennialism will
allow you as a teacher to continue operating in the success of methods, concepts, and best practices
that were used in education over time.

PERENNIALISM IN EDUCATION
For Perennialists, the aim of education is to ensure that students acquire understandings about the
great ideas of Western civilization. These ideas have the potential for solving problems in any era. The
focus is to teach ideas that are everlasting, to seek enduring truths which are constant, not changing, as
the natural and human worlds at their most essential level, do not change. Teaching these unchanging
principles is critical. Humans are rational beings, and their minds need to be developed. Thus, cultivation
of the intellect is the highest priority in a worthwhile education. The demanding curriculum focuses on
attaining cultural literacy, stressing students' growth in enduring disciplines. The loftiest
accomplishments of humankind are emphasized– the great works of literature and art, the laws or
principles of science. Advocates of this educational philosophy are Robert Maynard Hutchins who
developed a Great Books program in 1963 and Mortimer Adler, who further developed this curriculum
based on 100 great books of western civilization

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