Asad Mahmood and all group From Govt College Mirpur

2.  Comes from the word perennial meaning everlasting.
 A very conservative and inflexible philosophy of
education.
 A teacher-centered philosophy that emphasizes the
importance of transferring knowledge, information,
and skills from the older (presumably wiser)
generation to the younger one.
 Perennialism says since people are human, one
should teach first about humans, not machines or
techniques.
 Its similarity with essentialism
 Philosophers who described these theories
 Rules given by robert hutchins
 Teaching tules class tools

3.  Secular Perennialism –
 Definition of secular perennialism
◦ Robert Hutchins and Mortimer Adler
◦ Perennialism is learning to reason
◦ Advocates using original work in education
◦ Comprises the humanist and scientific traditions
◦ Secular Perennialist’s view point

4.  Religious Perennialism –
 Definition /Introduction
◦ First developed by Thomas Aquinas
◦ Religious Perennialism continues to shape the
nature of Catholic schools throughout the world
◦ John Henry Newman

5.  Definition of philosophical rationale
 Its positions
 Metaphysicsical Position
 Aristotelian ontology
 Father william Mcgucken
 Epistomological position

7. 1. Permanence is more real than change
2. Human nature remains essentially the same
no matter the culture
3. The good life-the life that is fit for
man/woman to live-remains essentially the
same
4. Moral principles remain essentially the same
5. Education that men/women receive should
remain essentially the same

8.  Robert Hutchins
◦ Perennialist educator who strongly believed in
having traditional liberal arts in all schools
◦ Introduced the Great Books program
◦ Wanted NO extracurricular activities in
schools…said they were irrelevant to the learning
process
◦ Stated that textbooks “have probably done as much
to degrade the American intelligence as any single
force.”
◦ Professor and Dean at Yale Law School

9.  Mortimer Adler
◦ Helped Hutchins organize the Great Books program
◦ Proposed a single elementary and secondary
curriculum for all students, with no curricular
electives except the choice of a second language
◦ Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University

10.  Students spend most of their time mastering
the three “Rs”- reading, ‘riting, ‘rithmetic
 Greatest importance placed on reading
 Teach values and character training through
discussions about underlying values and
moral principles in stories
 Only elective is the choice of second language

11.  Few, if any, textbooks
 Schools are organized around books, ideas,
and concepts
 Teach from the Great Books-works by
history’s finest thinkers and writers
 Teachers do not lecture but lead and facilitate
discussions

12.  Role of the Teacher
◦ Teach time-honored classics
◦ Lifelong Learner
◦ Discussion Leader…Not Lecturer
 Role of the Student
◦ Active Thinker/Learner

13.  Teaching Tools
◦ Standardized Tests
◦ Teacher-made tests
◦ Memorization
◦ Classic Books
 Classroom Management
◦ Orderly rows
◦ Neat/Clean room
◦ Strict rules
◦ Punishment/Rewards

14.  Perennialism was started in the 1930s
 Perennialism IS still around
 St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland
◦ Adopted the Great Books as a core curriculum in
1937
◦ Readings in Literature, Philosophy, Theology,
History, Social Sciences, Mathematics, and Music
◦ Students write extensively and attend weekly
seminars to discuss assigned readings

15.  Grades are given but students only receive
their grades upon request
 Expected to learn for learning’s sake
 Thrives in small-group atmosphere
 2nd campus opened in 1964 in Santa Fe, New
Mexico

16.  With this philosophy, what happens to the
students who are poor readers or who do not
like to read? Are we setting them up for
failure?
 Research showed that religious schools use
the Perennialism philosophy…why?
 Are electives really not important?
 How can teachers teach all subjects without
the use of textbooks?

17.  www.oregonstate.edu
 www.successfuleducation.info
 Ediger, M. (1997). Influence of ten leading
educators of American education. Education,
118(2), 267. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
 Perennialism (2003). Retrieved from
http://www.mtsu.edu/~tsbrown/pere.htm
 Sadker, D., Zittleman, K. Teachers, Schools,
and Society: A Brief Introduction to Education.
p.200-207. Retrieved from
http://www.education.com