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I see myself as a future educator, I find myself to have a Perennialism way of teaching. Perennialism mainly means I view education as a crucial subject and that it helps develop a person’s mental discipline and rationality. To then one day, those strengths will help humans avoid being dominated by the instinctual. As Perennialism Is mostly seen as used for shaping the curriculum around using the past, I also believe it is important to include present day as well. 

I see educating students like surfing in the ocean.  You can’t force a student to learn something they may not have interests in. If you give them an assignment, over something they may not like, you can’t expect them to enjoy it. But you can modify the assignment and use words of encouragement. Just like when someone sparks interests in wanting to surf, they may go out into the ocean for the first time and be terrible. But the more they practice and see the “light” in going out and surfing, they will want to keep doing it. 

I believe one of the most crucial parts of teaching is having a personal connection with your students. You can’t expect a student to get excited to be in class or to participate if you as a teacher just stand there and teach. Really getting to know your students personally can achieve a lot for you as a teacher. Not to mention, that when you have a personal connection with your students, they will also develop discipline. 

If a surfer instructor just told you a few steps to surfing and to go out in the ocean, you probably wouldn’t do very good. However, if the instructor takes time to learn maybe how long you have been surfing, extra, you would go out there and do better than you thought. You would also grasp the “rules” of surfing too, knowing that your instructor cares for you and safety. 

Again, as a future educator I want to use the past in education, but also include the present. As a Perennialist I value education as it can help students prepare for life. I will make sure to encourage my students to do their best work and to always try their hardest. As I want my students to feel prepared for the world around them.