US History teacher Amy Perruso receives DAR award

By Kimberly Yamaguchi

k.yamaguchi@trojantimes.org

After 11 years of teaching, Social Studies teacher Amy Perruso was awarded the American History Teacher Award from the Daughters of American Revolution (DAR), an annual award that one history teacher in every state receives.

“I feel honored and humbled. I honestly think there are other history teachers who are far better than I am,” said Perruso of winning the award.

The DAR is a patriotic nationwide women’s group. “Every state has a chapter, so every chapter will award someone every year. Then those awardees’ applications will move forward to a national competition,” explained Perruso.

Perruso teaches because of her passion for her students and the subject. “I think that (Perruso) makes history come alive for kids. I think she’s an excellent history teacher,” said Principal Dr. John Brummel, continuing, “Any time a teacher goes above and beyond like she does, they should receive an award.” One of Perruso’s students, Junior Christopher Easterling, added, “I think she deserves this award because she takes the time to get to know her students, identifying their strengths and weaknesses, and utilizes that knowledge to develop methods to effectively teach historical concepts, whether easy or difficult.”

She makes herself available to her students at all hours whether in class or at home. “She puts a lot more time and effort into her students than other teachers, in my opinion. She is always available to talk to and as long as you show her that you’re willing to learn and take time out of your own schedule to come see her, she’ll do the same for you,” explained Easterling.

Her teaching methods include thought-provoking questions and having students come to their own decisions. “The main thing I think is to have them think critically, to have them question everything,” said Perruso. Easterling added, “Perruso has made me become an individual that strives for historical knowledge and taught me to always critically analyze the world around me, especially anything having to deal with the United States government.”

She loves various different aspects of teaching, from watching students improve to sitting down with them to discuss National History Day projects. “I like those moments of epiphany that I see in students when they have that, ‘Aha! Oh my god!’ kind of thing. I really enjoy that. And I really enjoy seeing students’ writing improve over time so that when I look at writing at the end of the year and I compare it to what they were submitting at the (beginning) of the year,” said Perruso.

Perruso was recognized at a ceremony on Dec. 10 at the DAR Chapter House in Honolulu.