Plain Answers About the Amish Life (12 page)

—Excerpted from
The Amish Bride

by Mindy Starns Clark and Leslie Gould

22

CHILDHOOD, FAMILY, AND OLD AGE

What is a typical Amish childhood like?

Ideally, an Amish childhood is filled with God, love, work, fun, and family—often all at the same time. Unlike modern Americans, the Amish do not strongly delineate between worktime and playtime. Instead, they often combine the two, creating an industrious and satisfying lifestyle. With such large families and close-knit communities, someone always seems to be available to share the load, the learning, and the laughter.

Amish children also spend considerably more time interacting with the older members of their family. Often, several generations live under one roof, which gives plenty of access between children and their grandparents.

Are Amish children given chores?

Yes. From a very early age, Amish children are taught that working hard is a vitally important virtue, and they are expected to learn how to clean, plan and cook meals, guide a horse and buggy, plow a field, and more. On Amish farms, young children may be given a small animal—such as a chicken, duck, or goat—that they alone must care for, which instills a strong work ethic and a sense of responsibility.

What role do the parents play in this?

When Amish children are growing up, their parents invest an enormous amount of time teaching them, guiding them by example, and working with them. As one Amish father said about a farm chore, “I could do this a lot faster by myself, but how else is he going to learn?” Boys and girls may work alongside their fathers in the fields or the
workshop for hours each day. Girls are also often in the kitchen with their mothers, cooking or sewing or learning some other domestic skill.

Are they paid for these jobs? If not, is there some way for Amish youth to earn money?

If children want something, they are encouraged to work for it, as the Amish believe that a gift given too easily too soon robs children of the joy of earning it for themselves. Thus, most Amish families teach their children basic business principles, and older children may even derive a small income from their own produce stand or other home-based business.

Do parents spend much time discussing religion in the home?

Family devotions and prayer time are a mainstay, but outright religious instruction and theological introspection are rare for most Amish families. Instead, parents focus on quietly living out the principles of what they call
Demut
(the German word for humility) and expect their children to do the same. By the time the kids reach school age, they are usually well-behaved, respectful, unpretentious, unentitled, and secure in their place in the family and the community.

Do the children like this lifestyle?

An Amish childhood may not be as idyllic as it looks in pastel paintings and picture postcards, but in the best-case scenarios, it can be quite satisfying. Amish or not, it's hard to imagine children who wouldn't enjoy caring for their very own animals and living in a tight-knit community, surrounded by parents and siblings who love them and are willing to spend time with them.

What are the drawbacks to an Amish childhood?

In my opinion, the biggest problem for children on Amish farms is that they are often placed in unsafe situations, for example:

•
Infants and toddlers may be tended by older siblings who are still too young and inexperienced themselves to be able to provide proper care.

•
Children are sometimes in close proximity to dangerous farm equipment, often while barefoot.

•
Boys as young as six or seven work with large animals such as cows and horses, often in dangerous ways.

A friend of mine describes with horror the time she stopped to buy firewood from an Amish home, and as the father stood and chatted with them, he sent his three-year-old son to retrieve the ax. Personally, I have witnessed an Amish child of perhaps eight or nine single-handedly managing a team of six horses while perched, barefoot, on the narrow standing platform of a huge piece of farming machinery. (To see a photograph I took of this, visit
www.amishfaqs.com/helpful.php
.)

Perhaps the average American tends to carry child safety a little too far in the opposite direction, but the Amish attitude on this topic can be disconcerting to the non-Amish, to say the least.

What roles do husbands and wives take in the family?

Amish husbands and wives generally assume traditional male-female roles in the family. The husband is typically the breadwinner, and the wife cares for the home and the children.

Mothers generally do not work outside of the home unless absolutely necessary. They will, however, participate in a family business by keeping the books or staffing roadside stands. They may also have a small side business, such as quilt making.

What happens to the elderly? Do the Amish use nursing homes?

The Amish do not generally use nursing homes or retirement homes for their elderly. Instead, the elderly will live with their children and/or grandchildren, often in an expanded section of the house.

For example, when a couple's children are grown, they might pass down the farm to one of the younger generation and move themselves into what is known as a
Grossdaadi Haus
, a smaller structure connected to or nearby the main house, much like an “in-law suite.” There, the elder parents live out the rest of their lives, helping with the younger ones when they can, providing wisdom and companionship to the family, and growing old with dignity and grace.

23

SCHOOL

Do Amish children go to public school?

Approximately 10 percent of all Amish children go to public schools. The remaining 90 percent attend private parochial schools run by their communities. The Amish call their students “scholars.”

What does an Amish schoolhouse look like?

Amish schoolhouses usually consist of one or two rooms and are large enough to accommodate 25 to 30 children of various grade levels, with separate boys' and girls' outhouse-style bathrooms outside.

Do the Amish use school buses?

The children usually walk to school, but where distance is an issue, neighboring parents may take turns or school buses are hired.

How many teachers are in each school, and what are their qualifications?

Each school has one teacher, usually an unmarried Amish woman in her late teens or early twenties who has been chosen because of her Christian character, Amish values, and teaching ability. Two-room schoolhouses or single-room schoolhouses with more than 30 children may have a second teacher or a teacher's assistant. Older students often help with the younger students.

How about kids with special needs?

In schools for Amish children with special needs, the teacher-student ratio is about one to four.

At what age do Amish children first enter school?

Just as their non-Amish counterparts do, Amish children enter first grade around age six.

What sort of schedule do Amish schools follow?

School hours and term lengths are similar to those in non-Amish schools, though the Amish generally don't take as much time off for holidays. In Lancaster County, for example, Christmas is only a two-day break, which means the school year ends in early May.

Is it true that they only go to school until the eighth grade?

Yes. Amish children conclude their formal education with the eighth grade.

Have the Amish always had their own schools?

No. Prior to the late 1930s, the Amish usually attended small, rural public schools in or near their communities. From 1937 to 1954, as public school boards began consolidating these into larger schools, the Amish became concerned that their children were being taught too far from home by teachers the family didn't know, they were getting an education that neither complemented nor facilitated an agricultural lifestyle, and they were being exposed to too much of the outside world. Afraid that their communities were being undermined, some Amish responded by building their own private schools, hiring their own teachers, and limiting education to the eighth grade.

Was that legal?

Initially, school officials considered the Amish teachers uncertified and undereducated and their lack of high school–level instruction unacceptable. A period of unrest and controversy followed, and some Amish fathers were arrested, fined, and even jailed for taking a stand. Some compromises were reached, but the issue finally came to a head in 1972, when the case of
Wisconsin v. Yoder
reached the U.S. Supreme Court. Finding in favor of the Amish, the court determined once and for all that Amish schools were to be allowed and that forcing Amish children to attend any school past the eighth grade was a violation of their religious freedom.

Who oversees Amish schools? Is there such a thing as an Amish Board of Education?

Amish schools are directed by small boards of local Amish fathers who approve the curriculum, hire the teachers, maintain the buildings, and oversee the budgets.

What subjects are taught in school?

Though the curriculum varies from district to district, most Amish students study arithmetic, spelling, reading, grammar, history, geography, social studies, German, and penmanship.

What about science?

Amish farmers deal frequently with the science of agriculture, but science as a school subject is considered suspect. Thus, except for nature studies, science is generally not included in the curriculum.

How about religion?

Religion is not taught in school, though Amish values are woven throughout their textbooks. Some religious rituals are included in the school day, such as the reading of an opening prayer.

Are any subjects prohibited?

Beyond religion and science, classes are also not likely to be given in computers, music, art, drama, or physical education.

What language do they use in school?

Classes are taught in English, and the children are expected to speak English both in the classroom and on the playground. Most first graders start school with only a rudimentary knowledge of English, so they are usually given some leeway until they become fluent.

What does an Amish person do if he or she wants to learn more after eighth grade?

Amish adults who require further learning on a particular topic, such as bookkeeping, will teach themselves, learn from a coworker, or take a correspondence course. In some communities, when a high school
diploma is required for a job, Amish youth may be allowed to get a general equivalency diploma (GED).

It sounds as though Amish schools have a different focus than non-Amish ones. What are their goals with education?

Amish schools do not normally emphasize critical analysis, independent thinking, creativity, or individuality. Instead, they focus on the Amish values of obedience, respect, kindness, cooperation, and submission. Such a limited education may not prepare the Amish to function in a high-tech world, but it does sufficiently prepare them for Amish life and work.

What is the parent's role in an Amish child's education?

The National PTA has published a list of the “Top 10 Things Teachers Wish Parents Would Do.” Not surprisingly, Amish parents have already been doing many of these things for years, such as setting a good example and encouraging students to do their best. In fact, number ten is central to the way Amish parents operate: “‘Accept your responsibility as parents.' Don't expect the school and teachers to take over your obligations as parents. Teach children self-discipline and respect for others at home—don't rely on teachers and schools to teach these basic behaviors and attitudes.”
¹

The Amish would never dream of leaving parental matters such as those described above in the hands of teachers. Instead, they know they are the primary authority figures in their children's lives and are responsible to raise them up in the way that they should go.

24

RUMSPRINGA