Education for the Amish
In the Amish culture education is a very important cornerstone. They only attend school through the eighth grade howeverand traditionally they attend their own private schools. They are not required to go past the eighth grade due to an exemption from the state based on religious beliefs.
One room school houses are operated by the Amish parents and are traditionally located on land that was donated by a local farmer or landowner. They are then constructed with help from the community. The school board handles teacher salaries and other financial affairs as well as applying discipline to problems as they occur. The school board will also appoint the teachers to the school. There are usually two teachers that handle the school since the children are divided into two groups. One group is grades 1-4 and the other is 5-8. Sometimes there will be a third teacher if there is learning disabled or mentally challenged students. Most of the teachers in the Amish community are younger women that are just barely out of school themselves. They will usually teach for a few years until they marry and start their own family. Sometimes when there aren't any teachers available a mother may take over for a bit until a suitable replacement can be found. All though it does happen on occasion men rarely teach.
For the most part Amish schools function just like any other school. There are parent teacher conferences, social activities, and school programs. The teachers like to show the parents what their students have learned whether it's singing, reciting, or reading aloud. The common curriculum covered in the Amish culture is basic reading, writing, math, and geography. They also focus on vocational training as well as socialization to Amish History and values. While in school, children look forward to recess and can usually be found playing kickball or softball. They play all their games together and it allows for a great amount of socialization and interaction. Children typically pack their lunch every day, except for certain occasions when mothers will bring in a home cooked hot lunches.
In some Amish communities there are no private schools available so the children are sent to public schools. Sometimes this can be troublesome since at home the children usually speak Pennsylvania Dutch.
This page was created by Ken Highman on November 22, 2011.
This page was modified on December 3, 2011.
For comments or questions you can submit an email to:ken.highman@rasmussen.edu