Every week as I travel through the Amish community in Ethridge, Tennessee, I have been impressed with the education of the children. Never once have stepped inside any of the one-room schoolhouses which dot the landscape, nor have I perused their curriculum; however, I see the results every time I encounter a child. My only qualification for critiquing their education system is my experience homeschooling my three sons. This is what I have observed and is my opinion only.
1. The parents are responsible for the education of their children.
They make sure the skills are learned to lead a successful Amish life while, at the same time, still being able to do business with the outside world. Their formal education stops at the eighth grade where they have been taught by community members who, also, only attained an eighth-grade education.
2. Business management is taught early.
Each home has some type of cottage industry which supports their large family. They work together as a business meaning, you can tell a child what you want, then the message will be remembered and passed on to an adult. They quickly learn how to "upsell". "Corn will be coming in next week, so you want me to save you some?" Dealing with the public is common, encouraged and part of their education. Have you ever worked with the public? I have and it is HARD! People are crazy!
3. Everyone is expected to work, even the youngest.
One day I stopped at a house with cars lined up all the way down the driveway. The FIRST watermelons of the season were harvested and being brought in from the fields by the wagon loads. Evidently, the family had regular customers to whom they had written letters and they were in line to pick up their orders. (If you have never had a fresh, ripe watermelon right out of the field, you may not realize they are worth the drive.)
In the middle of the big pile of watermelons was a little girl, about two or three years old, rolling each one to the edge of the wagon for the older siblings to unload. She was having fun and it was a perfect job for someone her size. When she finished, she walked to the edge of the wagon and hopped into the arms of an older brother. He looked at her and flashed a big smile. He appreciated the work she had done since it saved him from bending over hundreds of times. She glowed. Her work was important.
4. Math is figured in their heads.
They do grab a pencil and paper to add up the big orders. Most carry cash in their pockets and can correctly make change without a calculator. I don't know if they can calculate the hypotenuse of a right triangle, perform integral or differential vector calculus, find a scalar triple product, or even evaluate one of the inhomogeneous Maxwell's equations. Neither can I. So what. They still make money.
5. When they speak, they look you straight in the eye, almost to the point of staring.
Never have I seen one glancing at his phone or checking for a text while talking over his shoulder as they walk past you like "English" children are known to do. Their grammar is good, not always perfect; and they do speak in complete sentences. Yeah...umm, and well, like...you know...uh, and like...whatever! Amish children do not speak slang.
6. They stop and think before replying to your question.
I don't know if it is due to English being their second language or if it is me asking confusing questions.
7. They know to pause and back away in awkward situations instead of being rude.
Once I observed a kind, older lady who was overcome with the cuteness of two little boys. She said, "You are so precious, I could just hug you." The two little boys paused, stepped back and hesitated. I laughed and said, "My goodness. You are a girl and you know how little boys dislike girls." She chuckled when she realized her mistake.
8. An Amish child NEVER interrupts an adult when they are speaking. They will rush up to a group of people then wait for permission to speak. This does not apply to the small children; however, I have seen the older siblings quietly shush them until there is a pause in the conversation.
9. Oh, how the families love to travel.
They travel the world visiting relatives as far north as Canada, way out west and even deep into the south. They will not drive cars but have no qualms about bus rides or airplane flights.
10. Adult responsibilities are assumed at a young age and it seems, they are mature enough to handle it. When each one graduates following the eighth grade, the boys assume some type of apprenticeship and girls learn to manage a household. Many of the women handle their own small business selling homemade goods.
There are negatives about their education:
1. They can't spell worth anything. Brocoli, broccili, tomatoe, zuchini, zuccinni, and I won't even attempt to show asparagus. But to be fair, none of them have auto-spell or spell-check. I am not much better without them either.
2. The schools stop at the eighth grade. I am not sure this is enough time to acquire sufficient information to choose the right occupation. If anyone ever leaves the community, finding a good paying job without a high school education will be difficult.
Why don't most of the children leave after they have grown? Why should they? Their childhoods are safe, protected and more fun than anyone can imagine. It is a life where they run free and play until collapsing from exhaustion. They know their extended family and neighbors step in to help when disaster strikes.
As they learn to work with the public, they deal with rude people, see others who can't walk ten feet from a car without a phone in their hands, or experience being left standing when a person rudely answers the phone in the middle of a conversation. They see misbehaving, spoiled, obnoxious children playing video games in the backseat of cars unable to even look up. In restaurants, they walk past televisions and hear what is being said, then they see magazines on the racks as they pass by the registers in grocery stores.
The Amish are not stupid neither are they naive. They have seen enough of our world to realize they want none of it.
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