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In some Old Order schools, teachers are the clear authority inside the classroom but immediately lose that position when they step outside. They play on the playground as part of the children's group rather than as supervisors. They may be "Teacher" in the classroom but they are always greeted by just their first name in the community. The point here is that education is only one part of life. It isn't the main drag. The community and its shared values are far higher in priority. In my upper–middle–class suburb maybe we need to rethink this. (How does our tendency to extravagantly honor admission into Ivy League schools square with valuing each child as God's unique, loved creation? Which parent at my church could calmly report "my son is failing fifth grade, but becoming a kinder person"?)
In some Old Order Amish schools all education is in German. In other schools all classes are conducted in English and German is relegated to a two–hour session each Friday. Some Amish believe that "education prepares our children to live in our Amish community"; others would say that "education prepares our children to make a living in the outside world." Where is your local Christian school on this spectrum?
Some Old Order Amish schools intentionally choose curriculum like McGuffey's Eclectic Primer, first published in 1881. Others teach from "modern" texts created in the 1950's. The college textbook I require is now in it's 8th edition, each with very minimal changes from its predecessor, apparently a way to make used textbooks obsolete so new ones can be sold and create profit for the publisher. How modern is modern? What qualities do I really want in the books my children use?
Old Order schools are the locus of their children's introduction to the non–Old Order world. What should my local school, public or private, teach my kids about the world?
Whether as a window into the world of Old Order Amish or as a source of relevant questions about education, this is a good read.
O'Ann Steere is an instructor of psychology at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. She has been involved in providing mental health care to missionaries for nearly 20 years.
Copyright © 2007 Books & Culture.Click for reprint information.
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