The Amish Children and Education

Most Amish famlies, if they are blessed with any children, will have anywhere from 8 to 12 children. In this community, is not uncommon to see families with sixteen or even more children. This is because the Amish are not allowed to practice any type of birth control. There are a few childless couples, however, and the incidence of this is increasing for the Amish as it is for other couples in America. The cause of this is unknown, however, it would not surprize me if it is due to the toxicity of our environment and they are not immune to that either.

Amish parents are extremely devoted, and loving. Mothers usually breast feed their infants until they are about 6 months to a year old. Cloth diapers are used almost exclusively. They like the old-fashioned thin weave square diapers that your fold up. This is because they are easy to dry. Infants, both girls and boys, are dressed in little cotton dresses. Little boys are not put into pants until they begin toilet training which is usually around 18-24 months. It is interesting to see even the tiniest little babies dressed up almost the same as their mother with the black cap and all.

Parents are strict, but also attentive and patient. I almost never see an Amish parent "snap" at a child who is misbehaving in a store or social gathering. Instead, I have witnessed a mother pick up her young toddler who was having a tantrum, quietly excuse herself and remove him from the room. I watched out the window as she spoke calmly, softly, and lovingly to the toddler to settle him down. Later, they returned to the room and continued their social visit with the other mothers and children. There is a strong emphasis on cooperation and getting along. I think this helps. Children are not encouraged to be individualists or high achievers and that makes for a less stressful time for the children in many ways.

The Amish have their own one-room schools with about 30 scholars per school. Often, this amounts to only about 6-7 families, since each family might have 4-5 students enrolled at the same time. All families in the community pay a school tax which goes towards maintaining the school, purchasing supplies, and paying a modest salary to the Amish teacher. (Often a young woman or man who has not yet married, or perhaps an older gentleman who is no longer able to do manual labor.)

Children start Grade 1 at age 7 and graduate after the completion of Grade 8. School education beyond Grade 8 is not allowed. The subjects taught in school include old-fashioned Aritmetic, English, German, Geography, and Spelling.

However, young folk continue to learn as they work side by side "apprenticing" with their parents. Boys learn how to build houses, farm, shoe horses, and much more. Girls learn quilting, canning, sewing clothes, gardening, and more. Having watched my own two children go through high school and even college and somehow graduating without any REAL transferable skills in the job place, I often wonder if maybe the Amish realize something we have lost. Parents, not bound by company timeclocks, have time to pass along their wisdom and skills to their children. Parents, not the schools or teachers, have the primary responsiblity of educating their children.