A Teacher’s Viewpoint

We pass on our convictions to our children by the things we tolerate.

Amish Proverb

The biggest reward to teaching is forming the bonds with the pupils,” says William Byler, a teacher of twenty-four children in a one-room schoolhouse in Millersburg, Ohio. “I live in the same neighborhood as my pupils. I keep track of former pupils. We stay in contact.”

William is a career teacher—a little unusual for the Amish. “Year after year after year,” he says, “we’re seeing more and more career teachers, rather than those who teach for a year or two.” More men, too. Twenty-five years ago, mostly women went into teaching in Holmes County, Ohio. Today, William says, there are 38 male teachers out of 409 (200 schools). He explains that the school boards are offering better wages so that teachers, like William—who loves to teach—can make a living and support a family.

Today about thirty-five thousand Amish youth attend some thirteen hundred private schools that end with eighth grade. Most Amish children attended public schools before 1950. The Amish were comfortable with small rural schools that were controlled by local parents; in fact, some Amish fathers served as directors. As small public schools consolidated into large districts in the late 1940s and 1950s, Amish parents protested. They felt they were losing control over the education of their children. They also viewed formal study beyond the eighth grade as unnecessary for farming. In 1972, the United States Supreme Court, in a case known as Wisconsin v. Yoder, ruled that Amish children could end their formal schooling at the age of fourteen.

In some states, a few Amish children still attend rural public schools, but the vast majority go to one- or two-room schools operated by Amish parents. A local board of three to five fathers organizes the school, hires a teacher, approves the curriculum, oversees the budget, and supervises maintenance. Schools play an important role in passing on Amish values, developing lifelong friendships, limiting exposure to the outside world, and preserving Amish culture across the generations.

William feels the best part of an Amish education is that students are more involved with parents, more connected to the community. “I see it in my own children. They have time to do things. Active activities, outdoor activities.” William says teaching is one of those jobs where the longer you’re at it, the more you realize all you don’t know. “I’ve learned more about nature from my pupils than they learn from me. Some of my pupils are avid birders. I’m a library, behind-the-desk kind of teacher. They’re teaching me!”

Pupils in an Amish schoolhouse learn how to work together as one. “There’s constant reinforcement of what they’ve learned,” William says. “The younger ones hear the older ones’ lesson, and the older ones get their learning reinforced by listening to the younger children.” He likes to be imaginative in his teaching, to keep school from being dull. “We enjoy doing unique things, but not too often. Otherwise, it loses being special.”

The focus of the Amish classroom accents cooperative activity, obedience, respect, diligence, kindness, and the natural world.

William is keenly aware of the differences between Amish and public education by the catalogs he receives from educational publications. “How in the world,” he quips, “does a teacher use thirty-six ‘You’re #1!’ stickers?”

Road Map: Getting There from Here

William made an ironic comment: “What does a teacher do with thirty-six ‘You’re #1!’ stickers?” The need to feel special—to be admired or envied—can become like an addiction. It doesn’t satisfy for long. But feeling loved does. It’s so important that we give our children assurance of God’s unconditional love.

William said the best part of an Amish education is that students are more involved with parents. Parents are their child’s first and best teacher. “More is caught than taught,” is a common saying that points to the important role a parent plays. Remember that the next time you feel insignificant as a parent.

According to William, the Amish believe that educating the young is a community responsibility. That attitude should be—can be—ours as well! One Nevada family created a book drive and donated hundreds of books to the elementary school library. Another couple found out that their grandchildren’s school principal was having surgery and organized a hugely successful donate-your-pennies drive to help the principal with medical bills. A California dad with now-grown children still donates to his children’s high school athletic booster club—just out of appreciation. He attends games too. There are all kinds of ways—large and small—to encourage communities to get involved in education. This school year, look for one thing you can do to get involved. Everyone benefits when neighborhoods care about their children.

One mother asked her grade one son to name his favorite subject, now that he had a bit of experience in school life. The honest little boy, after giving it some thought, said, “Lunch!”

—Scribe from Seymour, Missouri

Public schools are in session again. Many mothers are so glad to have the children “out of their hair.” We wish to keep them longer.

—Scribe from Salem, Kentucky