This chapter is called "Education: 'Prepare for Usefulness." The chapter starts with a short story about Lydia T. She moves and in the process switches from a public school to an Amish school. The Amish school was further ahead. She didn't fit in but managed to graduate. She remembers when the sex ed. chapter came in the science books the teacher skipped the whole thing.
Next is Elaine W. She goes to high school which is highly rare among Amish teens. Her older siblings went to school also. She remembers going to her brother's high school basketball games with her father. Now, she plays on her basketball team, but her parents don't watch her games.
Next is Emma M. She was mentioned in a previous chapter. She is the girl who wants to be a model. She's embarrassed that she doesn't have a diploma.
Next is Velda B. She went to public school. She talks about once borrowing a t-shirt and shorts from a non-Amish friend. She says she felt bizarre in those clothes. She questioned why she was different from the non-Amish kids. One summer, her Amish friends saw her wearing booty shorts, and she was then shunned. After middle school, she dropped out. She would listen to music in secret. She went on a date. Soon she began to feel like the Amish girl that she was pretending to be wasn't her.
Next was DeWayne C. It setups him that he didn't go to high school. He is confused by the ordnung. At sixteen, he started to party, got a haircut, and started to enjoy his freedom. He is now planning to get a GED.
Next is Eli K. He was mentioned in a previous chapter. He is the one who got in a car accident. His father helped him, and he's now a member of the Amish Church. He married Regina. A girl who he met in school. She was his only friend. Without school, they would have never met. Eli has started a new business. He wants to expand but doesn't know how.
Then, the book goes on talk about how Amish schools formed. In 1968, the case or Wisconsin v. Yoder began. Yoder was fined for having his children drop out at fifteen. He said this was a religious belief; therefore, he shouldn't be fined. Yoder won, and Amish children can now drop out. Today, there are more than 800 Amish schools. Amish school have become critical in Amish life. Kids who go to Amish school are more likely to return to the Church. The Amish curriculum has millions of references to God.
Next is Daisy Spangler. She has taught in public and Amish schools. She says Amish children are easier to teach. If they misbehave, you call their parent. The next day, the kid will for sure apologize.
Next is Susie Riehl. She is an Amish artist. She says Amish schools helped her with her art. She sells her art to tourist.
Next is Margaret M. She is a teacher at an Amish school. She is sad that her students won't be able to be individuals. She eventually quits her job and leaves the Church.
The Amish community thinks that Amish school is enough education. But the Amish schools are mostly focused on religion. Also, Amish kids graduate at fifteen. According to research, education during adolescence in needed. That's when you form opinions. Instead, Amish kids are go out in Rumspringa. Although in the mainstream world there is too much education, in the Amish world the only education is how to best follow Jesus Christ.
This chapter was somewhat boring when the book began to explain the history. Except for that, it was extremely interesting. I liked this chapter.
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