Search

This study was designed to correct misperceptions many Americans have concerning one-room schools and Old Order Mennonite and Amish education in the United States. It was also intended to quantify the number of U.S. public and private one-room schools. The paper briefly reviews the history of Amish and Old Order Mennonite schools. Recent research has centered on the decline of public one-teacher schools in the United States but has ignored the growth of private one-room schools. In 1988 Amish and Old Order Mennonite schools comprised 41% of the one-room schools in the country and were increasing at the rate of about 15 new schools per year. Information in the study was gathered through literature review and surveys of state departments of education conducted in July and August of 1987. The study found that, as of 1987, there were 674 public and 605 private one-room schools in the United States. Eighty percent of the public one-room schools are located west of the Mississippi River. Data from the study indicate that one-room schools will be around for the foreseeable future, although the rate of reduction in the number of public one-room schools has declined since the 1950's. Tables show the following statistics: the number of one-room schools by state in 1950, 1985, 1986, and 1987; the number of public and private one-room schools by state in 1987; and the total number of one-room schools in 10 different years from 1930 to 1987. (TES)

Action research can promote cultural literacy by increasing teachers' awareness of their own values and perspectives and encouraging them to entertain perspectives different from their own. The paper describes how one prospective teacher, through classroom observation in a one-room Amish school, developed positive, culturally sensitive images and attitudes. (SM)

A comparative, interpretive analysis of the social organization of contrasting groups of rural youth from New Mexico ad Ohio was approached from an ethnomethodological perspective, relying on direct observation, intensive personal interviews, and key informants to produce a broader understanding of particular youth coping with their social contexts. Subjects were six Spanish American youth of Northern Taos County, New Mexico, and five youth from predominantly Mennonite and Amish Eastern Holmes County, Ohio. Informally organized same-sex peer groups formed the most valued social structure for both youth. Except for the academic aspects of school programs, all youth had little or no involvement in formal extracurricular or sport activities. Parents were a major problem to both groups, perceived as being both too strict and not caring. More intense parental-child conflict occurred in Holmes County, where parents were extreme in attempting to enforce rigid moral and social norms. While Holmes youth were more mobile, all had work roles permitting less leisure time than Taos youth. Alcohol and pot were easily attainable in Taos County and used from a relatively early age. Dramatic differences existed in religious orientations: Taos youth did not view themselves as religious and did not attend church regularly, while the opposite was true for Holmes youth. (NEC)

Two Central Illinois farming communities (one Amish and one non-Amish) were selected for this study on the basis of preliminary interviews with individuals knowledgeable about communities in this geographic area in which residents generally assist one another in times of need, rather than seek outside help. Residents of Amish communities and some other small, traditional, non-Amish (English) rural communities often prefer to provide various types of services, such as hot meals for invalids, housekeeping services for the frail, and transportation for themselves and their neighbors, rather than seeking such service provision through formalized programs, like Meals on Wheels and Home Health Aides. Three primary areas of interest in each interview were: (1) perception of need for services by older residents of the subject's community; (2) perception of means by which services presently were being provided to older residents; and (3) attitude toward utilization by older residents of services provided through organized, outside agencies/programs. Both communities felt that various kinds of services for/to the elderly "had been,""were being," and probably "always would be" most effectively provided by community residents, without reliance on externally initiated services. (AH)

This paper is a summary of a longer report on a 1982 study, "Amish and Conservative Mennonite Schools in Ohio: A Comparative Study Incorporating Ohio's Minimum Standards for Elementary Schools." The purpose of the study was to evaluate the growth and progress of Old Order Amish and Conservative Mennonite schools in Ohio since 1960, when a similar study was issued by the Ohio Legislative Services Commission. Interviews, research materials, surveys and general observations were incorporated into the study. The results of parent and teacher surveys are summarized briefly, as are changes in the law affecting culturally different pupils. Observations are made on the use and teaching of High German, Pennsylvania German, and English in Amish schools. It is concluded that Amish parochial schools and the Conservative Mennonite schools have experienced considerable growth since 1960 and that tensions between parochial and public school factions appear to have eased since then. In 1982, Amish schools showed evidence of more contact and cooperation with the public schools than did Conservative Mennonite schools. The quality of Amish and Conservative Mennonite parochial schools appears to have improved, as have relations between them and neighboring public schools. Also, public schools that have Amish or Mennonite pupils in their enrollments are becoming more sensitive to the needs of those pupils. A 23-item bibliography is included. (TES)