Vocabulary

 

 
 
 

Video (First 7:00 )

 

 
 
 
 

Transcript

 
They lead their lives almost the same way they did 300 years ago. The Amish are a religious community in the U.S. that originated in Europe.

Their rules are called Ordnung and include adult baptism and, at times in strict communities, the refusal of technological advancements. They wear old-fashioned clothes and head coverings, and the men have long beards.

Spending time with the Amish is like delving into the past.

Enos Slabaugh, Amish Farmer: “My name is Enos Slabaugh. I am married to Martha Miller Slabaugh, and we have seven children. We are Old Order Amish and we live on a 94-acre farm.

We try to stay out of technology; we try to stay away from that as much as we can. The more you keep away from it, the better we like it. Just too much technology brings problems.”

Forty-year-old Enos is a farmer and a blacksmith. His children are between 5 and 15 years old. The Slabaugh family lives in Middlefield, Ohio, in Geauga County, home of one of the world’s largest Amish communities.

Enos Slabaugh, Amish Farmer: “The Old Order Amish is horse-oriented. We don’t use vehicles or tractors; it’s just horses. So yeah, that’s been a long-time tradition, using horses as our way of life. The way we hitch these horses together to work three of them abreast is all what my dad taught me. You know, from a young boy, we did it.”

Though it’s 5:30 a.m., the two eldest sons, 12-year-old Marcus and 9-year-old Myron, are helping their father in the stables before school.

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Life according to the Ordnung means no cars, television, or computers. Electricity comes only from batteries and generators.

Enos owns 21 horses, which he loans out for farm work and transport. Besides that, he lives from selling his harvest and from his work as a blacksmith.

Enos Slabaugh, Amish Farmer: “Whatever feed I can raise, then I don’t have to buy. It saves me $3,000 a month if I raise this. I got to thinking about this — well, $3,000 a month, yeah, it’s well worth it. That’s $36,000 a year. That’s literally like making money. If you save that, it’s money you don’t have to spend, so you can get by cheaper. It’s well worth it.”

Marcus and Myron are always there to help.

Enos Slabaugh, Amish Farmer: “They have to do their chores in the morning. They get up early in the morning, feed all the animals, and get ready to go to school, and then come back home and do it all over again.”

School starts at 8:30 and is 3 km away.

Enos Slabaugh, Amish Farmer: “Respect and behavior are taught at a very small age. That will lead them through the rest of their life. What you teach them when they’re young is what stays with them all their life.”

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There are 350 private Amish schools across Ohio. The Amish pay school tax that allows them to run private schools with their own teachers. Whether at home, in places of worship, or at school in Middlefield, people enjoy singing together, but only religious songs.

There’s only one class which teaches children between 5 and 14. The Bible takes up most of the lesson, explains teacher Kathleen Slabaugh.

Kathleen Slabaugh, School Teacher: “Well, we usually do well in the morning. We sing first; we say the Lord’s Prayer and sing. Then they usually do their writing first, spelling and arithmetic, vocabulary. After lunch, we usually do English, geography, and that about ties it up. German is us the first thing in the morning also.”

After the eighth grade, when children turn 14, their education is over. But what if students want to continue learning?

Kathleen Slabaugh, School Teacher: “I don’t know. I’ve never heard of someone who liked to be a doctor, pilot, or something. Factories, carpenters, masons — pretty much anything.’

To Kathleen, the Bible has utmost priority.

Kathleen Slabaugh, School Teacher: “It’s very important. That’s the main reason that we want our school, because we’re still allowed to teach them the Bible and teach them about God.”

Becoming an Amish teacher doesn’t involve lengthy studies in higher education. They begin as a teaching assistant, accompanying lessons for four years.

Beyond that, there are several private courses on offer as well as meetups where teachers can exchange experiences.

Yes, just like any other school, everyone loves recess.

After school, kids have chores awaiting them at home. Twelve-year-old Raymond Slabaugh is no different.

We just go home, and it’s basically whatever our dads and moms have us to work, or sometimes if I felt it. But no, usually we don’t have homework.

The Amish preserve centuries-old traditions.

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Questions

 
Amish. Are the Amish no different from mainstream Americans? Did the Amish community develop in the US?

Mennonites. Amish families usually consists a mother, a father, and two children. True or false?

Evangelicals, Baptists. Do the Amish use washing machines, microwave ovens, watch TV, listen to Pop Music on radios and stereos, and surf the internet?

Catholics. Sleek and stylish new cars are status-symbols among the Amish. Is this right or wrong?

Methodists. Do Amish children spend most of their time playing with toys, playing games and sports?

Eastern Orthodox. Most Amish women and men work in offices, shops, and large corporations. Is this correct or incorrect?

Anglican Church, Episcopalians. Do they buy most of their clothes, furniture, and food from department stores and supermarkets; or do they make and produce much of their needs?

Presbyterians. Do Amish children attend public schools with non-Amish pupils?
 
 
 
Pentecostals. Are there Amish or Amish-like communities in your country?

Seventh Day Adventists. Do some outsiders find the Amish lifestyle “alluring” or even “romantic”? What may be the benefits or advantages of the Amish way of life?

Quakers. What are the drawbacks or disadvantages?

Unitarian-Universalists. My friends and I would like to become Amish, or join the Amish. Yes or no?

Latter Day Saints, Mormons. What might happen in the future?

Jehovah’s Witnesses What if anything could or should the Amish and outsiders do?