A Peek Inside a Mennonite Parochial School
Have you ever driven past a small schoolhouse on a rural road as you were taking a drive in the country and wondered what it might look like inside and who attends those schools?
In my job as rural community health worker at the Woolwich Community Health Centre I have had the privilege of being invited into these parochial schools to speak to the children about safety on the farm and at home. It is really like stepping into another world, quite different from the public schools.
The buildings are small and often set at the edge of a farm with a playground and baseball diamond outside. There will be a hitching post for teachers or visiting parents to tie up their horses. If the school community is large, there may be a second building alongside for the senior grades.
As I step inside, I am greeted with a colourful bulletin board with “Welcome to our Visitors” written on it. The classroom is decorated with lovely artwork, each one meticulously coloured or drawn. As I look around the room, I notice lists of jobs that the students are responsible for like blackboard cleaning, sweeping the floor or cleaning the washroom. Everyone takes their turn. There are usually plants on the windowsill, a bulletin board with newspaper clippings listing current events and the names of all the students. On the front board there is always the phrase “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”.
There will be the alphabet chart on the bulletin board, written in the old gothic script, with pictures relating to German words. They will learn to read their song and prayer books in high German. Although all the lessons are in English the children will speak a Pennsylvania Dutch German at home and among themselves in the playground. When they start school at age six, they will not know much English yet.
The desks may be the old wooden ones or some have a newer version. At the side of each desk will be a homemade bag where they store excess books and papers in that may not fit into the desk.
There will be 8 grades taught in each school, children attend Kindergarten for a few weeks in May to get them used to the school atmosphere. Most schools will have two teachers and the children are split into junior and senior grades. This may result in having a second building or even just a curtain between the two sections. Some grades will have more or less children, depending on the demographics of the year. If there is a child with special needs, another teacher will be employed to look after them. The teachers are usually women and are unmarried.
As I am getting ready to start with my lesson the two grades will amalgamate seamlessly. One pupil in each desk will slide over and another child will squeeze in alongside. This is so routine that there is hardly a sound as it happens.
I will talk to them about the farming world that they understand and they are always eager to answer and participate. If asked a question, they will raise their hand and wait to be called upon. They all know about doing chores, looking after younger siblings and have usually experienced some form of injury within their family. Since there are children from the same family attending the school, there may be a smirk or knowing glance when a popular story is told!
The subjects that the children are taught are similar to those that public schools teach, but are more basic and relate to the lives that they lead. The math class for the senior students may include writing receipts and doing bookkeeping entries. They learn about world history and geography. A map of the world is pulled down from above the black board to refer to foreign countries. The text books may be outdated, but the information is still relevant.
During the lunch hour or recess the children all go outside to play, regardless of the weather. In the summer there will be a baseball game underway and during the winter they are all skating. The parents take turns keeping the rink flooded and in good order. The teachers will join in the activities. When it is time to return to class, one of the teachers will ring the school bell and everyone heads back into the classroom. Their cheeks will be rosy and their clothes may be dirty, but everyone is ready to learn!
Parents are always welcome to visit the school to see what the children are learning. Although Mennonites pay the same taxes as everyone else, the teacher’s salary is paid by the parents and school community and there is a school board that administers the funds. Mothers take turns bringing a hot lunch for the children once a month.
In the winter the teacher will have to come to school very early to put wood into the furnace so that the room would be warmer once the children came. A student would have to replenish the supply during the day from the woodpile in the basement.
The children only attend school until they have reached the eighth grade, usually around age 14. After this time the boys will help their fathers at home on the farm or in the shop and the girls will help with the household chores and tending to younger siblings. They may go to help out at an older sister’s household or an aunt. In this way they learn the skills necessary for the time when they have a family of their own.
I am always so impressed after I leave these school sessions. It is truly a step back into the past when students respected their teachers and visitors were welcome. This is truly one of the best aspects of the work that I do and I hope that I will be able to continue once the pandemic is under control.
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