School Time

School is in full swing and Amish children are no different than others elsewhere, they have homework and multiplication tables to learn.   Most of the tiny schools are strategically placed in the central part of a church district so that no child has to walk more than a mile to class.  A bicycle would make the trip even shorter.  These two Amish girls are on their way home from school on a rainy afternoon last week. Most Amish schools stress the basics of reading, writing, and math. Science is tilted towards a creationist philosophy.  This is the South Mount Hope School south of the town.  This is a very typical looking Amish school in Holmes County.  The school below looked more like a fall-out shelter than a school, kind of a funky cinder block feature. This school is northwest  of the community of Mount Hope and is call the "West Mount Hope School."  The Amish population in the area is only increasing and some project that within the next 10 years Holmes County will become the first "majority Amish" county in the country.