Students breaking Amish

IB+Anthropology+students+posing+in+front+of+a+traditional+Amish+school

Lindsay Zurawski

IB Anthropology students posing in front of a traditional Amish school

AHS’s IB Anthroplogy class got the opportunity to visit an Amish community. Both Anthropology teachers, Lindsay Zurawski and Holly Miller were able to organize a field trip for their students to go to Lancaster, PA. The juniors and seniors who are enrolled in the IB Anthropology class had recently gone over a chapter focused on the Amish in their curriculum. On April 23, 46 students were able to personally visit the Amish and observe their lifestyle.

During the school year, students had also been reading an ethnography called The Riddle of the Amish. An ethnography is a piece of writing on a certain culture and/or society in which the author becomes part of the culture and is able to address its customs to the world.

“I really enjoyed seeing a lot of things we learned in class about the Amish,” junior Iman Naieem said.

Students were able to visually witness the different lifestyles of Americans compared to the Amish. The Amish believe in having no technology or electricity whatsoever.

“During the trip, I was able to see people doing exactly what we do only without technology,” senior Chelsea Flores said.

When the Amish buy houses that include wiring, they have them immediately uninstalled and refurbished the house into a traditional Amish home. Students attending the field trip had to wake up bright and early to go on the charter bus and depart at 6 a.m. The three to four hour drive was accompanied by the film, Frozen, and snacks provided by the teachers. As students sat in the bus, they saw the transformation from a suburban environment to a traditional Amish community.

“It’s one thing to talk about the Amish losing farmland, it’s another to see housing developments and side businesses springing up in the middle of their community,” Zurawski said.

When students arrived at the Amish village, they were welcomed by an “English” tour guide who walked the students around a duplicate model of an Amish home. The tour guide explained to students how Amish people refer to Americans as “English” people. The students first went to an Amish museum that was designed like a traditional Amish community.

“I was really surprised to find out that they are not secluded and live among the ‘English’ people,” junior Tsiom Tadess said.

They later took a bus tour around a real Amish village and observed Amish houses, schools, farms and traditional buggies. Students were only able to take candid photos while on the bus of the Amish people because the Amish strictly believe in not taking posed photos. Students were amazed by how the Amish were able to continue to go through their daily lives without technology especially with how advanced the world is today.

“I got the chance to see how people [the Amish] maintain a lifestyle without technology,” Flores said. “It amazed me that throughout all these worldly changes they stay true to their culture.”

After, students were dropped off at a barn where they were able to feed horses and see an Amish buggy. There was an Amish owned store that students were able to buy their homemade soap, clothing, and food. There were Amish cashiers which enabled students to interact with them.

“All of the people were nice and it was a great experience,” Naieem said.

The final hours of the trip were spent at a center in the community called Kitchen Kettle Village where students ate lunch and walked around shops. The field trip gave students the chance to compare what they read and learned in class to real Amish life.

“We hope our students were able to take something of value away from the trip,” Zurawski said.