Figure 1.--Here is a boy at one of the Hutterite schools. Some of the mth work i on the blackboard.

Formal education of Hutterite children begins with preschool (klanaschuel), at about age 2 years. It is at this age, that child care shifts from the parents to the community. Klanaschuel is typically handeled by older Hutterite women and doesn’t follow any kind of formal curriculum. Primary education typically begins at age 5 years begin with Kindergarten. Here the curriculum basically follows provincial/state guidelines with add ons inclusing German language and religion. Shooling ended with grade 8 uears (about age 13-14 years of age). This was in the lare 19th and early-20th century when scooling ended in rural schools. Most Hutterite communities have their own on-sdite primary schools. We notice the Riverview Hutterite Colony School in Saskatchewan near Saskatoon in Canada. It is fescribed as a residential school for both boys and girls up through the age of 15 years. We didn't understand why a Hutterite community would have residential schools rather than the children living at home. This is a misunderstanding. It means refers to the communal arrahement od the schools. A reader writes, "I assume that boarding makes control of the children's lives and schedules easier to enforce, but I'm not sure. Maybe the distances have something to do with it. The children seem to do farm work when not in the classroom. They seem to have fairly strict rising and going-to-bed rules in the Riverview school." Few Hutterite children went beyound 8th grade. This has change in recent years, reflecting in part the increasing utility of technology in agriculture. This is especially the case as Hutterite colonies focus on higher end agricultural products. The different colonies differ on the level of technology permitted. More and more Hutterite are now earing high school diplomas (grade 12). Hutterite schools ae set up for geade 1-8, but using tekevision, they can now do secondary-level work. Afeweeven have university degrees. They also prsure voational work including: plummimg, electricals, and carpentry. Both Schmiedeleut and Dariusleut now graduate their childrem to grade 12 level. About about 2/3s of Schmiedeleut colonies provide at grade 12 progtams. We note both Dariusleit and Schmiedeleut schools. Hutterite schools stress hard work, often farming skills, but tractors and modern mechanical implements are used. Children, if old enough, are taught to drive cars. Basic academic subjects are taught, languages, arthimetic, history, and so forth, but there is an emphasis on the practical. A strict rule of life obtains in Hutterite schools and infractions of rules often result in public punishment, pupils being required to stand up for an hour or so in church as examples of those who, for instance, have talked back to their parents or teachers, have disobeyed their elders, or have been dishonest. Once this involved corporal punishment, but dicipline has soften in recent years.

Created: 8:40 PM 3/15/2011
Last updated: 8:33 AM 8/28/2026