Mennonite Schools and Education
The following is a very brief look at the Mennonites' educational system. Sometime in the future I will do a more detailed and descriptive article:
Nearly all Mennonite children attend a private school for their primary education, then a few move on to public school for the secondary. The latter depends on the parent's belief and other religious regulations. Some KG, Beachy and other Conservative Mennonites subscribe to online courses for their children.
Old Colony and Old Order
In Shipyard, Little Belize and other colonies up north, the teacher is often a male and students are taught High German instead of English. Their education consists a lot of memorizing and reciting. School does not follow the regular season like the rest of the country. It is held year round with a month's break here and there. Text books and other curriculum is limited.
The Old Order from central and south Belize are more open and liberal in their schooling. English is taught, the teacher is usually a young volunteer, children sit according to grade. Books are from conservative educational printing companies in Canada and US. They also do not follow the regular school year of other schools in Belize.
KG, Beachy Amish, Holdeman and other Conservative Mennonites
These 4 groups follow practically the same school system. Teachers are volunteers and may be man or woman, single or married, Grades 1 to 8 are given, and school is usually only for the children of church members though all 4 groups make exceptions now and then. The KG school begins in August and ends in March; they do not observe government holidays, only Christmas and Easter. Beachy, Holdeman and conservative Fellowship schools begin in September and end in April. (Actually some of these churches have extended the school period by a few more weeks.) Many of them do keep government holidays. These 3 churches use books from A Beka Book, Rod & Staff and Christian Light Publications, by far the most popular.
Other Mennonites
Those Mennonites under the label of "liberal" have more options available for their children. They can enroll them in a private school owned by any conservative church, government school, private non-conservative, home-school or mission school which is usually taught by volunteers of different conservative groups. Depending on the parents' religious views, that's where the child will attend. Also, these Mennonites push for higher education for their children, such as enrolling them in local universities or allowing them to study in neighboring countries.
Higher Education
Secondary or higher education is not allowed in Old Colony and Old Order groups due to the belief that it is sinful and to keep their young generation from joining the world. The other 4, Beachy, KG, Holdemans and Conservative Mennonites are more flexible with various opinions on how much is too much. The Holdemans in Belize comply with the government requirement of 8 levels of schooling, known as Grade 1 to 8 among Mennonites and Infant 1/Preschool to Standard 6 among public schools, while some Beachy, Conservative Mennonites and KG do online high school for their students.
An interesting fact: Children who study in private schools owned by the Holdemans, KG, Beachy and Conservative Mennonites will usually know more, do better at exams, be more literate and have better behaviour by the time they're done with Grade 8 than a student who comes out of Standard 6 from a government school. I said usually because it's not always like that. There are many non-Mennonite private schools in Belize that do an excellent job of teaching and training children too. What a government high school teaches students for 3 years is what Mennonite students learn from Grade 6 to Grade 8 (with the exception of the Old Colonists).
Nearly all Mennonite children attend a private school for their primary education, then a few move on to public school for the secondary. The latter depends on the parent's belief and other religious regulations. Some KG, Beachy and other Conservative Mennonites subscribe to online courses for their children.
Old Colony and Old Order
In Shipyard, Little Belize and other colonies up north, the teacher is often a male and students are taught High German instead of English. Their education consists a lot of memorizing and reciting. School does not follow the regular season like the rest of the country. It is held year round with a month's break here and there. Text books and other curriculum is limited.
The Old Order from central and south Belize are more open and liberal in their schooling. English is taught, the teacher is usually a young volunteer, children sit according to grade. Books are from conservative educational printing companies in Canada and US. They also do not follow the regular school year of other schools in Belize.
KG, Beachy Amish, Holdeman and other Conservative Mennonites
These 4 groups follow practically the same school system. Teachers are volunteers and may be man or woman, single or married, Grades 1 to 8 are given, and school is usually only for the children of church members though all 4 groups make exceptions now and then. The KG school begins in August and ends in March; they do not observe government holidays, only Christmas and Easter. Beachy, Holdeman and conservative Fellowship schools begin in September and end in April. (Actually some of these churches have extended the school period by a few more weeks.) Many of them do keep government holidays. These 3 churches use books from A Beka Book, Rod & Staff and Christian Light Publications, by far the most popular.
Other Mennonites
Those Mennonites under the label of "liberal" have more options available for their children. They can enroll them in a private school owned by any conservative church, government school, private non-conservative, home-school or mission school which is usually taught by volunteers of different conservative groups. Depending on the parents' religious views, that's where the child will attend. Also, these Mennonites push for higher education for their children, such as enrolling them in local universities or allowing them to study in neighboring countries.
Higher Education
Secondary or higher education is not allowed in Old Colony and Old Order groups due to the belief that it is sinful and to keep their young generation from joining the world. The other 4, Beachy, KG, Holdemans and Conservative Mennonites are more flexible with various opinions on how much is too much. The Holdemans in Belize comply with the government requirement of 8 levels of schooling, known as Grade 1 to 8 among Mennonites and Infant 1/Preschool to Standard 6 among public schools, while some Beachy, Conservative Mennonites and KG do online high school for their students.
An interesting fact: Children who study in private schools owned by the Holdemans, KG, Beachy and Conservative Mennonites will usually know more, do better at exams, be more literate and have better behaviour by the time they're done with Grade 8 than a student who comes out of Standard 6 from a government school. I said usually because it's not always like that. There are many non-Mennonite private schools in Belize that do an excellent job of teaching and training children too. What a government high school teaches students for 3 years is what Mennonite students learn from Grade 6 to Grade 8 (with the exception of the Old Colonists).
