Earlier in the week I received a phone call from a lovely lady who teaches on a Hutterite colony. Ok so it's just a Hutterite colony to me, but the one that is near my hometown (Byemoor/Endiang area...Go ahead a Google where those places are because I am pretty sure no one is familiar with the hamlets) where I grew up, so in a sense I am no "stranger" of knowing who Hutterites are. Anyways, the teacher (I will call her Dana) noticed I am on the sub-list for Clearview and even though I did not check off the colony school to sub at, she figured she would ask me anyways, hence the phone call. Dana stated that she needed a sub on September 27th because she was going to use one of her nine prep days that she is allowed a year (so about one a month, and this helps her catch up, plan, etc. for her school) and she wanted to try someone new and to see if I would be interested in taking over for her mat leave this Novmeber/December. Even though the Byemoor Colony is just over an hour drive for me, I said I am not picky on the work I can be called for so I agreed. Dana did ask me if I was familiar with the Hutterite culture, and I said I know some things but it has been a long time since I have been around a colony. That was good enough and she instructed me that class started at 9am so come there for 8:45am, which was just fine for me.
I just wanted to take a moment and explain who Hutterites are and my experiences. For anyone who is not sure who they are, Hutterites are communal people who live on colonies around North America whom live and work together normally in an agriculture setting---they work together for the common good of the group. They have common beliefs with Mennonites (Amish as well, since the Amish stem from Mennonites) which goes in a religious category of "Anabaptists". Historically they are an immigrant population that moved from Germany in search of freedom and came to Canada in around World War I. At the colonies, you will notice that their first language is not English, but it is a type of German. When the children are young they go to "English school" to learn English, but at home and on the colony, they mostly speak German.
Unlike the Amish, Hutterites do you some technology, especially in the farming industry: tractors, combines, milking machines for their dairies, the use electricity. But sometimes (depending on the Elders and the rules), they do not have radios, TVs, Internet, computers---things that are not needed for day-to-day life. Of course as I said, colonies differ from each other depending on if the Elders allow for such amenities. Some will allow and some will be very strict.
Hutterites wear tradition clothes, unlike us Westerners. The women will wear their hair up in such a fashion, under a scarf, and they will usually somber colour dresses that they make themselves. The men usually wear said colours as well, such as black pants and button-up shirts, which are usually sewn at home too.
For working on the colony, the men do many of the outside labour such as working the land, cattle, dairy, etc. while the women do the domestic work such as tending to their large communal garden, cook, clean, and help sell their produce for others around the community. I remember going to the Byemoor Colony with my Grandma and we would always find the one lady named Suzie and she would sell us eggs and produce. You will now see many colonies participate in Farmers' Markets and sell the vegetables, eggs, meat, etc. that they have excess of to make a profit. Also, they will sell quilts, gloves, socks, wood furniture, bedding, and the such, which are made of good quality.
As for Education, children as young as the age of two go to preschool (normally "German School") and when they are allowed through the government is when they start "English School", which is around five-years-old. The children go to school for Kindergarten to Grade 9 (or until they are 15-years-old). When a child turns 15, the child leaves school and works on the colony. Depending on the colonies again, some children do go on to high school and even college/university/trade school and with their education they can better their colony. The school is funded by the colony but the staff is normally done by the local division.
If you are interested in more of learning about Hutterites, I took some of my info from www.hutterites.org which is a very helpful website! I am told the book I am Hutterite by Mary-Ann Kirkby is an excellent read as well!
Anyways, back to my day at subbing at the colony!
I have not been on a colony since I was young. At my school at Byemoor in Grade 6, we had a tour of the colony and when I was a bit older I might've come for produce with Grandma, so it has been a LONG time since I have been on a colony. I was nervous to be going back.
When arrived I was very early (just after 8am when I rolled into the colony)! I parked by the place I thought was the school (the playground gave it away) and I waited until closer to the time. 8:30am, the children left German School and all eyed me up on the way by. I definitely felt like more than an intruder/stranger more than I did coming into the colony. I asked the man who walked out after the students if this was the school and he said it was and continued on...did not say anything else nor really greeted me. At about 8:40am I tried one door and it was open but looked more as a church, so when I came out, a young boy on a home made truck scooter was playing and I asked him which door was the school and he told me which one. I climbed the stairs and hesitantly went in.
When I first walked in, I was in the boot room/bathroom area and off to the left was a small hallways that lead to a closed door on each side and then an open area with desks for students and one for a teacher. On the far back wall were instructions from Wednesday's class on an "old fashion" black board! On the walls there was some little posters on how to behave, student work, and one with their names on apples. The desks are the old style green metal and wood seats and desks that I use to sit in when I was really young and the desks were of different sizes. The smaller ones were off to the left of the teacher desk and the bigger ones off to the right. I had a big, sneaky suspicion that I was going to be teaching everyone, which scared me because I am not prepared to teach that many grades. I was taught from Grade 1-9 in split grades so I was trying to quickly remember how I was taught so it would help me later.
Thankfully Dana walked in. On her prep days, she likes to be at the school and get work done, than other colony teachers whom will do their work from home. We greeted each other and she gave me the lesson plan and explained a few things to me. Fridays are pretty "easy" days---they do art, some spelling/grammar, a little bit of math, story after lunch, and the last hour (if they behaved) the students could play games. The teacher confirmed that she does teach Grade 1-9...thankfully there are only >20 students! It is still really busy though. She also said she will help me here and there so I would not be so overwhelmed (YAY!).
As we got ready, some students made their way in. The one girl was asked to ring the bell (think of the old school hand bell for a bell...) and let the others know class will begin soon. The little girl did as she was told and rang the bell. The students came in quickly, removed their footwear, and came and sat in their desks. Dana introduced me and I said a few things about myself---where I lived, animals I had, first year teaching, and all that stuff. Dana started the timer since there is no bell system like we have in our modern schools. The older ones worked on their spelling/grammar books and I went to help the Grade 2s with their math. I had to read the instructions to the students and help them with counting tallies. A few I checked their work and helped them correct their said work. I had them count the "tick" marks and even used my fingers to help them out. Some had some problems comprehending the English instructions so I helped them out. I should add, that in English School they are only allowed to speak English, not German, so I had to be a English cop and tell the students (older ones especially) to talk in English. Also, when they start at English School, the students hardly know English so that is a challenge for the English teachers to overcome. I guess I can tie this back to ESL learners as I would have in a "normal" classroom...but all of the students are ESL learners. Good thing I majored in a Second Language so I know some tricks to help.
When the timer went, the older ones went on to their handwriting books and I worked with the young ones again with their letters. It seems that I spend more time with the young students than the older ones. It is also a rule if anyone has a question, ask someone else to help (an older student usually), skip the question and go on and come back to it later, or wait until the teacher is not busy with the young ones. I kind of felt like I was cheating on the time with the older students and not giving them a fair amount to instructions.
At 10:30am it was recess and I almost forgot about it because I am so use to a bell system in schools! I did not realize until then that I am trained on a bell, not a timer/clock. I got carried away with helping my grade 2's and almost lost track of the time. So I promptly let them have recess, and instructed that they could NOT go home unless they asked.
After recess at 10:50-ish, the students came back in after I rang the hand bell and students worked on math problem cards, and I marked the spelling/grammar books. I noticed that I did not record anything for marks and I asked my teacher about it and she said just make them do the corrections. It was interesting experience for me.
When students were done, they were allowed to have free time where most coloured the printed colouring sheets that the teacher printed off earlier or read a book. Again I was the English Patrol..."English please." I do not understand German so it is a bit rude, but I also understand (especially for the younger ones) that you just don't know the work in the second language and have to revert back to your first. I get it! I am a FSL teachers and I even have to search for words in my second language. But to have a taste of their own medicine, I spoke in French. The students thought that was kind of cool, so it kind of back fired on me, but it was not a big deal either. I had some students ask me where I learned French and the like. So they were kind of interested. Later a few girls asked me what a word in English was in French. I had my oldest student Becky*(not her real name) say to me, "Comment allez-vous ?" I replied in French that I was fine and you? But what Becky said was all she knew, which was ok.
As the day progressed, we had lunch where they wait until after the men eat until they were allowed to go to the meal hall and have their lunch. Men, women, and children ate separately...that is just their culture. So when the men left, Becky said it was time for lunch so they went for lunch and my teacher and I stayed and had our lunch at the school while we chit-chatted.
The afternoon was art where the students were beginning to make a large paper quilt that was in the theme of fall. 22 squares had to be done with traced out leaves, 10 were scarecrows, and 10 where trees in fall colours. We made 10 groups, where some old the older ones were paired with a younger one and had to help. This made for some tension. You see.....man of the students were siblings with someone. So I had to patrol for sibling rivalry and speaking English. The older ones were always reverting back to German to talk to the younger students. I told them to speak in English, and the one older boy Jeremy* said they don't understand. Yeah, I get it, but the younger ones won't learn English if they speak in German all the time either. So the older ones tried. It was interesting to watch. Some of the older girls, Jilly*, Hannah*, and Sarah* showed me their beautiful colouring job on their scarecrows. This paper quilt was going to look great when they are all done their pieces.
The inevitable clean-up time came around, and I definitely noticed my culture to their own. It was VERY hard to get the boys to pick of the paper or even sweep---"it was women's work!" I had to bite my tongue a bit, but everyone cleaned up. A couple boys washed the chalk boards, some boys and girls swept the floor (trying to explain not all the paper was garbage was a bit of a battle), and Becky washed the desks.
When the room was clean and the garbage changed, they had free time. I unlocked the game cupboards (as I was told, if things are not locked up, they go walking) and the all chose what they got to so. The stack cups became a favourite. They raced each other on stacking and un-stacking cups. Then at about 15 mins to home time, I had to shut them down because two brothers started to throw cups at each other. I became firm and told them to clean up and put everything away. I was balked at, but I explained that two boys ruined it for everyone---the cups are not meant to be thrown at each other. When the games were locked away, they all sat in their desks. I said again that we all sit here until 3pm. I did not make them sit silently, but I also did not have them talk to their neighbours. I had them ask me questions. I really enjoyed answering how much land I had and what we did on our land because they understood my answers. My husband and I own a 1/4 section of land and we rent 83 acres to the guy we bought from and he grew barley this year. A girl asked me if my husband and I had children, and I said we just had our dogs and a cat right now. I understood where she was coming from because once they are my age (28), the girls should be married already and have at least a couple kids by now. Different culture we both live in. 3pm rolled in and I sent them home. I gathered my belongings and my homemade buns that were given to me after lunch (and they were delicious!), and locked up the school and said my goodbyes to some of the older girls that stuck around.
I actually had a great day with the Hutterite students. I do look forward to coming back next month and seeing them again. I thought for most cases they were well mannered and they were still kids! By some of the tween age, kids here are already thinking they are adults and don't play. For them...they still play and act like kids. And the attitude is different too. It was definitely a good experience. I became attached to them. I have keys for their now, so I will be seeing more of my little Hutterite kids.
Now off to a French Immersion school on Tuesday! Teaching some grade 2s and 3s! I don't think they can out talk me in French so I feel ok with that. (ha!)
