Consumer Education for Modern Society: The Analysis of Amish Health Textbooks

Abstract

This paper analyzed Amish health textbooks from the viewpoints of human development, life-indicators, Amish and American health areas, and physical education Amish schools teach reading, writing, arithmetic, and health as the main subjects in an eight year curriculum. Health is an important subject in Amish schools since science and home economics are not taught. Amish health education classes teach values related to living a healthy life, and these are important in the formation of Amish identity. Health textbooks include health issues along with physical education, science, and home economics content. Therefore, Amish children can learn more than only heath issues through health textbooks. This approach may be useful for contemporary education, where the allotted time for consumer education is limited at schools.