By Lisa Stahl
School is out for the year. But is it really? For the graduates of 1999, their years of schooling is over, but the school they enter now, is the rest of their lives.
What will I do with the rest of my life? What job will I have? When I started high school or college, what was my goal to become when Ill be finished? Do I still have that goal?
Those are questions a lot of graduates will ask themselves.
It reflects a memory when I graduated. In high school, my goal had been to become a journalist, but on my own time. I had made plans to write novels focused on my sect in my space and time, mostly as something to entertain myself. The only people who actually get to read any other projects other than articles for the paper are my family members and close friends.
Our colony school had one graduate this year. The oldest pupil graduated from grade school, with plans for high school done at the colony school through correspondence.
Correspondence courses for high school was made an option at our school about 10-15 years ago. Our parents disapproved of us attending high school in town. But since they still favored higher education than the eighth grade, they agreed to taking correspondence courses.
Its worked very well. Weve also been given the option to pick the school we wish to go with, since not all schools provide the same selective courses.
Though its very much encouraged by our parents, who are also board members, the decision is eventually up to the student.
Jobs for Hutterite graduates compared to non-Hutterite graduates are very different. When a person graduates in the colony they have a pretty good idea what youll be doing.
All jobs involve physical labor, and the person is put in a position where their interest lies and also where it will benefit the colony most.
Outside the colony, job variety is so much bigger. But with variety, there also comes surprises. While on the colony job they cant fire you for making a mistake you still get a second chance. Outside the colony its not always like that. The choices are different. Its different and I cant explain.
But its that difference why Id never choose to live anywhere else or a different lifestyle then the one I have now.
