16 Commonly Held Amish Myths Busted!
10. Myth - They Lack Education
The Amish have their own schools and as might be expected the curriculum does concentrate on simpler topics including teachings from the Good Book. However, the Amish are renowned for their excellent woodworking, building and architectural design skills as well as extended knowledge of raising animals, agriculture and farming techniques.
The Amish also speak English very well but when conversing with each other they communicate in what is known as Pennsylvania Dutch and so are at the very least bilingual. Therefore they're in some ways more educated than the majority of Americans in terms of language and basic survival.
Pennsylvania Dutch may sound like a strange, guttural language on hearing it but to some it might be very familiar. They're actually talking in a variation of German, the clue being the Dutch portion of the name (the word Dutch derives from Deutschland). UK school kids who opted to take a couple of years of German would therefore find it relatively easy to understand their native tongue despite some dialect differences.
As a footnote, it's more than a little ironic that a steadfastly pacifist people who choose a simple technology-free life should speak the language of a nation known for incredible technological advancements... and that whole repeatedly starting world wars thing.