Amish beliefs are exemplified in their parochial schools. Children are taught to be diligent and work hard at the task at hand. "An idle mind is a devil's workshop" is very much in evidence when Amish children study and learn that which stresses the moral and the practical. The home setting emphasizes the utilitarian with its farm work and household chores that need to be completed. The school stresses the abstract with its objectives relating to the moral, ethical, and religious teachings. The abstract and the practical become one in everyday life's endeavors. A seventh-grade reading lesson at Pleasant Hill School in Bloomfield, Iowa focused on literal interpretation of content, and the content of the basal reader emphasized values such as honesty, truthfulness, hard work, thrift, decency, and courage to do what is right. (RS)