Ivory Tower Foundation

The Ivory Tower Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to assisting individuals from the Amish, Mennonite and Hutterite religions who wish to leave and pursue a university education.

These individuals face unique challenges since, in many instances, their parents and communities do not allow children to attend school beyond the eighth grade.¹

In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court, issued their decision for Wisconsin v. Yoder, which allowed Amish parents the right to keep their children out of school after the eighth grade on the basis of religious freedom.

The idea behind the formation of the Ivory Tower Foundation is that, for the exercise of true religious freedom to occur, individuals must have options beyond those provided by their secluded religious groups.²

In his book "Growing up Amish", Richard A. Stevick notes that, "Some young people reputedly stay Amish because they fear they are neither educationally nor emotionally prepared for life in the outside world. This may be especially true in the groups that seek to reduce their contact with mainstream society. Defectors report that they sometimes delayed leaving for fear that their eighth grade education and limited use of English would hinder them from making a living in the outside world.(2007, 238)"

Further challenges may exist for young women. Stevick asked an Amish father why women typically outnumber men beyond the expected male-female birth ratio among the Amish. The Amish father's reply was that "Boys generally have more contact with the world, have more opportunities, and are more confident that they can make it out there than the girls.(2007, 237)"

External link

[http://www.ivorytowerfoundation.org Ivory Tower Foundation Website]

Reference

*Kraybill, Donald B., Bowman, Carl D. On the Backroad to Heaven: Old order Hutterites, Mennonites, Amish and Brethern. Pages 23, 82, 106, 112. 2001, John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
* [http://www.ivorytowerfoundation.org ITF Website]