An Exploration of Myles Horton's Democratic Praxis: Highlander Folk School

Educational Foundations, Spring 2004 by Thayer-Bacon, Barbara J

Between 1933-1939, Highlander developed a countrywide educational program for the mountain poor. As he had first learned in Ozone, Tennessee, Horton rediscovered that he did not need to know the answers to peoples' problems; amongst the people attending Highlander, there were lots of answers available if people pooled their knowledge together. Myles didn't try to solve their problems, he helped to raise questions, and sharpen them, and get people discussing them. The first classes offered at Highlander were based on requests the local community made: child psychology, cultural geography, and economics. As much as he could, Myles would get the working people themselves to teach the classes students wanted, for he found that his students made the best teachers. Depending on who was in residence in the school at the time, and who was on the staff, this effected what was taught: gardening, fiddling, drama, piano. The teaching staff received only living expenses and they participated with students in the work of maintaining the school. They grew their own food and lived as a socialist-co-operative community. The money they raised was used to develop educational programs

Horton never aimed to have Highlander become a large adult education center. He wanted to work with a small number of people and trust that they would multiply. As he puts it, he believed that if he could make the concept of education yeasty enough, it would grow.15 The early Highlander staff thought there would be Highlander schools in every state, but this did not happen. There is just the one started by Myles, in Tennessee. Highlander sought students who already showed signs of being grassroots leaders, students who wanted to change society. The staff learned to invite to Highlander only those who were learning to define their interests and who were already committed to struggle against oppression. The staff or former students would personally invite students to attend workshops or residential sessions, for the students they sought were not people who would normally come to a school. They were poor people who had to be persuaded to leave their homes, and they needed sponsoring in order to be able to attend.

The first strike the Highlander staff was involved in was with Wilder mining company. When a strike was called the Highlander staff went to help by bringing food and clothing. For this support, someone attempted to bomb Highlander, Myles was arrested, and the leader of the strike was shot in the back. The strike failed. The next strike the Highlander staff participated in was the Grundy County bugwood cutters strike in the summer of 193 3. Bugwood was used for wood alcohol and cutters were paid seventy-five cents per day to cut. Again Highlander helped with food and clothing for the strikers, and again the strike failed. However, the people were beginning to learn more about how to handle their daily problems and to show their power and strength by organizing. The next projects Highlander got involved in were the starting of a co-operative nursery school and a co-operative canning and gardening project. The staff at Highlander learned with the local people how to put together grant proposals, and after several denials they won a federal grant for $7,000.00 fortheir co-operatives. However, when the local politicians in Tennessee complained to the federal government that they were giving money to a communist institution, the grant was rescinded. This action resulted in the Highlander staff and people of Grundy County learning they needed a broader affiliation base and they began to work to get people supportive of their causes elected into political offices.