MYLES HORTON

by Katie Calloway
2014
BACKGROUND
Born in Savannah, Tennessee on July 9
th
, 1905
Both of his parents were school-teachers until the
requirements for teachers were increased.
Consequently, his parents then worked in factories or
any other place they could find a job.
They were still very involved in the community and with
education.
BACKGROUND CONT
At the age of 15, Myles left home to attend high school
because his hometown did not have a secondary
school.
He got a job at a saw mill and then a box factory to
support himself while he attended high school.
Horton claims that these jobs helped shape him into
the man he became later on

BACKGROUND CONT
During this time, Horton was an avid reader
He was deeply influenced by the writings of social
critics and Marxists
He had a desire to learn from many different sources
but resolved that ultimately he was responsible to
himself for his beliefs.
He worked alongside a wide variety of people with
many different beliefs
Despite this he always remained an individualist who
never joined a party
BACKGROUND CONT
Shortly after this he attended Cumberland University,
the University of Chicago, and the Union Theological
Seminary
He made a habit of seeking out teachers and picking
their brains. Many of these became lifelong friends and
supporters.
While he was a student in Chicago he heard about the
Danish Folk School Movement
Horton decided to go see these schools for himself in
Denmark
DENMARK
While Horton was in Denmark he had one specific
purpose : creating a school for life a place where
students and teachers could live together to talk about
and solve problems
an informal setting where experience could be the
main teacher; a site for activists, organizers, and
teachers for social justice.
Horton was worried that all the preparation to build his
school would take forever. Despite feelings of
inadequacy he decided that the only way to make his
vision happen was to just start the project.
Horton opened the school in 1932 called The Southern
Mountains School.
Shortly after, he and Don West (His Co-director)
changed the name of the school to Highlander Folk
School
At Highlander the purpose of education was to make
people more powerful, and more capable in their work
and their lives.

Throughout the 1930s Highlander was the education
arm of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)
in the south
However, Horton realized that labor would never be
emancipated as long as racial segregation continued
His response to this was creating workshops designed
to empower people to destroy racial social structures
For a very long time Highlander was the only place in
the South where white and African-American citizens
lived and worked together.
Horton was very proud of this. He once claimed that
Highlander held the record for sustained civil
disobedience
Highlander played a key role in the civil rights
movement and was full of significant social activists.
To name a few: Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt, Pete
Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Martin Luther King Jr., Andrew
Young, Fanny Lou Hamer

People from the community used the school along with
the social activists
Everyone gathered there to talk about the obstacles
that stood in the way of their hopes and dreams
They would gather the resources needed (conceptual,
human, and material resources) and go home with a
plan of action for forward-progress
The school was under constant attack
White supremacists, anti- Labor groups, and the
government were all in opposition to the Highlander folk
School
Backlash from the schools involvement with the civil rights
movement led to the State of Tennessee closing down the
school in 1961
However, after awhile it reorganized and relocated to
Knoxville and is now called the Highlander Research and
Education Center.
Myles Horton died on January 19
th
, 1990 but his school
continues to be a catalyst for change
HORTONS ACHIEVEMENTS
In 1982, Highlander was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for
its historic role in providing education on behalf of human rights in
the region
He was inducted into the International Adult and Continuing
Education Hall of Fame in 1998
Time magazine called Highlander one of the Souths most
influential institutions of social change,. The New York Times said
the same thing shortly after this.
Hortons autobiography, The Long Haul won the Robert F.
Kennedy book award
HOW HORTON RELATES TO THIS
CLASS
Myles Horton is an Adult Education Hall of Famer
He played a key role in social change and he worked
to empower people THROUGH EDUCATION to make
a difference in their communities
He gives us a good model of what an adult educator is
He followed the 6 assumptions of Andragogy very well
HORTON AND THE 6
ASSUMPTIONS
The need to know. Horton expressed the importance of racial
segregation and social injustice coming to an end. The learners
knew they needed this training to be efficient in this social
activism
The learners self-concept. Horton never forced any learner to do
anything. They would provide workshops and training but it was
the learners choice to do something with it.
The role of learners experience. Each of the adult learners came
in with different experiences and different perspectives on these
issues. Horton knew the value of all of them coming together and
helping each other find solutions for their problems. Each of their
experiences made them more qualified to collectively find
solutions to their problems.
6 ASSUMPTIONS CONT
Readiness to learn. The adult learners were ready to learn from
each other and learn from the workshops that Horton provided
because they knew that this training would help them with their
real-life situations.
Orientation to learn. The adult learners had a orientation to this
type of learning because it was 100% practical to their real life
situations. The training Horton provided was directed to help them
go back home and make a difference.
Motivation. Horton tapped into their intrinsic motivation of desiring
a better quality of life for themselves and the people that they
love. Which is why his program was so successful.
SOURCES
http://www.halloffame.outreach.ou.edu/1998/horton.ht
ml
http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2072/Horto
n-Myles-1905-1990.html
http://www.biography.com/people/myles-horton-
21385743#awesm=~oAS56zPCtFML7q
http://highlandercenter.org/