Unearthing Seeds of Fire: The Idea of Highlander [Paperback]

Unearthing Seeds of Fire is a thorough historical account of Highlander Folk School and the life of its founder Myles Horton. For any involved in adult education, as well as those interested in education through social movement, this book provides rich descriptions of the ideology, context, and philosophy of creating learning communities through collectivism. The author is particularly successful at painting a vivid picture of the sociopolitical atmosphere under which Horton created Highlander, describing the successes and failures that were realized over the years, as well as the organic evolution of the school as it responded to the changing needs of its students. Although it provides extensive academic references, any individual interested in the education and leadership of adults will find it understandable and inspiring to read.

In Unearthing Seeds of Fire: The Idea of Highlander, Frank Adams describes the many successes and struggles of Highlander Folk School, brainchild of Myles Horton. Following years of education and research to open a school that would help improve the lives of poor country folk, Horton began Highlander in 1932 in Grundy County of Tennessee. It operated under Horton's notion that students "would learn to act and speak for themselves and would learn to gain control over decisions affecting their daily lives" (Adams, 1975). Horton believed this was the way to rid America's social structure of poverty and racism.

According to Adams, Highlander Folk School had a mission of "what ought to be" rather than "what is." Horton believed people will always work to improve the future and have dreams and took a vested interest in education that could impact both these positively. The Highlander education model was an ongoing process for its Southern, poor adult students that tapped into cooperative or collective, yet independent thinking under the realm of democracy, brotherhood, mutuality, and united social action to solve problems. Highlander fit itself into its students' culture, allowing students to feel comfortable sharing thoughts with teacher and peers while learning.

After describing the unthinkable living conditions of New York City's tenements in How the Other Half Lives, Riis proposed education as a solution to breaking the poverty cycle of those victimized by the tenements (Riis, 1997). Adams' book about Highlander Folk School shows that the right form of education can break the cycle of poverty and inequality, though not without challenge and strife.

Just as in the tenements of New York City described in Riis' book, many of the South's poor country folk had terrible working conditions and low, unfair wages, if work could be found. Highlander Folk School helped the South's poor find a means to improve their lives at home and work using a theme of communication, such as group singing and peer group discussions. Students, through direction of their own learning, found ways to organize unions and effectively strike against employers when necessary. Highlander's role in helping organize unions led to improved working conditions, and therefore livelihood, for many of its students as well as their coworkers.

In the early 1950's when labor unions in the South seemed to have accomplished as much as they would with Highlander Folk School, the board decided it was time for the school to move its focus to the civil rights movement. Highlander's first African American students wanted to learn so they could register to vote and conquer prejudice. The school room was in the back of a grocery store with like teachers and students. These students had previously been in classrooms in which children's chairs, tables, and books were used, immediately turning them off.

Through Highlander, many African Americans learned to read by referring to material that was immediately relevant to their purpose as adult learners. They studied the U.S. Constitution, sang, and discussed issues surrounding their lives. Much of their education at Highlander taught them to be self-directed learners. Self-directed learning can lead to autonomy and promote emancipatory learning and social action (Merriam & Caffarella, 1999), which Highlander's poor adult African American students much needed. Rosa Parks exemplified the autonomy gained from Highlander's self-directed learning groups when she refused to give up her bus seat for a white person in 1955 (Adams, 1975). She had learned that many others were in her same position and realized she could take a stand.

Due to the empowerment Highlander Folk School gave to its poor or minority students and its unique educational methods, many outsiders opposed the school and attempted to close its doors. Government officials and local police forces were often part of the opposition, which at times was violent. In their crusade for equality, many students were injured or murdered, not to mention the emotional turmoil they experienced. Highlander itself was raided several times and went through many court battles. Horton went to jail a few times defending his quest for a successful form of education to improve the lives of the South's poor and oppressed. Horton said that Highlander could not physically be closed because it was an idea, not an institution, just as the book's title refers to it.

Adams states that Highlander did not achieve its original goal to educate for economic and political equality for the poor and powerless, as these inequalities continue to exist today in America. However, Highlander was successful in making large strides toward this goal and educating many individuals who have in turn fought for equal rights or improved working conditions (1975).

Horton stated, "Learn from the people, start their education where they are" (Adams, 1975). Unearthing Seeds of Fire gave me hope that learner-centered education can be successful for making positive change in the world. It was intriguing to read about Horton's methods of teaching and his perspective of how education fits into American life and social change. Benjamin Franklin would have been a proponent of Horton's school, as it promoted a true democracy, just as Franklin himself worked to create throughout his life (Isaacson, 2003).

Adams' description of the struggles and strife Highlander went through to have its presence makes one wonder how something so logical, practical, and beneficial could have been opposed. The struggles Highlander experienced reinforce just how inequitable the balance of power is between various classes and races, largely as a result of governmental politics and economics. We certainly could stand to have more Myles Hortons and Highlanders in the world.

This book should be read by anyone who is interested in learning about alternative methods of education or ways to a true democratic society. Anyone interested in learning about the labor union or civil rights movements of the twentieth century would benefit from reading this book as well.

References:

Adams, F. (1975). Unearthing Seeds of Fire: The Idea of Highlander. Winston-Salem, NC: John F. Blair.

Isaacson, W. (2003). Benjamin Franklin: An American life. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Merriam, S. B., & Caffarella, R. S. (1999). Learning in adulthood: A comprehensive guide (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Riis, J. (1997). How the other half lives: Studies among the tenements of New York. New York: Penguin Books.

Stubblefield, H. W., & Keane, P. (1994). Adult education in the American experience: From the colonial period to the present. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Unearthing Seeds of Fire: The Idea of Highlander (Adams, 1975) is an engaging narrative describing the birth, struggles, and successes of the Highlander Folk School from its beginnings in the early 1930s through the retirement of its founder, Myles Horton, in the early 1970s. Set in the backcountry of Tennessee, the unconventional school is not about textbooks or teachers or personal enrichment, but rather the school promotes meaningful content created by participants, informal workshops, and community empowerment.

Horton, having grown up in the impoverished Appalachian coal communities of eastern Tennessee, was moved to establish Highlander after becoming disillusioned with education which had little relevancy to the every day struggles of the poor. Recalling a summer administering a vacation Bible school program on the Cumberland Plateau, Horton said, "I couldn't put this in words...but such education failed to connect with their lives" (p.2). After college in both the South and the North and a trip to Denmark to visit the Danish Folk Schools, Horton learned not only to put his ideas into words, he put them into action. In the fall of 1932 Horton and a colleague opened the Highlander Folk School in Grundy County, Tennessee. The new school was dedicated to "social change and community action" (Merriam and Brockett, 1997, p. 57). Highlander would, "get behind the common judgments of the poor, help them learn to act and speak for themselves, [and] help them gain control over decisions affecting their daily lives" (Adams, 1975, p. 24).

Highlander was run as a residential school where those suffering from social and economic injustices could come and voice their problems, work through solutions together, and create plans for community action upon returning home. As Adams details in his book, Highlander began its career empowering Southern workers to unionize for better pay and working conditions. Later Highlander proved instrumental in empowering Southern blacks to press for civil equality. The school's method of bringing people with like problems together and facilitating their efforts to understand and combat their problems proved to be highly successful; however, such methodology, as it resulted in structural change, proved to be controversial. Those advantaged by the status quo frequently threatened the school, its personnel, and its participants, and, moreover, denigrated its technique. Highlander was condemned as being communist, socialist, and anti-American.

Historically adult education programs for the lower classes and minorities in America had been instruments of social control, whereby individuals such as Native Americans were taught to be 'civilized' farmers or African Americans were taught 'useful plantation skills' (Stubblefield and Keane, 1994). Too, the focus of adult education for all groups had generally been the improvement of the individual. As far back as the days of the early Republic, adult education was primarily viewed as a means to personal enrichment or personal advancement (Stubblefield and Keane, 1994). By the 1920s however, the idea of adult education as a path to social reform and social change--an idea championed by the likes of Edward Lindeman and Joseph Hart--had gained recognition and was an oft discussed topic during Horton's college years in the North (Adams, 1975); in the end, what Horton's professors preached, Horton, through Highlander, practiced.

Unearthing Seeds of Fire is an unassuming book, written in both a matter-of-fact and intimate manner. Adams' style is straightforward and uncomplicated, seeming to evoke the very atmosphere of Highlander itself. Yet, the reader is also introduced to an endless stream of individuals and events, giving the reader a sense of the breadth and depth of the personal connections made at Highlander. Perhaps most remarkable to the uninitiated, is the history of the Southern labor movement and the fight for civil rights which the book provides. It is inspirational to learn that one man who put his vision into practice was able to establish an alternative institution which proved to have such a positive and profound effect on the lives of so many people and on the very conscience of a nation.

The story of the Highlander Folk School should be known to all Americans, for it is a tale of the struggle for justice and equality by the most maligned in our society. It is a story of hope and empowerment. Educators, activists, social workers, community advocates, and those interested in marginalized groups or part of marginalized groups have much to learn from the educational methodology developed and followed at Highlander. Unearthing Seeds of Fire provides a solid introduction to the ways and means of Horton and Highlander.

References

Adams, F. (1975). Unearthing seeds of fire: The idea of Highlander. Winston-Salem, NC: John F. Blair, Publisher.

Merriam, S. B., and Brockett, R. G. (1997). The profession and practice of adult education: An introduction. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Stubblefield, H. W., and Keane, P. (1994). Adult education in the American experience: From the colonial period to the present. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

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