Product Description

Cornel West has called Myles Horton as "an indescribably courageous and visionary white brother from Tennessee." Horton (1905–1990) co-founded the Highlander Folk School (now known as the Highlander Research and Education Center), an institution controversial from its beginnings. During the early labor movement, the Highlander School sponsored programs for both union organizers and rank-and-file members; the staff of Highlander saw education as a way to approach and work through problems. Issues of race were always important to the school, which became a beacon for the civil rights movement; its summer institutes included such influential participants as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and Andrew Young.

Horton’s theory of education as a means for understanding and for driving social change greatly predated its acceptance in the academy, and his work with the labor and civil rights movements provided a model for the "think globally, act locally" motto. Horton thought of learning as a way to change the world collectively, rather than as a means for individual advancement, the way many see the role of education in America today. This commitment to education as an agent of social change allowed Horton to see himself as both a teacher and a student, as one who could learn from others as well as help others learn. For Horton, the equality engendered by a radical love for humanity also underpinned every aspect of education.

The Myles Horton Reader provides the reader with a grounding in the path-breaking work of a man who valued education and service above all.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #545756 in Books
• Published on: 2003-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 317 pages

About the Author
Dale Jacobs is assistant professor of English and director of composition at the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada. His work has appeared in Composition Studies, the Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning, the National Writing Project Quarterly, and other publications. He holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Nebraska.

Customer Reviews

Myles calls for revolution not reform
If you are interested in real learning and in education for social change, not in schooling or in maintaining the status quo, then this is a must-read book. Myles is an educational visionary; the education system in this country needs a revolution, not more reforms or patches. If you feel this way read this and other books by Myles Horton and other visionaries like John Dewey, Paulo Friere, to name just a few