The Roots of Community Education: Kim Clist

Name	Commented on
Kim Clist	Susan Ward & Katie Lowe

The Roots of Community Education

Kim Clist EDAC 631, Instructor Bo Chang

Introduction

In 1932, Myles Horton began the Highlander Folk School program in Tennessee; a progressive educational concept where the purpose of education was to change society and the teachers came from within the community seeking to make change, in this case the working-class poor (Horton, 1990). As revered and groundbreaking as this concept of grassroots education was, it was not the beginning of adult community education.  The real beginning had a far more political launch pad. A series of congressional actions comprised of the Morrill Act of 1862 and 1890 as well as the Smith Lever Act of 1914 were the catalysts to take education out of the classroom, off campuses, and into the communities, homes, and fields of everyday Americans.  Adult community education in America has its roots in the university systems with the creation of Cooperative Extension – extending university research and knowledge out into the communities.

Highlights

Originally introduced in 1859, the Morrill Act was designed to promote agriculture and industry skills training in rural America. The barrier was the precedent that all aspects of education, including funding and oversight was left solely to the states. After the start of teh Civil War, Representative Justin Morrill of Maine recognized the need for trained troops and reintroduced his beloved bill, including the provision that the newly established institutions would teach military tactics in addition to agricultural training. President Abraham Lincoln signed it into law in 1862. Twenty-five years after the war ended, the Morrill Act of 1890 was passed providing more funding for what Representative Morrill referred to as the arts of peace. This new bill also established separate but equal funding to colleges that served black students (Comer, Campbell, Edwards & Hillison, 2006).

Almost 25 years later, the Commission on Country Life, appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt, recommended the establishment of a nationalized system to expand that training of agriculture and industry into communities. And in 1914, the Smith-Lever Act created the Cooperative Extension System. This system enacted a multi-level funding structure which included federal, state, and local government partners; and pushed educators out into rural communities. Through education, marketing, and grassroots community organizing, extension educators have helped secure national food and fiber needs, playing instrumental roles during WWI, WWII and the Great Depression. Extension continues to play a crucial role in adult community education, working with the USDA to help implement its objectives of “developing the rural economy, training tomorrow’s leaders, disseminating knowledge, and pursuing sustainable agriculture and the environment” (Wang, 2014).

Influential Factors

The first extension Agent (educator) employed by this system was J.A. Evans of the University of Arkansas. In PowerPoint presentation designed to celebration the impacts of 100 years of adult community education in extension, they outline the programs still in action today on their campus. While called by different names by the 76 universities, each Cooperative Extension has a minimum of 4 core programming areas including agriculture, family living, youth development, and community & economic development. These areas include world renowned programs like 4-H and Master Gardeners (Delivering practical knowledge backed but cutting edge research for more than 100 years). At its inception, more than half of Americans lived in rural areas, and farming compromised a third of all employment. The focus of educating and supporting rural populations and the nation's farm families made it possible for the American agricultural revolution, drastically increasing production and efficiency:

• In 1945, it took up to 14 labor-hours to produce 100 bushels of corn on 2 acres of land.
• By 1987, it took just under 3 labor-hours to produce that same 100 bushels of corn on just over 1 acre.
• In 2002, that same 100 bushels of corn were produced on less than 1 acre.
  (Cooperative Extension History)

At the same time, this form of adult community education came together in the form of The Wisconsin Idea, a vision of extending the research based knowledge and expertise of the university to every corner of the state. Charles Van Hise and Bob La Follette, peers during their undergrad years at UW Madison, joined forces years later as Federal Legislator and UW President, using their influence to promote the concept because they wanted to “make sure that conditions in the state – physical, social and legal - did not allow a shift of power away from the broadest number of citizens and toward a limited group of powerful, monied people” (Drury, 2011). If knowledge is power, the establishment of extension was the effort to keep the power in the hands of all people.

Implications

Today, extension programs around the nation are still playing a key role in community education. From training volunteer 4-H leaders and newly elected local government officials, to advocating for expanded broadband access to rural areas, to facilitating community discussions around visioning or divisive issues like CAFOs or frac sand mining; the impacts of the cooperative extension model of community education strengthens the people of each state right where they are.  Adult community education is always about meeting people where they are and giving the learning opportunities they need and desire. While dwindling federal and state funding and a changing technological culture are forcing Extension programs around the nation to take a look at their models and adapt to new cultural norms, the idea of research based adult community education is still a driving force today.  

Social Background	50% of American people lived on farms. 1/3 of the workforce is employed in agriculture. Civil War requires military training which becomes leverage to provide federal funding to states for educational initiatives around rural living and agriculture which is the impetuous for a national standard of adult community education outreach.
Highlights	Morrill Act of 1862 & 1890 establish funding for educational institutions to focus on agricultural and industry learning. The Smith-Lever Act of 1912 establishes the Cooperative Extension System which takes the research and knowledge of the university into the communities. There are currently 76 land-grant universities with Cooperative Extension systems across the United States.
Influential Factors	Crucial to connecting the needs of the nation to the agricultural supplies necessary for WWI, WWII, and the Great Depression. The idea that power through knowledge is imperative for a democratic society and that power should be held by the people takes root in The Wisconsin Idea.
Implications	Establishing the research and knowledge of university systems can and should be fully employed to bring adult education into communities.

References

Comer, M., Campbell, T., Edwards, K., & Hillison, J. (2006). Cooperative Extension and the 1890 land-grant institution: The real story. The Journal of Extension. vol. 44, num. 3.

Cooperative Extension History. http://www.uaex.edu/about-extension/history.aspx

Delivering practical knowledge backed but cutting edge research for more than 100 years. https://uaex.edu/centennial/docs/history-powerpoint.pptx

Lewis, H. M. (1990). Introduction. The long haul: an autobiography. 1990 (pp. xix-xxi). New York: Doubleday.

Wang, SL. (2014). "Cooperative Extension System: Trends and Economic Impacts on U.S. Agriculture". Choices. Quarter 1.

Drury, G. (2011). The Wisconsin Idea: The Vision that Made Wisconsin Famous. Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis. Madison: University of Wisconsin Madison.  http://ls.wisc.edu/assets/misc/documents/wi-idea-history-intro-summary-essay.pdf