Parent Guide > Excerpt from "Walden": Where I Lived and What I Lived For

by Henry David Thoreau 1854

Welcome to the parent guide for this text! Read below to find out about what your child is reading in class and how you can support him/her at home.

This week in class, we’re reading "Excerpt from "Walden": Where I Lived and What I Lived For" by Henry David Thoreau.

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was an American author, essayist, poet, abolitionist, and philosopher. He, along with Ralph Waldo Emerson and Margaret Fuller, was one of the major figures of the Transcendentalism movement. The text below is taken from his best known work, Walden, a reflection upon his two years spent living in the wilderness near Walden Pond in Massachusetts.

As we read, we will be discussing the themes of Loneliness & Isolation, Social Change & Revolution, and Technology, Progress & Industry as they relate to the text. We are trying to answer these big questions :

"What are the costs and benefits of technology?", "Why do people resist change?", and "What does it mean to feel alone?"

Ways to support your child:

  • Ask your child about this philosophy article at home:
    • What was "Excerpt from "Walden": Where I Lived and What I Lived For" about?
    • What did you learn about Loneliness & Isolation?
    • What did you learn about Social Change & Revolution?
    • What did you learn about Technology, Progress & Industry?
  • Watch POLITICAL THEORY - Henry David Thoreau at home with your child.