Why
Should Thoreau Matter to a Kindergartener?
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of Henry David Thoreau’s Walden. It’s a time when many will celebrate a landmark collection of essays which captured the principals of our nation in its infancy and redefined them as a universal philosophical movement. A greater majority of us, however, will reflect upon an obligatory piece of writing that we may or may not have read for an English class. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of middle ground here; you either know the man or you don’t.
The fact of the matter is, Walden is not an easy read. So much so that, unless you’re ready for a lengthy commitment, it is a book best comprehended by not delving too deeply into the fine print. We assume that this fact makes his message, and the whole transcendental movement, all but unapproachable to the elementary school classroom. This is a shame, because we could not be more wrong. While Thoreau’s words are well beyond the K-4 mindset, the philosophy behind them is as easily comprehended by a six year old as a sixty year old.
At a time when the every taste, touch, smell and sight in the world is fresh and new to our children, so is the concept of their freedoms, their environment and their own human existence –the three major precepts of Thoreau’s movement. Writing as an adult to adults, Thoreau’s major charge to his audience was not to reinvent themselves under a new set of rules, but rather to reacquaint ourselves with the wonders that make us uniquely human. In fact, Thoreau viewed the petty and violent endeavors of grown-ups to be the main stumbling block on our road to reaching beyond our potential as a species.
In a world where answers are more important then questions, most of us adults have long lost the desire to view our existence as anything other than static. In today’s times of tension and conflict, many of us feel relief simply maintaining from day to day. We look back at Thoreau’s time and credit a simpler world for his ability to envision such lofty goals. Yet we forget that Thoreau’s vision was motivated by a war widely believed to be unjust, a strong mistrust of the government, racial inequities and a drive to preserve our natural surroundings -a one hundred and fifty year old testimony to the intellectual quicksand that we call maintaining.
Thoreau’s message is to recognize what makes us unique on this planet: the ability to comprehend and celebrate our very existence in the hope that we recognize that our own power of free will affords us the ability to transcend beyond our primitive limitations. Ironically, children understand this not as an adult concept but as a youthful reality. They live in a world of wonder where everyday has the potential for magic. They stand in awe of every new living creature they encounter. They ask questions for the sake of asking questions. As weathered adults, we view Thoreau’s message as a concept rather than an intellectual trait. We falsely believe that our children are way too young to ever be able to grasp such abstract ideas. Yet when they articulate these very precepts through their own naïve observations, we smile at the innocence of it all but rarely recognize the acute logic behind their faulty reasoning. Thus when my daughter professes that her mother is responsible for making the sunsets beautiful, it warms my heart but rarely registers with me that the inspiration behind her conclusion is an unwavering faith in the power of the human soul. We are inclined to correct our children in these instances rather than build on this faith and redirect down more realistic paths. Thoreau knew this and founded his own school with the mission of building on this wonder.
The fact that Walden doesn’t speak to our children is not out of disregard on Thoreau’s part. He knew he would be preaching to the choir. He didn’t need to tell them what they already knew. If we agree with Thoreau, our charge as parents and educators is clear: We must move away from the mindset that our children should focus their energy on seeking the concrete certainty that answers provide. Rather, we need to challenge them to see the endless intellectual paths that begin with a question. With childlike curiosity as the only prerequisite, it all seems like a no-brainer.
In the end, it’s
not a question of whether or not our children are too young for Thoreau. The
question is, Are we still young enough?
B.A.