of what he thought a truly good book: “I must lay it down and commence living on its hint. What I began by reading I must finish by acting” (Allen 213). Thoreau also explained that when ideas and circumstances seemed unrealistic we must “put the foundations of reflective action and community-building under them” (Krutch 23). Henry David Thoreau viewed education as an ongoing process that is necessary to awaken us from abstractions and preconceptions in order to learn and see things in a new light. He emphasized greatly the importance of applying what you learned to actual life, and viewed reading as only a prelude to actual knowledge. This knowledge has to be supplemented with experiences in nature. The newfound knowledge must generate new language through writing; teachers should not only instruct their students but also learn from them. At the conclusion of Walden, Thoreau urged the reader “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them” (323-24). ...
