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Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Abstract

Thoreau believed that human well-being on the personal and cultural level would prosper if individuals planted one foot in natural surroundings and the other in civilization. He saw wildness "as the source of vigor, inspiration, and strength," and "to the extent a culture, or an individual, lost contact with wildness it became weak and dull" (Nash, 1967, p. 88). He cited the breakdown of civilizations (the Roman Empire) as historical evidence of what could happen when humans forgot their origins and source of spiritual, mental, and physical sustenance. What might outdoor educators learn from Thoreau that can help them deal with today's troubled youth? Does Thoreau's philosophy offer guidance to parents and educators who are struggling to develop children's minds and character? This article examines Thoreau's legacy to modern society. His wisdom may contain a key to solving one of the major social problems of the day - the moral degeneration and apathy of young people.

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