English teachers, did you know Henry David Thoreau blogs? Well, not really, but Gregory Perry has taken excerpts from Thoreau’s own journals and posted them on the web. Often, they are a delightful read, particularly if you are an admirer of Thoreau. I was particularly charmed by today’s journal, in which Thoreau calls for city parks to be established.

I am especially fond of this line: “We are all schoolmasters, and our schoolhouse is the universe.”

I visited Walden last February when my students went to Boston on a school trip. Because it was winter, the pond was completely frozen over, and we got to walk on Walden Pond itself. I took some pictures while there:

This is a photo of some of my students “leaving their school’s mark” in the snow on top of the pond.

This is the finished product.

Most of my pictures at Walden didn’t come out well. The light at that time of day wasn’t very bright, and I think the snow reflection had something to do with it, too.

Actually, though, my favorite picture from my visit to Walden is this goofy one:

My feet on Walden

Thanks to the Walden Woods Project, it would seem that Thoreau’s vision that Walden be preserved as a park is largely realized.