Black & White Wednesday ~ Philosophers

Most often remembered as the “Father of Little Women,” Amos Bronson Alcott is usually forgotten as a leader in educational reform. He was not only a teacher and Superintendent of Concord Schools, but also a founder of one of the first adult education centers in the United States, The Concord Summer School of Philosophy. The idea of having a place where adults could come together to learn had been Alcott’s life-long dream; the first summer session was held in 1879 within Orchard House itself. By 1880, Bronson had constructed the building he called "Hillside Chapel" 

to house future sessions of his School. For the following eight summers, adults from around the country came to participate in Alcott’s vision and to interact with some of the greatest thinkers and educational pioneers of the 19th century.

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"Friends...they cherish one another's hopes.

They are kind to one another's dreams."

Henry David Thoreau

"A friend may well be reckoned

the masterpiece of nature."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

As I toured the buildings and grounds of Orchard house this past weekend,
I was fascinated by the thought that Emerson and Thoreau spent time
in this home, in this school of philosphy and walking in these gardens.
These men were good friends, 
and, along with Bronson and the Alcott women,
shared many, many, many hours of deep conversation.
I mean, can you imagine?!!?

"Our friends interpret the world and ourselves to us,

if we take them tenderly and truly."

Amos Bronson Alcott