Boston Guide to Adult Education

Furthering Your Skills While Feeding Your Interests

Free time should fun. It should be something to look forward to, but for many of us the reliable monotony of television, occasional visit to the gym, or responding to e-mail are the only things listed on the free time agenda. While these activities can be enjoyable, they manifest a bland state of repetition. 

But there is a way to combat the mundane. The only question is, what do you want to do? Think of a skill, a hobby, or a talent you wish you had. Have you ever wondered how to pick out a wine by characteristics other than the price tag? Would learning a new software program get you ahead at work? Do you watch MTV and fantasize about moving your hips like a Sir Mix-A-Lot booty queen? If you can think of an activity or skill you want to learn, chances are an organization right here in Boston has a class just waiting for you. 

Taking a class is an easy way to spice up and personalize the daily routine. Heather, 26, comments, “I’ve taken a few classes at the Boston Center for Adult Education including Introductory Wine Tasting, Beginning Italian, and Mediterranean Cuisine. I took these classes because I wanted a relatively inexpensive and fun way to explore my interests and learn new skills.” 

Rochelle Keesler has been a French instructor at the BCAE since 2001, teaching some students their first word of French and honing conversational skills for others. “The motivation of the students is incredible,” she says. “Without the pressure of grades, they enjoy working and seeing the progress they make with the language.” But students get more than just a French class. Rochelle remarks, “By the end of a typical 8 week session, many groups of students bond and form lasting friendships.” 

And this is exactly what Nikki, 24, found at the Cambridge Center of Adult Education. “I wanted to take a kick boxing class to get into shape, but I didn’t want to pay a lot of money to join the gym. It turned out to be an awesome class and I became great friends with another girl taking it. That was almost a year ago and we still hang out.”