Bard College

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Bard College…that was an experience of a lifetime. I remember it just like yesterday. Every time the

summertime comes, there’s a little feeling in your heart that there’s no Bard.

You took students out of one environment put them in another, show them that there’s something else, which I think is good because if you don’t see this, you have no idea. You took us from a city environment, with a lot of traffic, distractions, placed us in a college environment, more time to get focused, peaceful environment that you can set forth goals and accomplish.

A rigorous schedule from 8 in the morning that ended at 10 at night when you go to sleep. And that was an experience, doing real science, just not sitting in the classroom. This is hands-on experience catching butterflies in a creek, writing, I think I did some of my best writing at Bard.

Co-creating conditions for young people to thrive. Both the natural habitat (especially for urban youth) and the aesthetics of a college culture was just the right mix of exposure. Bard Summer Academies were transformative experiences for many as well made the the image of higher education more tenable and real.

When have you had a learning experience either in school or outside formal schooling that felt like a significant accomplish-ment where you felt changed.
Discussion: design a summer experience for young adolescents that takes them out of their comfort zones while exposing them to a different culture ? What would they be doing? How would this contribute to the development of character and self-awareness?