In what has become a yearly tradition, I’m writing to share with you my reflections on the work of the Academy for the Love of Learning, and to give you a glimpse into where the Academy is heading in the coming year. 2018 happens to be a very special year, as it marks the 20th anniversary…
Founder’s Blog Celebrating the Academy for the Love of Learning’s 20th Anniversary In this series of blog entries, Academy founder Aaron Stern reflects upon the founding impulses of the Academy and shares images of the future – echoing our 20th anniversary theme – Reflection and Emergence. It was while I was Dean of the American…
Sometime in mid 2015 I felt strongly drawn back to the stupa again. The years had passed, starts and stops… something at the Academy was still incomplete and I felt – and knew – it was time. During the fall of 2015, we were preparing at the Academy for the winter reunion of the Coming…
The other day, I was speaking with Tina, a long-time Academy for the Love of Learning staff member and our bookkeeper. We had just finished the several day ‘filling the stupa’ ceremonies and Tina turned to me to say that she had a file marked “Stupa Budget” that went all the way back to early…
Dear Friends, This is my 16th State of the Academy year-end letter. Traditionally in these letters I give a recap of the year and a glimpse into where the Academy for the Love of Learning is heading in the coming year. This year, in light of these challenging times, I thought it would be meaningful…
A few weeks ago I was invited to speak to a wonderful group of engaged and progressive Santa Fe citizens. They call themselves Journey Santa Fe and they meet weekly at one of our lovely independent bookstores Collected Works. The title of my talk was Bernstein Stories: Poignant and playful stories from the last decade…
I’m delighted to write to all of you, our dear friends and supporters, at the end of another significant year in the life of the Academy for the Love of Learning. If 2014 was a year of growth and beginning to see, capture and communicate the impact of our work, 2015 has been a year…
Through this model of the self, we identify how we have become shaped, blocked and/or cut off from our innate wisdom and integrity. As we come to see ourselves more clearly, we explore the patterns that cause us to contract, react, or otherwise draw away from the experience of being fully present. We become mindful…
For the past 150 years, “education” and “learning” in the United States have largely been understood as the transmission of skills and knowledge from teachers to students within the confines of a school’s four walls. At the heart of all its programming, the Academy for the Love of Learning is helping to expand that definition,…
When we think about how we learn and grow, we might initially consider the process to be additive or accumulative: building and expanding our body of knowledge so we become informed about a new topic, skillful in a technique, or expert in a particular field. Learning in this manner, for the most part, increases our…
