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…
I just returned from an inspiring meeting in Amherst, Mass where I joined with a group of colleagues in a pioneering enterprise focused upon creating a secular-based ethical foundation for education and human flourishing. The gathering was convened by the Mind and Life Institute at the request of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The stellar…
In January 2013, Academy Founder and President Aaron Stern presented the work of the Academy for the Love of Learning at a Mind & Life conference at Drepung Monastery in Mundgod, India. This landmark six-day event, convened at the special request of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, will brought together 20 of the world’s foremost scientists…
In this first post (and my first foray into the world of blogging!) I want to return to the summer of 1991, when the Academy was not yet a formal organization, but more an idea, an impulse I had conceived with my friend and mentor, Leonard Bernstein. Lenny had died the year before, and I…
As the 5th anniversary of the devastating fire that destroyed Seton Castle approaches, I’ve been reflecting and wanted to share my thoughts. For many of our friends, this story is probably familiar, while for some of our newer friends, perhaps not. When the Academy purchased Seton Castle in the spring of 2003, it came with…
