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It has been described this way:
Imagine a school without grades or tests, a place where the only prerequisites are an active mind and a desire to learn in a congenial atmosphere. Its dedicated students form a community of learners who design their own curriculum according to their own needs and interests, people whose common bonds are intellectual curiosity and the experience of their generation. They share opinions, knowledge, and expertise with humor, creativity, and mutual respect.
We welcome adults of all ages who are able to attend classes during weekday hours. Most of our members are of retirement age. Many continue to work part time or even full time.
Peer-to-peer learning means that people of similar ages and experiences share their interests and knowledge with each other. Members with passions for particular subjects share their love of the topics through teaching in our program. Some retired and active faculty from Brooklyn College or other colleges have found teaching a Brooklyn Lifelong Learning class to be an especially interesting and gratifying experience.
Visit our Join page.
Visit our Join page for membership fees. A few classes may have additional expenses. A watercolor painting workshop, for example, may require materials or supplies. Reading/literature class participants may prefer to purchase rather than borrow books.
One tenet of Brooklyn Lifelong Learning is to keep the cost of the program as low as possible. This helps make it available to people in all economic situations. We are able to do this by relying on volunteers to teach classes, manage the program, and conduct almost all other functions of BLL.
You can join at any time. Although the fall semester starts in September and the spring semester in February, not all classes and lectures start at the beginning of the term. Many start at other times throughout the semester. Winter intersession classes are held in January and summer classes, when they are offered, begin in June or July. Annual membership runs from September 1 through August 31.
Most classes are held on Zoom, but a few are held in-person. The in-person classes will likely increase as time goes on. Our trips and events are in-person.
Each week, BLL will send members an e-mail indicating the day and time, and the Zoom link to each class. Zoom will open or download automatically the first time you join your first meeting. If you do not have an e-mail address, a catalog will be mailed to you listing the phone number for dialing into the class.
There is no limit. You may take as many as you can fit into your schedule.
If a class doesn’t meet your expectations, simply do not return for the remaining sessions. You may wish to try another class scheduled for the same time slot. The BLL program is somewhat informal, and most instructors welcome new participants at any time in the semester.
Our popular trips and museums walks will continue this year.
Visit our Volunteer page.
Generally, classes are proposed by prospective instructors, but if you have an idea for a class you would like to see, you may suggest it to the Program Committee using the Course Request Form on our Volunteer page. They may seek someone who can conduct such a class.
You are welcome to make BLL your first connection to this campus or any other. There are no educational prerequisites for BLL. Members range from those with advanced degrees to those who might not have been able to go to college before and want to take advantage of the opportunity now.
BLL offerings are separate from the course offerings of Brooklyn College. The Office of the Registrar handles requests and arrangements to audit Brooklyn College courses. Auditing is possible on a space-available basis, with permission of the instructor and the payment of a fee to the college.
