Institute of Retired Professionals (photo courtesy of IRP web site)

Want to expand your horizons beyond life lessons and a life-long profession? You may want to check out the New School and its Institute for Retired Professionals. It isn’t new. Far from it. But it was the first of its kind in the United States when it was founded in 1962 at the behest of some retired school teachers who wanted to explore new interests. Through the years, it has helped to highlight the capabilities of older people.

In the beginning, the New School provided space to meet but asked the class to make and manage its curriculum. That tradition of peer learning continues today. All study groups are non-credit, but enrollees are encouraged to keep up with reading assignments and contribute to class discussions.

For Fall 2009, some 36 classes are offered, each based on a minimum enrollment of 12.  They range from Ways of Reading Kafka to The Post-World War II Novel; from Great Ideas in Physics to a Figure Drawing Workshop. Each student must enroll for two 90-minute study groups.

For more information: http://www.newschool.edu/irp/