Bard School

Come join us for a leisurely afternoon of seminars and workshops by BHSEC faculty members, parents of BHSEC students, and a current student. This event is open to the public, but you must show photo ID to enter the building.

Classes offered:

Embodied Yoga
Instructor: Roxlyn Moret; World Yoga instructor, BHSEC parent

Peace. Quiet. Contentment. Don’t know how to find them anymore? You may discover them again in this class. more»

Embodied Yoga gives you the opportunity to listen to your body and to learn from your experience, focusing on the questions and discoveries that arise along the way. Balancing a nourishing flow with a dynamic sense of alignment, this class can help you discover new and unexpected sources of support, strength, and ease. These sources include the muscles, bones, glands, fluids, and all of the other body systems.

All materials will be supplied.

Roxlyn Moret, a full-time yoga teacher with regular classes at World Yoga, has been studying, practicing, and teaching movement and healing arts for 36 years. She is a Certified Movement Analyst, Certified Body-Mind Centering® Practitioner, and longtime student and teacher of yoga. She teaches teachers at New York City public schools, groups at corporations, and a variety of other groups. She also teaches workshops at the Breathing Project and has an active private practice, seeing clients individually.

Oriental Medicine: Ancient Origins, Modern Applications
Instructor: Peggy Schubert, MS, LAc; acupuncturist, BHSEC parent

Oriental medicine is thousands of years old and is considered mainstream medical care in Asia. Why has it been used for so long, and how can you apply it to your life? more»

This class explores the philosophical foundations of Oriental Medicine and the Oriental model of the human body, introducing such concepts as yin, yang, qi, and jing (essence). It demonstrates the various techniques used (acupuncture, medicinal herbs, tui-na therapeutic massage, cupping, moxibustion, and gua sha), offers advice on healthy living, and discusses selected conditions of interest, including pain management/sports Injuries, headaches/ migraines, and stress/anxiety reduction.

Peggy Schubert is a licensed acupuncturist and head clinician at Healing Ocean Oriental Medicine, Manhattan. A Diplomate in Oriental Medicine, and NCCAOM Board–Certified, she is the mother of both a BHSEC graduate and current student.

What Should I Do With My Banana Peel? (If I’m Concerned About Global Warming)
Instructor: Kendall Christiansen; expert on solid waste recycling, BHSEC parent

What can we and our communities do about the challenge of disposing of food waste? “Food fights” — intense competition over re-directing food “scraps” (no longer “waste”) — are emerging into one or more forms of beneficial reuse. more»

If you live in San Francisco, Toronto, or dozens of other cities, you can put your banana peel in a separate collection container that goes to a compost facility. If you live in Milwaukee, Stockholm and thousands of other cities, you might be asked to put it through a food waste disposer (aka garbage disposal) that converts it into a slurry and lets municipal wastewater treatment facilities process it into fertilizer products and biogas. In New York City, disposers are now legal for all homes, but most food waste still goes by truck and rail to distant landfills, where it generates significant amounts of methane, which is a highly potent greenhouse gas.

This class explores how to think about and deal with the compelling challenge of food waste, which is rapidly growing in interest to national, state and local policymakers. In examining this topic, each option will be assessed, and the complexities of the overall challenge illuminated.

Kendall Christiansen is the principal of Gaia Strategies, his public affairs consulting practice that helps environmental business with government, community and media relations. He entered the field of solid waste and recycling in 1989 as a founding member of the management team of New York City’s recycling program, and worked in and around the field for nearly 20 years. He currently serves as senior consultant on environmental affairs for InSinkErator, the leading manufacturer of residential and commercial food waste disposers. Born in Manhattan, Kansas, and raised in Illinois, he did graduate work in public policy at the University of Chicago before heading to New York in 1980 as a Mayor’s Urban Fellow. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and three children.

TV Noir: The Small Screen Takes on Film Noir
Instructor: David Bushman; TV Curator, The Paley Center for Media

Are you a couch detective, glued to the latest episodes of CSI and 24? Learn how these and similar TV shows have evolved from the classic noir films. more»

This class first explores the classic cycle of noir films, beginning in 1941 with The Maltese Falcon and ending in 1958 with Touch of Evil. It then focuses on how the noir ethos mutated and eventually made its way to TV on shows including Dragnet and The Fugitive. Finally, it offers a look at how such shows as The X-Files, Twin Peaks, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation have carried the noir banner in the years since. Footage from film and TV noir classics will be shown.

David Bushman has been TV Curator, The Paley Center for Media, since 1992. He was formerly Program Director, TV Land, and TV editor, Variety, and has taught media classes for universities in New York and New Jersey.

Building Crosswords: Your Clue to Solving Crosswords
Instructor: Caleb Madison; crossword puzzle constructor, BHSEC student

Do you love solving crossword puzzles? Are you ready to start building crosswords yourself? more»

Constructing puzzles can help you improve your solving skills. Learn the basic principles of crossword puzzle construction from Caleb Madison, protégé of New York Times crossword puzzle editor Will Shortz. The class starts off with a review of basic crossword history and then focuses on how to come up with a theme, develop a usable grid, and create the fill. Finally, Caleb offers an in-depth look at how a crossword constructor creates a puzzle, and the editor’s goals in finessing it for publication.

Caleb Madison was 15 years old when his first crossword was published in the New York Times in 2008. Since then, several more of his puzzles have been published in the daily and Sunday editions of the Times. He teaches a crossword puzzle construction class at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and is co-creator and co-editor-in-chief of the Bard Bulletin (http://bardbulletin.com), the new student newspaper of Bard High School Early College, Manhattan, where he is a Year I student.

Strength and Conditioning for High School Athletes
Instructors: Chris Gagstetter and Maryah Nardone

Are you playing a high school sport? Do you hope to continue to play your sport in college? Learn how you can prepare for your spring sports season or the start of your college sports career.more»

This class offers an introduction to strength and conditioning regimens and their importance to high school athletes if you are planning to play at the college level. This presentation will include many videos and demonstrations; students will not be participating in any physical activity.

Chris Gagstetter is in his second year as a health/physical education teacher at BHSEC. He received a BS in physical education from SUNY Cortland, where he played college football for 4 years. He is a certified personal trainer through the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America, and has a background in strength and conditioning for athletes. Chris was a strength coach at Athletes in Training, located on Long Island, where many of the top athletes in the area go to train.

A Discussion: Why is Obesity an Ethical Issue?
Instructors: Tom Berner, JD and Wendy Phillips Kahn, MS; BHSEC Manhattan

What is responsible for the significant rise in levels of obesity in this country, and the world, during the last 30 years - and what should we do about it? more»

Is what is known as the “obesity epidemic” a matter of discrimination, public policy, individual choice, corporate greed, or other factors? If obesity is unhealthy, do we need to take action as a society?

In order to come up with possible solutions, we will need to discuss some fundamental ethical questions: Is it fair or reasonable to hold the individual responsible for what he or she puts in her mouth? Should we rely on the food companies to protect the health of their customers? When is governmental interference with what we eat permissible?

Tom Berner and Wendy Phillips Kahn have been co-teachers of applied ethics at BHSEC since 2006; they also teach at the Interschool Program (a consortium of private high schools in Manhattan).

Tom Berner has a BA from Harvard and a JD from Columbia Law School. Wendy Phillips Kahn has a BA in philosophy from Yale, and an MS from Bank Street College.

Developing Your Voice: A Workshop on Storytelling
Instructor: Meghann Walk, MSLIS; BHSEC Manhattan

Does the mere thought of public speaking inspire anxiety or, perhaps, fear in you? more»

This workshop approaches the practice of storytelling as a natural and positive route to comfortable public speaking. Participants will perform their favorite folktales, myths, or personal stories, and will adapt a short work of literature or explain an academic topic as a story. If you have a favorite folktale or work of literature that could be excerpted, please bring it. Otherwise, the BHSEC Library will provide possible texts.

Maximum number of participants: 10.

Meghann Walk has been Librarian at BHSEC since 2007. She has an MS in Library and Information Science from Simmons College. She previously was at Harvard Countway Library of Medicine Archives and the University of Illinois. Her research interests include philosophies of education and library pedagogy.

The Mexican Muralists of the 1920s: Artists and Agents of Renewal
Instructor: Patricio Hernandez, PhD; BHSEC Manhattan

With the triumph of the Mexican revolution in 1920, the Mexican government commissioned artists to create murals on public buildings. Who were these muralists, and what were their role and influence? more»

This class explores the contributions of the Mexican Muralists in the light of pre-Revolutionary Mexican society, which was marked by enormous divisions of wealth, property, and power. Dictator Porfirio Díaz, who ruled Mexico during this period, made a concerted effort to push the nation into the 20th century. To this end, he encouraged massive foreign investment in Mexico to be fed by a well of cheap and obedient labor that continues today. The political climate of post-Revolutionary Mexico ignited the need for public art to contribute to the nation’s cultural renewal.

Patricio Hernandez has been a member of the language faculty of BHSEC since 2007. He has a PhD from The Hispanic Languages and Literature Department at Stony Brook University. His work explores the intervention of visual and written fiction narratives on the shaping of collective identities in the Spanish-speaking world. His current research studies 20th-century popular narratives of the Americas in search for patterns of representation of cross-cultural relationships in the continent

The Wrath of Achilles
Instructor: David Clark, PhD; BHSEC Manhattan

Homer’s Iliad, as the poet tells us in the very first line, is about the wrath of Achilles. How does Achilles’ wrath define this epic? more»

This class starts with a brief overview of the characteristics of Ancient Greek poetry, the mythic background of the Trojan War, and the ethos of Homer’s warrior society. Then, it focuses on the central, enigmatic figure of Homer’s Iliad, Achilles. Although Achilles is absent for most of the action, it is the mystery of his character which unifies this complex epic into Western literature’s most profound, extended meditation on what it means to be a creature who carries with him the knowledge that he must die.

Bring your copy of Homer’s Iliad to class. The Fagles translation is available from Amazon for about $10.

David Clark has been a member of the language faculty at BHSEC since 2001. He has an MPhil and PhD (Classics) from Columbia University. His interests include Latin literature of the late Roman republic and early Roman empire, ancient philosophy, and the New Testament.

Transitions and the Turbulent Teen Years: The Psychology of Adolescence
Instructor: Susan Spieler, PsyD; clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst, BHSEC parent

Many adults and teens find adolescence puzzling. Why is there often so much turbulence? What if there is no drama? What are the key concerns of most teens? What do teens need from parents? more»

Adolescence is characterized by many transitions. The way these transitions are handled plays an important role in the evolving relationship between teens and their parents. In this workshop, Dr. Spieler describes the developmental accomplishments of a successful adolescence and offers guidance about how healthy relationships can be maintained between parents and youth as the needs of both evolve. She also identifies some behaviors that signal a need for professional help.

Open to both parents and teens. Related parents and teens are welcome, but it is not necessary that they attend together.

Susan Spieler is a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst in private practice in Manhattan, working with adults and adolescents; she does individual, couples, group, and family therapy. Her practice also includes some “getting ready for college” work. She received an MA from New York University, a PsyD from The Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University, and a Certificate in Psychoanalysis from the American Institute for Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis. She has taught psychology courses at the undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels on a variety of topics including Psychology and Treatment of Adolescence, Psychoanalytic Developmental Theory, Counseling and Psychotherapy, the Parent/Child Relationship.

Light and Dark: A History of New York City in the Early 1900s (Session 1 is full. Seats are available in Session 2.)
Instructors: Daniel Freund, PhD and Michael Lerner, PhD; BHSEC Manhattan

Explore the history of New York City in the early 20th century through the framework of Light and Dark. more»

Dr. Freund focuses on the schools, tenements, skyscrapers, and public housing of the city and how light worked as both a moral and medical antiseptic in turn-of-the-century New York. He shares his research from his forthcoming book, The Battle for a Brighter America: A Social History of Natural Light, 1850-1935 (University of Chicago Press). Dr. Lerner addresses the world of speakeasies, nightclubs, and the darker side of the New York nightlife of the 1920s and 1930s, drawing from his 2007 book, Dry Manhattan: Prohibition in New York City (Harvard University Press).

Daniel Freund has been teaching history at BHSEC since 2007. He has a PhD in History from Columbia University. His academic and research interests are urban and public health, and environmental history.

Michael Lerner has been teaching history at BHSEC since 2002 and has served as a dean there since 2005. He has a PhD in History from New York University. His teaching and research interests include 20th-century United States society and politics; American reform movements; popular culture; and U.S.-Pacific relations.

Madman, Architect, Carpenter, Judge: A Writer’s Workshop (Session 1 is full. Seats are available in Session 2.)
Instructor: Peter Hedges; novelist, playwright, screenwriter, film director.

Have you wanted to write a novel, a play, or a screenplay, and you don’t know where or how to begin? more»

Join Peter Hedges for this 90-minute writing workshop, and you just may find your start.  All you need to bring is your willingness to write. Paper, pens, and pencils will be provided.

Peter Hedges is author of both the novel and the screenplay What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, writer-director of the films Pieces of April and Dan in Real Life, co-writer of the screenplay for About a Boy (Academy Award nomination), and author of the forthcoming novel The Heights (Dutton, March 2010).

– Knowledge College Classes

OFF CAMPUS EVENT, JUNE 5th
East Side, West Side, and In Between: An Architectural Walking Tour of 57th Street
Guide: David Fishman; architectural historian, author, and BHSEC parent

Explore the architectural treasures of 57th Street, Manhattan, from river to river! more»

57th Street is one of the city’s most vibrant streets and is home to an intriguing and architecturally significant mix of buildings. These range from the opulent 19th-century Osborne, an early apartment house, to cultural institutions like Carnegie and Steinway Halls, world-famous retail establishments, important 1920s skyscrapers, and some of the most provocative and innovative newer buildings.

Tour includes a drawing to win a copy of the acclaimed book New York 2000: Architecture and Urbanism from the Bicentennial to the Millennium, 2006 (1,520 pages; heavily illustrated; valued at $100), by architect Robert A.M. Stern, David Fishman, and Jacob Tilove, signed by the three authors.

Tour Details: The tour will begin Saturday, June 5, at 10:00 am, meeting at the northwest corner of Ninth Avenue and Fifty-seventh Street. In case of bad weather, the tour will be postponed to Saturday, June 12 (same time and place).

Cost: $50 per person. Maximum number of participants: 10. (Drawing will be held among participants to receive copy of signed book.)

– Walking Tour

» Need directions? Here’s a map

» Questions? Email bhsecpta@gmail.com