Education & Classes in South Boston

Ask the coed instructors of Streetwise Cycle School to name their favorite roads to ride, and they'll describe places that would rival the pictures in Condé Nast—New England's meandering back roads, South Dakota's arid Badlands, and Oregon's lush Cascade Mountains. Certified by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation and upholding the training standards of the state's Motorcycle Rider Education Program, these instructors ready riders from beginner to advanced for their own open-road odysseys. Courses and private lessons in both motorcycle and scooter riding prepare riders to apply for their licenses. When they're not busy aiding current riders, Streetwise's team members also encourage new enthusiasts to explore motorcycling, arranging incentives through local dealers that include gift cards and discounts on diamond-encrusted helmets.

Located just outside Boston, Blue Hill lets aspiring pilots navigate both the busy airspace above the city and the more difficult flying conditions around the White Mountains. A full-scale flight simulator preps beginners before they can receive one-on-one lessons from an instructor in a two-seat Schweizer 300C helicopter, which accommodates both commercial or private flying tracks. The copter also ferries passengers above the city at dusk or carries riders home to the nest where flying machines roost at night.

Inside a historical downtown Quincy home that dates back to the 1850s, chef and baker Lisa Tavakoli crafts signature dishes and scones for guests to savor in a Victorian tearoom. Lisa gathers 8–15 students around her countertop to demonstrate how to top plates with multiple courses and drinks. She emphasizes the gustatory roles that all senses play, creating visually appealing dishes and steeping teas that appeal to the drinker's sixth sense. Curricula include Persian cuisine, Italian cuisine, and courses on raw cooking and seasonal ingredients.

From their nests at Plymouth Municipal Airport and Norwood Municipal Airport, New England Helicopter Academy’s Schweizer Model 300 helicopters lift fledgling aviators into the skies for flights ranging from introductory runs to intensive training courses. Combining the choppers’ precise handling with academy president Rick Smith’s rigorous training regimen, pilots-to-be learn to expertly handle real-life flying situations such as landing at uncontrolled airports, flying in inclement weather, and airlifting bananas to King Kong. In addition to serving as mid-air classrooms, choppers also treat students to sky-high sightseeing, with training flights often motoring over New England landmarks including the Cape Cod coastline and cities such as Boston and Providence.

Abby E. Kidder and Captain Dwight L. Deckelmann began the nonprofit World Ocean School with an ambition to engage the public on community-building and environmental-ethics issues. They work toward this goal by providing weekly science, math, language-arts, and history programs to middle-school students in the region, as well as by teaching Boston youth maritime history and sailing skills aboard the historic Roseway schooner.

A National Historic Landmark built in 1925, the 112-foot Roseway is used today to ferry groups out to sea on day sails, corporate events, and private charters, with all proceeds being funneled back into World Ocean School’s programs. These aquatic ventures also sail up to 76 people on trips such as sunset cruises, where passengers sip beverages, lounge in the large galley, take in ocean views, and sketch caricatures of Poseidon from memory.

Propelled by a degree in human development, Fran Durekas desperately sought a career where she could put her passion for children to use. Instead of finding full-time work, she landed a spot at a small after-school program near Stanford University—it was anything but ideal, as the miniscule budget and poor quality often forced her to dip into her own funds for supplies. She began looking for a way out when the director offered her the chance to buy out the program and transform this little part-time gig into the career she was looking for. The thought of redesigning the curriculum to match her high standards, treating the teachers as professionals, and upping the involvement of area families thrilled her. She went for it, opening her first Children’s Creative Learning Center in 1992.

Now a multistate company accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, CCLC continue to overhaul their programs to keep pace with the latest research in the field of early development. CCLC hire top educators, focusing on developing social, emotional, physical, and intellectual skills while maintaining important boundaries and a feeling of play. Recently, educational company Knowledge Universe brought all CCLC under its umbrella, providing its newest independent division with even more resources to help children grow into well-rounded students and not into giant, skyscraper-destroying monsters. They also offer daycare services, which operate in or alongside many of the classroom facilities at CCLC.