E-Mail This Article to a Friend School’s in for summer This season, options abound for adult education BY BRIAN E. O’NEILL

The mere mention of summer school is enough to send shivers down the spines of many, evoking a cascade of Pavlovian responses. The term conjures images of lost beach days and sticky-hot classrooms, of failing report cards and parental sit-downs about "applying yourself." How ironic that Alice Cooper sang, "School’s out for summer," when most of the derelict kids who listened to his records were in fact staying put.

Why, then, would anybody in his or her right mind actually choose to enroll in summer school? Well, a funny thing happened on the way to adulthood. What was a mark of failure during adolescence later became an opportunity to expand your horizons, meet new people, advance your career, and pursue advanced academic credentials.

One of the great things about living in a city like Boston is that continuing education is almost a birthright. Everywhere you look, it seems, someone’s offering a class — and often pretty cheaply — to help you learn, well, just about anything you want to learn. So if you’re already beginning to wonder what you’ll be reading on the beach this summer, forget the Jane Green novels; instead, pack your textbook.

MANAGING A SUCCESSFUL WORK-LIFE CHANGE

If the US Bureau of Labor Statistics is correct (and the government’s never been wrong before, has it?), the average person will change careers three times in the course of his or her working life. We’re not sure if this includes the transition from underpaid college intern to overworked entry-level employee. But we do know that with the bruised and battered job market currently down for the count, your best chance at survival in this "jobless recovery" isn’t to wait for a new job to open up; it’s to look for another line of work where the jobs are more plentiful. But how?

On June 23, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., the folks at Career Moves, a division of the Jewish Vocational Service of Greater Boston, will present a one-evening workshop ($23/members; $25/non-members) on this very subject at the Boston Center for Adult Education. Part career counseling, part networking event, the two-hour session will explore "proven strategies for making a successful change and outline the next steps in your [career] transition."

Boston Center for Adult Education, 5 Comm Ave, Boston, (617) 267-4430; http://www.bcae.org.

INTENSIVE AUGUST POTTERY SEMESTER

Don’t be a fuddy-duddy; get muddy, buddy! For more than three decades, Somerville’s Mudflat Studio has given classes and lectures on all things ceramic. And each August, the studio offers a three-week semester ($225/classes; $175 independent study), meant to be an introduction to working in clay.

Remember that lopsided, 20-pound ashtray you made for your mom in grade-school art class? Remember how she said it was the best Mother’s Day gift she’d ever gotten? We’ve got news for you: she was just being nice. Here’s your chance to redeem yourself — or to open up old wounds. Either way, it’s all in good fun. There’s something cathartic about throwing a chunk of clay onto a spinning wheel, getting your hands dirty, and, when it’s all said and done, having a new coffee mug for your troubles. For the first time, this year’s summer program, held August 2 through 21, offers a class for intermediate wheel-throwing students. Tuition for the semester includes open lab hours, 25 pounds of clay, and firing and glazing costs.

Mudflat Studio/Mudflat Pottery School, 149 Broadway, Somerville, (617) 628-2082; www.mudflat.org.

BEGINNING GRAPHIC DESIGN

Have you ever had the urge to don square-rimmed glasses and get your hair highlighted and stylishly tousled? To grow a soul patch, and adorn your workstation with arcane movie memorabilia and action figures? To let the music of Massive Attack and Squarepusher serve as the soundtrack to your workday? Only to be cruelly reminded that you’re in accounting, and not design?

Yes, those creative types not only get away with dressing mod in the office; they’re also some of the most in-demand, well-paid people in the job market. The good news is that nowadays, industry-standard software such as QuarkXPress and Photoshop have made it possible for just about everyone to develop design ability. As the old saying goes, creativity can’t be taught, but technique can. That’s where the School of the Museum of Fine Arts comes to your rescue with Beginning Graphic Design ($620), a 10-week course covering "a broad range of design assignments based on realistic case histories." The course, which runs June 15 through August 3, is designed for both beginners and more-advanced students, and includes lectures on creativity, design and color theory, graphic design and letterform history, and typography. You’ll pay a little more for this class. But remember: you can’t put a price tag on true art.

School of the Museum of Fine Arts, 230 The Fenway, Boston, (617) 267-6100; www.smfa.edu.

SYMBOL, MYTH, RITUAL

If you’re looking for college credit — whether you’re sprinting to the graduation finish line or slowly chipping away at that undergraduate degree in your spare time — consider putting on your thinking cap at UMass Boston. Boston’s only oceanfront university is the academic equivalent of the Christmas Tree Shops: you can’t help but wonder how it can offer so many great things at such a bargain.

Even if you’re just looking for some continuing education as a summer pastime, the price of Symbol, Myth, Ritual ($525) is comparable to other pure-pleasure one-month summertime classes. As an introductory and survey course, the three-credit class, which meets July 20 through August 26 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, examines three world-historic religions (Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity) and the "contemporary renewals and revision of those traditions from the perspective of various critics of the social and political order."

UMass Boston, 100 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, (617) 287-5000; www.umb.edu.

FRENCH 1

If you’re like so many other people, at one point or another you’ve made your "life list." You know the one — it’s got all the things you want to do before the "big peace out." Visit China, sing in a choir, make a million dollars, go skydiving, etc. It’s probably safe to say that nine out of 10 life lists include "learn another language" — and why not? Being bilingual makes you seem worldly and sophisticated. It makes travel easier. It impresses the honeys. And it preserves American honor. The old joke goes: what do you call someone who speaks two languages? Bilingual. What do you call someone who speaks three languages? Trilingual. What do you call someone who speaks one language? American.

You don’t have to take that lying down. Learn to stick it to those snobby Frenchies ... in French. The Boston Language Institute offers courses in nearly 140 languages, from Arabic to Zulu and everything in between. What’s more, class sizes tend to be small (never more than 12 students), and all instructors are native speakers of the languages they teach. During the institute’s main summer session (as opposed to its accelerated session), held June 28 through August 16, French 1 ($395) teaches you to "conduct basic conversations and write brief paragraphs about a range of everyday topics." Mon Dieu!

Boston Language Institute, 648 Beacon Street, Boston, (617) 262-3500; www.bostonlanguage.com.

FUNDAMENTALS OF GARDENING

As ye sow, so shall ye reap ... unless you suck at gardening. It seems simple enough: throw some seeds in some dirt and let Mother Nature do her thing. But you’d be amazed at just how complicated it can be to make your garden grow. Novice gardeners are often frustrated when all their hard work results in only a couple of pathetic-looking sunflowers and an inedible tomato. What on the surface appears to be a relaxing hobby can turn out to be a long-term science experiment.

But Jamaica Plain’s Arnold Arboretum (one of the true gems of our fair city) offers a full suite of summertime gardening and horticultural classes, including a down-and-dirty beginners’ course ($96), held July 6 through 27. Fundamentals of Gardening teaches "some of the basic principles essential to good gardening, including site analysis and soil preparation, watering and irrigation, plant selection, and horticultural requirements of plants."

The Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, (617) 524-1718; www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

Brian E. O’Neill can be reached at brianeoneill@hotmail.com .