There are 10 students gathered around a table. Some are watching the guest speaker at front of the room; others are flipping through papers or fidgeting with their pens.

These students, congregated in the basement of Engelhart Hall Wednesday, are not typical 20-year-old college students. They all have gray hair and most of them are wearing glasses.

The students are among more than 600 retired Evanston and Chicago residents who participate in weekly peer-organized discussion groups through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in Northwestern’s School of Continuing Studies.

The program, now in its 19th year, offers about 70 coursesfor retired and semi-retired residents who want to learn but don’t necessarily want to take tests or earn college credit.

“Our motto is ‘curiosity never retires,’ and that describes a lot of us, as well,” said Bill Bridgman, the program’s Evanston membership chairman. “Before you retire, you never really have the chance or the time to pursue a lot of these interests. This is the prefect time to look at subjects in more detail.”

Every part of the program is peer-organized. Members propose course topics, pick out books and create class outlines. A panel of members selects the courses – ranging from The Literature of Baseball to Reforming the United Nations – for fall and spring semesters. Participants also take turns coordinating and leading weekly discussions.

“It’s a very collaborative program,” said director Barbara Reinish. “It’s a much more powerful way of using your brain than passively learning with lectures. Everyone gets to voice his or her own opinion and learn from one another.”

Laura Wilber, vice chairwoman of the study group committee, said their approach helps expose participants to new perspectives.

“There are retired teachers, attorneys, business people,” said Wilber, a professor emeritus of communication science and disorders. “Everyone comes from a different background. We learn to think in new ways.”

Bridgman, who is taking three classes this semester, said he has also picked up several new interests since he joined the program five years ago. He said he now subscribes to The New Yorker after enrolling in a study group that focuses on the magazine.

Both coordinators and participants said they value the social ties and sense of community the program provides. Reinish said groups of students often go to lunch together, throw dinner parties and organize poetry readings.

Students also use an Internet mailing list to share everything from life experiences to doctor referrals, Bridgman added.

“It’s a group that’s become very close-knit,” he said. “Most people come without knowing anyone and form a network afterwards.”

The social connections keep people coming back year after year, Bridgman said. Several members have been involved with the program since it was formed in 1987.

But the real challenge, program coordinators said, is attracting a new generation of retiring baby boomers.

“The concept of retirement is changing so that younger generations may not go through that threshold of working one day, and not the next,” Bridgman said. “Retirement is becoming a more gradual process. We need to change with the times.”

Members have created a committee to talk to younger retirees. They are considering adding evening courses and changing discussion topics to attract younger semi-retirees, said Bridgman.

“The program may be changing,” he said, “but people will always have interests they want to explore.”

Reach Abha Bhattarai at [email protected].