When a School Changes the way things are done: BrightWorks Arc School
Most parents would not allow their child to play with a power tool or fire, fearing the child could get hurt. That is what Gever Tulley did when he founded Brightworks, a fascinating disruption to traditional learning to date. At Brightworks, a student might get cut, have bloody knuckles, or get a nasty bruise. Students are allowed to explore and build using tools and solving real-world problems. Tulley, a former software engineer, believes that a child discovers what they are capable of when playing dangerously. Brightworks has one hard-fast rule, "Don't hurt yourself or anyone else." Imagine going to school and automatically getting access to electrical tools. When a student enrolls at Brightworks, their first school property issued is a cordless electric screwdriver. Many times in traditional schools; teachers withhold pointy scissors from students but at Brightworks they truly believe in student agency and allow students to utilize diverse resources to tell their story.
How Brightworks Functions
Brightworks takes the best from early childhood education and project-based hands-on learning environment that breaks down the walls between school and community. Students are grouped into "bands," not grade levels, each band is color-coded and contains 7 to 10 students. There are no more than 3 years age difference between students.
The red band contains the youngest students.
The yellow band is for the late elementary school-aged students
The elementary school-aged students are grouped
The middle school-aged students are grouped together
Brightworks breaks the school year into themes or "arcs" to help guide students in the course of study. One study arc was “seeds.” By cracking open oat seeds, students learn about averaging and estimation.
This hands-on learning process allows students to figure out how long it takes to make a bowl of oatmeal by hand. By opening each oat seed by hand, students learn how many oats will be needed to fill a bowl.
Brightworks Invites Students To Co-author Their Education
Brightworks creates a map of the area of study represented as regions of the map. The concept is studied from different perspectives, such as technical, scientific, history, art, and so on. To guide students through this learning journey, Brightworks teams the student with experts from that field of study. Tools and materials are readily available to students so they can create their own projects based on their understanding of the study concept. When a project is completed, students present their work as a public exposition.
Students explain the workings of their project, which expresses their understanding, which is reinforced through feedback and critique from their audience. Each student documents their work on each project in a portfolio that functions as a resume and a transcript for the project.
More About Brightworks
Gever created a summer program in 2006 he called Tinkering School to allow children to build anything form which they can learn. Bryan Welch, the Brightworks co-founder, created A Curious Summer allowing children to explore things that would inspire them. Both Welch and Gever said this new approach to educating children is what lead them to create Brightworks. If you are headed to San Francisco, I would definitely explore this wonderful place. Brightworks is located at 1960 Bryant Street in San Francisco, CA. Brightworks first open its doors on September 6, 2011. Tuition is on the high end for private schools in SF at $26,350, and there is financial aid available.
Sources
Pegg, Mike. B is for Brightworks: An Extraordinary School. The Positive Encourager. January 24, 2012.
Robinson, Melia. This futuristic school holds classes in tree houses and trusts kids with power tools. Business Insider November 17, 2015.