Hidden behind the unremarkable frontage of a low-rise warehouse in the Mission district of San Francisco is one of the most innovative education experiments in the US. Now in its seventh year, Brightworks is turning education on its head with an approach that makes the pupil entirely responsible for shaping their own learning experience. A private school for children of all ages, Brightworks is unusual in that there are no exams, no testing or SATs, no formal curriculum, no learning objectives and no teachers, only “collaborators”. Children come to school to work on projects they devise entirely by themselves — often using power tools, drills, hammers and saws. Whether inside, creating extraordinary large-scale metal works, or outside on field trips around the Bay Area and beyond, the emphasis is on playful stress-free learning.
在舊金山教會區(Mission District)一棟不起眼的低層倉庫內，隱藏著美國最創新的教育實驗之一。已進入第七年的Brightworks正在顛覆教育方法，其做法是讓學生全權負責設計自己的學習體驗。Brightworks是一所接收各年齡段孩子的私立學校，它的與衆不同之處在於沒有測驗，沒有考試或SAT（美國大學入學考試），沒有正式的教學大綱，沒有學習目標，也沒有老師，只有「協作者」。孩子們來到學校，投入完全由自己設計的項目——往往會使用電動工具、電鑽、錘子和鋸子。無論是在校內製作令人驚歎的大型金屬作品，還是在灣區(Bay Area)和更遠的地區進行實地考察，重點是讓孩子們在無壓力的情況下邊玩邊學習。