Brightworks and Tinkering School were shining examples of what makes child-centric learning transformative, in spite of the pandemic. Faced with so many challenges, it would have been easy to just do the bare minimum and wait for better days, but instead, across every program we saw innovation. From the engaging tinkering kits we sent home with every student, to the development of entirely new kinds of distance learning like the Mars Project – which connected summer camp kids to robots in a scale model of a lava tube – our staff created ways to keep students engaged and motivated.
Our work in these programs stands out against the backdrop of incremental change in education as an example of what can be done. Our explorations have had an incredible impact on the lives of children around the world, who have been inspired to ask questions, build new skills, and believe more in their own abilities. We have inspired educators through our Curious Educators Program to make bold moves in their own practice, changing the way children experience learning. Together we are re-imagining education and testing those ideas, we are acting as an engine of creativity.
Our programs continue to evolve and innovate, reminding the world that learning is a collaboration, that childhood should be amazing, and that everything is interesting.
My son has been at Brightworks (BWX) for 5 years and is now 14yrs old. Although because it is project based BWX is sometimes seen as a "maker-school" the main thing I feel it allows our son to make, is his own education. BWX allows him to have ownership over his learning. It empowers him. He isn't passive in his learning, he is in charge of it, crafting it.
One recent example of this: he was working on a group project; they were building a website tool to help people create better habits in their lives. One of the kids who wanted to do the project with them, was unsure if he could, because his parents had hoped he'd do a project on his own. Our son and one of his teammates wrote an email to their friend's parents outlining the project, trying to alleviate the parent's concerns, and listing out exactly what their son would learn from the group project. It was fully from their own initiative. BWX has taught them, if you have a problem (here, they wanted this kid on their team), figure out a way to try and solve it. And in this case, it worked! And now they have this extra motivation, they want the project to do extra well because they're responsible to themselves, but also to their friend's parents. It just feels like important life skills they're learning.
In the Bay area, we sometimes hear anecdotal stories, from friends, about younger workers/interns in the tech industry who have difficulty being self-guided, who need to be told what to do and how. I can't imagine a BWX kid being described that way.
Now that so much knowledge is accessible to us through the internet, it feels like schools need to teach us not facts, but more what we should be doing with all that knowledge. And I believe that's what BWX does.
BWX also has a huge heart. The collaborators care and give so much. Our son calls BWX his second family. He feels safe and secure enough there to be vulnerable, take risks, and aim big. There's a lot of interaction between students and they are constantly communicating and learning from each other.
We love it.
We love Brightworks. If you're looking for a school that makes learning fun and thinks outside the box, this is the school for you. We have the most incredible teachers and the community is loving and warm. We couldn't be happier. It's the perfect fit for our kiddo.
I feel so extremely lucky that my kids are at BWX this year. This school has gotten a lot of experience rolling with the punches over the past three years, and the community has developed a protocol of communication and flexibility that is getting us through this. The teachers are great and endlessly inventive, the administration is friendly and supportive, and the kids are, somehow, in the wasteland that 2020 has been, still learning things.
By Appointment only
