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.
在旧金山教会区(Mission District)一栋不起眼的低层仓库内，隐藏着美国最创新的教育实验之一。已进入第七年的Brightworks正在颠覆教育方法，其做法是让学生全权负责设计自己的学习体验。Brightworks是一所接收各年龄段孩子的私立学校，它的与众不同之处在于没有测验，没有考试或SAT（美国大学入学考试），没有正式的教学大纲，没有学习目标，也没有老师，只有“协作者”。孩子们来到学校，投入完全由自己设计的项目——往往会使用电动工具、电钻、锤子和锯子。无论是在校内制作令人惊叹的大型金属作品，还是在湾区(Bay Area)和更远的地区进行实地考察，重点是让孩子们在无压力的情况下边玩边学习。