An Extraordinarily Bold Creation
My work in education has often been inspired by bold thinkers, people who take risks, turn the bell curve inside-out and turn it around. Of the many bold innovators in the field, I have been inspired by Gever Tulley. I first came across Gever Tulley a few years ago when my son first showed a keen interest in tinkering. Researching resources for him, I came across the Tinkering School. From this, I went on to watch every TED talk given by Gever Tulley. In the last year, I have even reached out to some local Seattle folks to start a Tinkering school.
Imagine my surprise then when I learned that Gever Tulley was going to offer less Tinkering School sessions this summer, the first year that my son could have attended the school. Instead, he was onto something bigger: start a whole school based on the idea of fostering creativity through hands-on work. The Brightworks school launched this fall. True to its hands-on style, I figured there was no better way to get to know it than to visit it in person. I had just the right opportunity during a family vacation these past two weeks.
My visit was setup with a Program Coordinator. I expected to be taken around the premises, explained a few things, have some of my questions answered and then to leave in about an hour. Taking a chance, I asked if my partner/husband could come along as well. He is a tinkerer himself so I figured he would enjoy such a visit. They obliged. I was grateful. We showed up at our appointed time and stood outside a massive warehouse building. We rang the door bell and guess who answered? You got it right — Mr. Tulley himself!
We spent the next two hours understanding the ins and outs of Brightworks. Our conversation was candid and deep — everything I could ask for. Through many beautiful illustrations, Gever explained the Brightworks arc and answered my many questions. Brightworks is a staggeringly bold and innovative creation, one that is much needed in today's educational climate. What's so right about it?
Real: Every "arc", a 7 week-long exploration begins with 3 whole weeks of "Explorations". Each arc has a theme. The current theme is "By hand". The last one was "Cities". In the current theme, the students are meeting people from every walk of life conceivable to understand what it means to live, breathe, use and just be with hands. They have met surgeons, handicrafters, furniture makers, sign language teachers, watched East Indian dancers and more.
Why is this important? It makes learning relevant, meaningful, broad and diverse, integrated in the most real way. It exposes students to the depth and breadth of a theme, enchanting them but also nurturing a healthy sense of humility that comes from being in awe of the work they seek. Their humility does not make them afraid. Instead, their explorations inspire them into the next phase.
Creative, Personal and Collaborative: The "Exploration" phase is followed by "Expression". Students working in groups of 3-4 (designed to work with different partners in each arc) declare a project and get to work. They create their own exposition based on the theme. They design, plan, build, tinker, budget, seek resources and are supported by their "Collaborators". Teachers at Brightworks are collaborators and they take their role very seriously.
Why is this important? By creating something, students apply their learning from the explorations. They apply their learning in a manner that is most meaningful — by giving voice to their own creativity. They choose their own project idea but they don't do it alone. Like in most real-world jobs today, they have to share their ideas and hear those from others. They advocate, listen, convince, argue, take a step back and come together to design and create. This doesn't only matter because it applies to real-world jobs. It matters because we humans are essentially social, meant to work together, to make and build so we can live together.
"Exposition": That's the name of the last phase in the arc. Learners put a sandwich board out on the pavement outside their school and invite complete strangers to a week-long exhibition of their work. They answer questions, often bold, uninhibited questions from people who know little about the theme or their work. They explain, receive feedback and expose themselves by sharing work that is near and dear to them.
Why is this important? Your ideas are great! They are even important. But, they are valuable and relevant when you can share them with others, explain them and receive feedback (with humility) even on something that is desparately important to you. Being able to share your ideas with complete strangers and to hear their feedback launches a learner into a whole new phase of learning. At Brightworks, a project doesn't end with an exhibition. It begins to simmer with newer ideas and takes off from there. Talk about fostering life-long learning.
Brightworks has students between the ages of 6-13 years of age this year. It will expand to include 5 year-olds next year. It will cap off at 72 students. Why? So every student can have 6'x6' of space to do their work. That's why! It will expand by creating similar school sites around the world. Ready for the clincher? All the work at Brightworks is open source. Make sure to check it out!