Saturday Academy
Redefines Weekend
Listening to Bridie Harrington describe Saturday Academy’s class offerings, you can’t help but think “this is what all school should be like” and then get sort of envious of the students who get to explore such topics as:
- What is string theory?
- How does medicine make you better?
- Could I make a robot to do my homework?
Saturday Academy, a Portland institution that just celebrated its 25th year anniversary, offers a wealth of unique educational opportunities to which kids might not otherwise have access. There are no grades, no credit for the classes. Instead, kids receive the gift of following their interests – or developing new ones.
In the Lego Physics class, for example, students design machines that actually move using gears and cams, levers and pulleys. They learn the fundamentals of physics, structural design and engineering – all while having fun in a no-pressure environment. “They don’t even realize how far they are going in one class,” says Harrington. “Some students might think that science is maybe not for them. But through a combined course, such as Math & Architecture, kids who think they are only interested in art, see art as a window into another field.”
This term, Saturday Academy is offering a course in Neuroscience. Learning from scientists, not textbooks, students will have the opportunity to watch brain activity during an MRI scan, observe brain cells under a fluorescent microscope, and study how drugs affect brain function. This is the stuff that doctors are made of.
“This is a great way for kids to prepare for college. Not just in getting into a university (though SA does offer several college & test prep courses), but in figuring out what they want to study,” says Harrington, a program assistant and instructor with SA. “Whether its animation, or cryptology or chemistry or acting or creative writing or quantum mechanics, these programs are a great way for kids to explore what they want to get out of college. They get to follow their curiosities at an early age.”
In addition to the classes, which are taught by both professional educators and working professionals and which are geared for students in grades 2 through 12, SA offers apprenticeship programs for students in high school, pairing the students with working professionals to provide a hands-on experience in a local workplace. Most of the classes are very small. All the programs are open to any student in the state, and financial aid is available (in fact, almost 15% of open enrollment students receive some form of tuition assistance).
Saturday Academy is funded through tuition, grants and contributions, and an endowment. Some grants fund SA to deliver classes into the schools – in some cases they’re supplemental to TAG programs, in other cases they’re offered to at-risk students in Title 1 schools.
As adults, we often pursue hobbies as a way to enrich or supplement our work-filled lives. But our children, through the pursuit of curiosity, can learn how best to make their livings out of their hobbies.
About Saturday Academy
830 SW 10th Ave., Ste. 200
Portland, OR 97205
(503) 200-5858
www.saturdayacademy.org
