There are some wonderful pearls of wisdom from the always-engaging and brilliant Jeff Wilhelm in the video embedded below. (Skip to about 15:30 to hear what I think is the best section of video…)

He’s talking about inquiry and motivation and relevance in schools during a recent Scholastic Teacher Talk – but what he’s saying I think applies to us adults too as lifelong learners who want to be better workers, friends, bloggers, husbands and wives. Here are a few quotes I’ve pulled:

“Kids want to feel competent and if you’re feeling like you’re developing competence, that’s the most motivating thing in the world. If you’re feeling stupid, that’s the least motivating thing in the world.”

“Errors are a sign of growth. If you make an error, it’s because you tried to do something you couldn’t quite yet do. That means you’re in your zone of proximal development. We need to reward that.”

“Being told what to think is unmotivating and it’s not relevant. But figuring out what you think and what you want to do about it is highly relevant. It allows you to undertake the primary task of adolescence… [which] is to become more competent through your evolving interest.”