Favourite teachers usually care about their subjects and speak with excitement and enthusiasm. Physicist Richard Feynman was known for making physics come alive for many people. Watching his lectures inspires one to study physics. From Feynman, we've learned that education starts with inspiration.

Teachers have a responsibility to entertain

We can move to a system of inspiration by inverting the learning process. Instead of starting with the building blocks and moving towards curiosity, students should be guided by curiosity and then move toward the building blocks.  The benefits of memorization will become self-evident, and the motivation to learn can become intrinsic. However, the sad truth is that this way of learning is not scalable for an in-person curriculum where students must do the same thing at the same time.

Learning for the sake of learning

In our modern world, the masters of storytelling come from Hollywood and YouTube. These creators use many of the same tools the Greeks discovered.  But now it costs nearly nothing to spread great entertainment and education to the world.

Modern masters of storytelling

Schools should embrace entertainment because it lets you scale inspiration.  Entertainment is not amusement. Entertainment means engaging a person's attention in a way that makes the time pass pleasantly. The ancient Greeks knew this intuitively and wrapped their most important ideas in narratives instead of just giving dry facts. For example, plays like The Iliad and The Odyssey weren't just a form of entertainment. They provided cultural instruction too.

How to produce inspired learners

If we want an educated citizenry that enjoys learning and knows how to take advantage of all the available information on the internet, we need to inspire people. Education and learning theorists propose that students learn best when it is associated with strong positive emotions. But stress, boredom, confusion, low motivation and anxiety can interfere with learning. Schools have become stress incubators and condition students to associate learning with unpleasantness. Schools value rote memorization over people's ability to take action and to learn for the sake of knowing.

People are capable of extraordinary feats of learning

People usually learn things because they need to. They are either frustrated by something in themselves or the world. Maybe they're not making enough money to support their family, or a loved one is sick.  In these cases, they're entering a survival mode where they're urged to action. While survival mode learning can be effective, it is not sustainable or enjoyable in the long run.

Why people learn things

Why do people learn things? Usually, because they need to. They’re frustrated by something, either in themselves or the world. Maybe a loved one is sick. Maybe they’re not making enough money to support their family. In both cases, they enter “Survival Mode” and are spurred to action. When the pain of the status quo hurts more than the pain of discipline, people are capable of extraordinary feats of learning. But this isn't sustainable and it usually isn't fun. So how can we move to a better system of learning that works for everyone? LEARN MORE ABOUT WRITING: Beginner Writing Email Course (7 days): http://dperell.com/writing-course Advanced Writing Email Course (50 days): https://dperell.com/50-days MY WRITING: Monday Musings: http://dperell.com/monday-musings Friday Finds: http://dperell.com/friday-finds Collected Friday Finds Links: http://dperell.com/friday-finds-best Online Writing Email Course: http://dperell.com/writing-course Essays: http://dperell.com/essays Twitter: http://dperell.com/david-perell-twitter MY PODCASTS: North Star Interview Podcast: https://www.perell.com/podcast Write of Passage Podcast: https://www.perell.com/write-of-passage-podcast Recommended interviews: Seth Godin (Author): http://dperell.com/seth-godin Morgan Housel (Writer): http://dperell.com/morgan-housel Sara Dietschy (YouTuber): http://dperell.com/sara-dietschy Jennifer Morrison (Actress): http://dperell.com/jennifer-morrison Tiago Forte (Entrepreneur): http://dperell.com/tiago-forte-podcast MY COURSES: Write of Passage: http://dperell.com/write-of-passage Twitter Course: http://dperell.com/twitter-course RECOMMENDED COURSES: Building a Second Brain: https://www.buildingasecondbrain.com/ YouTube Academy: https://academy.aliabdaal.com/premium-edition-cohort-1-nov-dec-2020/s2wvk MY GEAR Video Gear: https://kit.co/david_perell/remote-work-video-equipment Podcast Equipment: https://kit.co/david_perell/computer-podcasting-equipment RECOMMENDED ESSAYS Short form: Learn to Write Fast: http://dperell.com/learn-to-write-fast The Public to Private Bridge: http://dperell.com/public-to-private-bridge Build a Personal Monopoly: http://dperell.com/build-a-personal-monopoly Long form: Peter Thiel’s Religion: http://dperell.com/peter-thiels-religion What the Hell is Going On: http://dperell.com/what-the-hell The Ultimate Guide to Writing Online: http://dperell.com/ultimate-guide-to-writing-online WHO AM I? I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Check out my newsletter: http://dperell.com/monday-musings and my online course, Write of Passage: http://dperell.com/write-of-passage Some of the links in this description are affiliate links for equipment, classes, and resources that I have found useful myself!

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Why do people learn things? 

Usually, because they need to. They’re frustrated by something, either in themselves or the world. Maybe a loved one is sick. Maybe they’re not making enough money to support their family. 

In both cases, they enter “Survival Mode” and are spurred to action. When the pain of the status quo hurts more than the pain of discipline, people are capable of extraordinary feats of learning.

But this isn't sustainable and it usually isn't fun. So how can we move to a better system of learning that works for everyone?

LEARN MORE ABOUT WRITING:
Beginner Writing Email Course (7 days): http://dperell.com/writing-course
Advanced Writing Email Course (50 days): https://dperell.com/50-days

MY WRITING:
Monday Musings: http://dperell.com/monday-musings
Friday Finds: http://dperell.com/friday-finds
Collected Friday Finds Links: http://dperell.com/friday-finds-best
Online Writing Email Course: http://dperell.com/writing-course
Essays: http://dperell.com/essays
Twitter: http://dperell.com/david-perell-twitter

MY PODCASTS:
North Star Interview Podcast: https://www.perell.com/podcast
Write of Passage Podcast: https://www.perell.com/write-of-passage-podcast

Recommended interviews:
Seth Godin (Author): http://dperell.com/seth-godin
Morgan Housel (Writer): http://dperell.com/morgan-housel
Sara Dietschy (YouTuber): http://dperell.com/sara-dietschy
Jennifer Morrison (Actress): http://dperell.com/jennifer-morrison
Tiago Forte (Entrepreneur): http://dperell.com/tiago-forte-podcast

MY COURSES:
Write of Passage: http://dperell.com/write-of-passage
Twitter Course: http://dperell.com/twitter-course 

RECOMMENDED COURSES:
Building a Second Brain: https://www.buildingasecondbrain.com/
YouTube Academy: https://academy.aliabdaal.com/premium-edition-cohort-1-nov-dec-2020/s2wvk

MY GEAR
Video Gear: https://kit.co/david_perell/remote-work-video-equipment 
Podcast Equipment: https://kit.co/david_perell/computer-podcasting-equipment 

RECOMMENDED ESSAYS
Short form:
Learn to Write Fast: http://dperell.com/learn-to-write-fast
The Public to Private Bridge: http://dperell.com/public-to-private-bridge
Build a Personal Monopoly: http://dperell.com/build-a-personal-monopoly

Long form:
Peter Thiel’s Religion: http://dperell.com/peter-thiels-religion
What the Hell is Going On: http://dperell.com/what-the-hell 
The Ultimate Guide to Writing Online: http://dperell.com/ultimate-guide-to-writing-online

WHO AM I?
I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Check out my newsletter: http://dperell.com/monday-musings and my online course, Write of Passage: http://dperell.com/write-of-passage

Some of the links in this description are affiliate links for equipment, classes, and resources that I have found useful myself!

David Perell is a writer, teacher, and podcaster. He believes writing online one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. David seeks to help as many people publish their writing online as possible.

David’s online course, Write of Passage, has been taken by more than 500 students from more than 40 countries and from companies like Intel, Google, and Twitter. The five-week course draws on David’s experience writing online, building an audience, and his interviews with more than 100 people on his North Star Podcast. Each interview explores the methods and principles of successful creators, artists, and entrepreneurs. His podcast guests include astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, author Seth Godin, and economist Tyler Cowen.

He also runs an online course for 9-11-year-old kids focused on creativity and entrepreneurship.