--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What we want in students is creativity…" description: "\"What we want in students is creativity and a willingness to fail. I always say to students, 'If you've never at some point stayed up all night talking ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/320/alison-gopnik-4163_about_what-we-want-in-students-is-creativity-a_2306199.png" --- # What we want in students is creativity and a willingness… ![“What we want in students is creativity and a willingness to fail. I always say to students, 'If you've never at some point stayed up all night talking to your new boyfriend about the meaning of life instead of preparing for the test, then you're not really an intellectual.'” quote by Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/320/alison-gopnik-4163_about_what-we-want-in-students-is-creativity-a_2306199.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/320/alison-gopnik-4163_about_what-we-want-in-students-is-creativity-a_2306199.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/320/alison-gopnik-4163_about_what-we-want-in-students-is-creativity-a_2306199.png) > “What we want in students is creativity and a willingness to fail. I always say to students, 'If you've never at some point stayed up all night talking to your new boyfriend about the meaning of life instead of preparing for the test, then you're not really an intellectual.'” [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creativity thrives when failure is accepted; intellectual growth requires risk and deep personal engagement. **In simple terms:** Failing fuels creativity and intellect. Key Takeaway Embrace failure as learning. Themes creativity risk learning Mood encouraging reflective Type motivational educational When to use this quote - education - research - artistic projects - entrepreneurship - personal development Key Concepts growth mindset intellectual curiosity Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance risk with responsibility? - When has failure led to insight for you? A Different Perspective Failure can be demotivating. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaning/) [Meaning of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaning-of-life/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Willingness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willingness/) ## Related quotes > [A great teacher is one who realizes that he himself is also a student and whose goal is not dictate the answers, but to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-hancock/a-great-teacher-is-one-who-realizes-that-he-himself-is-also-a-student/) [Herbie Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-hancock/) > [I always say to students, 'You're never going to have all the skills, but you have to have a skill.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-wilson/i-always-say-to-students-you-re-never-going-to-have-all-the-skills/) [Louise Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-wilson/) > [I would say this to my students all the time, it's about 30% you as the teacher and 70% about them. 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