Blog Post #7

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

I watched the video the first time around, and then I read the official transcript for the lecture. I read the lecture in order to have a better understanding of the lecture. I was so overwhelmed the first time I watched it, that I felt like I needed this extra time for comprehension. I can honestly say I enjoyed listening to the lecture and learning from Randy Pausch. A few of the things that I learned from listening and agree with are to always be a Tigger in life and never loose your childlike wonder; have specific dreams, do not let anything stop you; show gratitude; have loyalty and the concept of using head faking in the classroom to teach.

Always being the Tigger in life allows you to never loose your childlike wonder and at the same time have fun in everything you do. I am a huge proponent of having fun in life and making the best of what you are given. Dr. Pausch did not let the gloominess of having three to six months to live stop his positive attitude or childlike wonder. Having childlike wonder also keeps your dreams alive and keeps you reaching for more. As a child, nothing is off limits for you to dream for or have a goal of, it should continue that way as an adult. Why shouldn't we be able to pursue those dreams we had as a child? We should continue to have goals and dreams. Having fun in life, makes everything more fun. Just like Tigger in Winnie the Pooh, he has fun in everything, even if he is working. The best part about being teachers is our job is to create and make learning fun for our students; therefore, we have an excuse to have fun all the time.

Dreaming was a major portion of Dr. Pausch's lecture. He had several major dreams, including to experience zero gravity, play for the National Football League, author an article in The World Book, become an Imagineer, win a huge stuff animal, and be Captain Kirk. He never stopped reaching for those dreams until he experienced each one in some way. At one point in his lecture, he told the audience that "the best gold is sometimes at the bottom of the barrels full of crap." I only had a few dreams when I was younger, but even now I still have dreams. Through this lecture, Randy Pausch reminded me that it is good to have dreams, but it is just as important to search after them. Not to give up on reaching them, but push even harder because one day they will happen! This is a very important point to make when teaching. Many of our students might have dreams that we think are off the wall or just plain impossible and crazy, but here we are shown that they are possible. As teachers we need to encourage our students to go after them and do our part in assisting them to reach their goals. Never giving up is something that will have value beyond the classroom if we can instill it in our students.

Head faking is not a new concept, but a concept that now has a name! I now look back and see that as a child, this concept was used on me many times. I can not count how many times I watched a video or played a game that I now realize was really used to teach me something. Even in reading books, many children's books have used the concept of head faking. We think we are reading a book when really we are learning about friendship, sharing, telling the truth, or even obedience. The main concept is that the educational or real purpose is not realized by the students. When I am teaching, I want to be able to use this concept as much as possible. I believe students will actually learn more because they are having fun. Dr. Pausch even used head faking in his lecture and at the end he points this out.

I really enjoyed this lecture and learning about Dr. Pausch. There is a lot of valuable life lessons to be learned from his life. He gave this lecture on September 18, 2007 and lost his battle to cancer in July 2008. Thank you Dr. Pausch for everything that you passed on to us through this lecture.