Blog Assignment 6

Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Acquiring Childhood Dreams

Randy Pausch, Last Lecture was an excellent video. From doing a previous blog assignment about Pausch, I know that Randy Pausch died of pancreatic cancer about 10 months after the Last Lecture. It amazes me how positive Pausch's energy is, even when he knows he does not have long to live and is leaving behind his wife and kids. Even though, Pausch knew he was dying, he was still willing to encourage others and share his life experiences to help others. Pausch's advice in his lecture is something that could help everyone live a better life. Pausch states, "you cannot change the cards we are dealt just how we play the hand," which I think is one of the most influential statements he said. People often complain about their life, instead Pausch suggest that we should live life to the fullest despite the obstacles that are in our way.

Pausch believes it is important to live out your childhood dreams, help other achieve their dreams, and know how to deal with the lessons learned. As an educator, we will have children with all types of dreams and we must remember not to discourage children from fulfilling their dream no matter how bizarre they may seem. As a mentor, parent, or educator, we must always let others know they will encounter "brick walls" but the walls are there to make us stronger and according to Pausch, they are there to let us know how bad we want something. We must be reminded that obstacles will arise, but we must learn to go around them. If a student comes to us because they believe they have failed, we should continue to encourage them. According to Pausch, we must "head fake" students and when we "head fake" students we are letting them know that it is not the actual task that is important but the experience the student get from doing the task. When students are introduced to new concepts, we should encourage them to have fun along the way, but also remember "brick walls" will arise to make us stronger.

Students must not be afraid to make mistakes when achieving their dreams. If a mistake is made and a student is criticized because of their mistake, we should encourage the student to go back to the drawing board and start again. As educators, we should let our students know that we correct their behavior because we care, but not correcting them means we have already given up on them. Student should understand the correction comes to make them stronger, not to punish them. We must teach our students the fundamentals of working together and achieving their goals, because, without the basics, they will not succeed. Once a child understands the basics, we should never underestimate what our students can achieve. Teachers should not be so caught up with teaching a lesson, however, through a teaching lesson, we should encourage students to have fun. Most classrooms have an agenda to follow and never let the students enjoy activities during the lesson.

The last thing that Pausch talks about during his speech is how to deal with lessons learned. As an educator, we must be able to sit back and learn lessons from our students; however, we should not be too educated to listen to others. Pausch stated that being arrogant limits what you will be able to accomplish; therefore, no one knows everything and should be open to listen to what others have to say. Just because, we are there to teach the class does not mean our students do not have something to say; however, we must let them know when to speak out. As Pausch stated, we must "head fake" students when think they cannot complete a task, by comparing it to something they are comfortable doing. Some of the things Pausch states will take a while to accomplish, but we must continue every day to be a better person. If we taught our students to find the good in a person, we would not have problems with bullying or low self-esteem. Most students look up to teachers and in some cases teachers are the only role model a child may have; therefore, we must be that person that treat others with respect and show gratitude when others do not.