Blog Post #6

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

This lecture is titled his last because shortly before this he was given only three to six months to live. Randy had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and had several tumors. One of the first things he talks about is how this is something he can't change so he must just deal with it. His outlook on life is a very positive one and he does not let any of this effect him and what he wants to accomplish in the time he has left. It is inspiring how well he has accepted and embraced is unfortunate circumstances. 

Next, he talks about his various childhood dreams and how they have helped him today, even those that were never achieved. One thing that he learned from playing football was that the fundamentals are the most important. You must master these before anything else can successfully be achieved. As a future educator this is something that is very applicable in the classroom. Students must know the basics before they can apply the lessons to their everyday life or move on to tougher material. Fundamentals are a major part of a child's schooling and learning process. Teachers are teaching them the basic skills they will need in the future. One thing that he also mentioned that really stuck out to me was that most of what we learn, we learn indirectly. This is so true and we can see it in our students everyday. They learn how to socialize and interact with other children and various other things that may not necessarily be in the curriculum. Randy also gives the uses the example of brick walls. Brick walls are there to show us how much we want something, and we must tear them down to achieve our goals.

One course that he taught at the university was Building Virtual Worlds. Students were randomly chosen for this class and were to produce five projects throughout the semester. When they turned in the first one after just two weeks, he was amazed at their accomplishments. He received advice from a colleague who told him to tell the students that they did a great job but he still knew they could do better. This would encourage them to continue to strive to make the projects even better. This concept is something that all educators should think about using. Pushing children to do their best and continue to improve is very important. We should never allow them to stop learning and improving. Children will surprise themselves on how much they are capable of when they are given the opportunity to be creative.

Near the end of the lecture he talks about how learning should be fun. Kids can have fun while learning something very hard by the use of technology. This will keep them engaged and they will begin to learn hard things and not even realize it. Technology is something that is a vital tool that can be used in the classroom. Even since this lecture was held technology as advanced even more. We as educators should be up to date with the changes and keep technology integrated in to the learning environment. He says be a Tigger and not an Eeyore. In other words, be positive and happy, rather than negative and depressing. As teachers we need to be just as excited and engaged in the learning process as the students. If we are not then how can we ever expect the children to be.

I really enjoyed watching the lecture. Randy is really witty and made some great points. His positive outlook on life and how he has lived to his fullest potential is inspiring. The lecture could be very helpful for future educators, parents, or anyone who wants to help people fulfill their dreams or better themselves. I would definitely recommend the video and Dr. Strange was right in saying that it was well worth the time.