Blog Post 6

The Last Lecture

Randy Pausch’s last lecture was amazing. This lecture was titled his last because Randy found out that his cancer had returned and he had approximately ten tumors on his liver. The doctors gave him an estimated time span of three to six months of good health. One of the first things he discusses is that this is something he can’t change, and he is making every moment count. One of his quotes is “you can’t control the cards your dealt, just how you play the hand.” I truly feel that Randy Paush was an extraordinary person and on July 25, 2008, Many people suffered a tremendous loss. He had such a positive energy, and had so much wisdom. You don't often meet many people like Dr. Pausch and he is someone that is not easily forgotten.

Next, Dr. Pausch talks about his childhood dreams and how his dreams molded him into the person he become. When you let a child dream, it can open the door to help them achieve greatness and other goals above what they expected. They might not achieve all their dreams, and that is ok. I want to teach students that it’s very important to go after what you believe in and no matter what, you have to work hard to achieve your dreams.  Another important thing is Fundamentals. You have to  know the basics before you can move on to the "big stuff".                            
                                     

I want to be the teacher that my students consider fun, and can't wait to get to school. I know from my own experience I retain less information when I am sitting listening to a boring lecture. You have to find ways to liven things up.You have to keep things interesting and keep the students interest alive. I believe children retain more information, when they are having fun, and interested in what they are doing. As Dr. Pausch said Life should be fun, and ask yourself, Do you want to be Tigger, or Eeyore?

In his lecture he finds it important not to set specific bar for his students to reach. He advised that if you do not set a bar, then the students would go above and beyond your expectations. Another piece of advice in his lecture was, “brick walls are there for a reason, not to keep us out, but to prove how much you want something.” I hope to be able to have that positive influence on my future students that Dr. Pausch had on his. I want to teach my students that you don't give up, you just work harder. Another valuable quote is"experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted". Everyone experiences this at some point in their life, you think at the time that is what you really wanted, but it doesn't happen. Most of us don't see it at the time but it can turn out to be a good thing, because it is opening the door for something better.