Blog Post 7

Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture

Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture is truly inspirational. He speaks about achieving your childhood dreams. I was completely amazed by the enthusiasm Randy exhibited throughout the entire lecture, especially for a man on his death bed. Throughout the lecture Randy speaks about how important fundamentals are for anything you do in life. You can’t play football without first learning the rules and you can not tell your students to chase their dreams without first teaching them how to do so. Therefore, as educators it is important for us to correct our students when their actions are less than satisfactory. Randy says it best when he says “if you’re screwing up and no one is telling you, then they have stopped caring.”

You will hit brick walls. They are there for a reason. The walls let us prove how badly we want to achieve our dreams. They are also there to stop the people that don't want it badly enough. We must teach this to our students. Randy said, "Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted.". We shouldn't shatter the dreams of our impressionable students, but make them dream even bigger. Be persistent, brush yourself off and try again. My classroom will be a gateway for hope and possibility to is unending. Dr. Pausch stressed the importance of inspiring our youth.

Randy also says as educators we should never set the bar too low for our students. We should never underestimate their ability. Being positive and up for any challenge, you can do anything you set your mind to. Its amazing how your mind set can make a huge difference. It is one thing to dream to be a teacher, but it's another thing to become a teacher who reaches students and inspires people the way Dr. Pausch did during and after his life. It is extremely important not to hold children back from learning and creativity. "If your kids wants to paint their bedroom, let them. Don't worry about resale value of the house.", Dr. Pausch.

Dr. Pausch's Last Lecture has set fire to my desire to help students and make a difference in their lives. I will certainly strive to take the characteristics Randy mentions into my classroom. It is now part of my dream to enable others dreams. Although Randy Pausch achieved some amazing dreams, he also had some incredible teaching methods. He gives exceptional points that will allow us as teachers to strive in the classroom. He showed us that no matter what the circumstances may be we must never give up on our dreams.