Blog Post #10

What Can We Learn About Teaching and Learning From Randy Pausch?

I truly loved watching Randy Pausch's Last Lecture. At first, I wasn't sure what to expect when we were told to watch an hour and sixteen minute video for this weeks blog post but shortly after turning it one I was hooked. Randy Pausch is such an inspiring man and there is so much that we can all learn from him. Even though Pausch has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and was only given a few months to live he was making the most of his remaining time on Earth with his family and friends.

In the beginning of his lecture Mr. Pausch tells us the things he is not there to talk about which included his wife and kids, cancer, and religion. He was there to talk about his dreams, helping other people enable their dreams, and lessons he has learned. Mr. Pausch went on to talk about football, imagineers, and being at zero gravity.

I took several quotes from this lecture. The one that I really thought about was "experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted." This quote can apply to all of our lives when we get disappointed about something we really wanted or thought we deserved. Pausch also discussed "brick walls." He tells us that the brick walls are there for a reason. They are there to let us prove how badly we want things and to let us show our dedication.

Mr. Pausch was all about helping others in any way that he could. Head fake was another thing Mr. Pausch addressed. I think this applies so much in the classroom. Using a head fake is making someone think they are learning something, but they are really learning something else. Alice was a program that he and a group of other people worked on for years that was based on millions of kids having fun while learning something hard.

I loved this lecture from Randy Pausch and I cannot wait to begin reading his book, The Last Lecture.