Blog Post #8

This week we were asked to view the very last lecture given by Carnegie Mellon professor Randy Pausch who inspired millions of people through his career and through simply accomplishing his life dreams. What an inspiration! Even though Randy died from cancer at an early age, he was still able to complete his life goals, teach and inspire learning and creativity around the world, and have fun while doing all of it. In his last lecture, Randy's light and kind heart as well as his passion for learning and growing is such an example to teachers and students alike. As a future educator, I can really take a lot from Randy Pausch's life and attitude towards his dreams.
In his last lecture, Randy tells story after story of how he achieved or came close to achieving all of his major life goals and dreams. Randy continuously refers to "brick walls" that hindered him from his dreams. He explains that these "brick walls" are only there to "keep out the people who don't want it as bad as you do." They are not meant to stop you, but to decipher who is deserving and who is not. "Brick walls" can be people, situations, teachers, parents, students, schools, documents, and anything else that can cause a problem on your journey to success, As a student and a teacher, we will all encounter these "brick walls". Randy tells us that this is the time to push harder in our education, or in our teaching methods, a break through will happen if you push through that brick wall. How do you push through that brick wall? Randy believes this take consistency. "Stick around long enough and people (situations) will surprise you; you will see someone's (something's) good side." This is so fundamental to us as educators. If we continue to invest and push through our frustrations with students or even parents, we will see a change. Our students will surprise us. We will accomplish our intentions! How do you keep from becoming frustrated while pushing through "brick walls"? Randy has an answer to that questions too: have FUN! Have fun while teaching your students! Let your students have fun while they are learning. Randy says that kids can learn difficult concepts if they are having fun. This helps both you and your students become learners, which creates such a productive atmosphere that can facilitate knocking down those "brick walls".  Randy also gives great advice on how we can become better learners. He says that if we listen to criticism, apologize when we are wrong, always work hard, and always do the right thing, we cannot fail! Randy Pausch's life is a true testament to all this  wonderful advice. Not only does his life experiences give us a guideline to be better learners and teachers, but to be better than who were yesterday, and even better than the person we will be tomorrow.