Randy Pausch's Last Lecture
Randy Pausch's last lecture is an extremely valuable and important lecture with an incredible amount of useful information and tips. He gave this lecture at Carnegie Mellon University before a number of people who were important to him. I've seen this video once before, and I learned even more from it the second time. He gives tons of good advice to people from any walk of life. Although some of the speech contains information about people who most of us have never heard of, he intersperses this information with incredible advice.
The brick wall analogy is one image that really stood out to me on this viewing of the lecture. Randy Pausch says brick walls in life are there to separate those who really want something from those who don't. This may seem like a typical statement about perseverance, but it really stood out to me. This analogy shows how important dreams are because without them a brick wall in life will be a spot to stop and settle. A dream is necessary to help us press on through the walls or obstacles in life and achieve something we really want.
The point he made that stuck with me last time and continues to stick with me in this viewing is that of the "head fake." A "head fake" is basically when a teacher tricks a student into learning something by disguising it in a fun activity. This can obviously be applied to any field of education and requires someone with belief in the good they can do to pull it off. I hope to incorporate fun into my classroom in any way I can because that is what I remember from my years in high school. I don't remember the teachers who taught information in a mundane fashion, and I don't remember what they taught. I remember the videos I made and the groups I worked in more than any information out of a book. A classroom can always use more "head fakes."
Randy Pausch was an inspirational man. The passion that he delivered this speech with really illuminated his zest for life. Even in his difficult battle with cancer, he maintained the demeanor of someone in a much better situation. Out of all the advice this speech gave that might be the most significant.
Joshua,
ReplyDeleteIt seems you can never watch Randy Pausch's Last Lecture too much! I love the video and it is so inspirational. Even though Randy Pausch is gone now, it is wonderful that we can still celebrate his life through the internet. I like how you mentioned that you remember making videos and working in groups more than the monotonous work you did in high school. This is very true and this is why those aspiring to be teachers have to take EDM 310. We are trying to make it so there is no more monotonous work! I found this comic that is based on a Randy Pausch quote and I think you would like it.