Blog Post #7

Dr. Randy Pausch's Last Lecture




Before I get to the assignment part of this blog post, I would like say that I put off this assignment because I thought that it was going to be so long, and I just didn't have the time to do it. So today, as I reluctantly sat down in my bedroom to watch the video, I found myself engrossed in this story, I laughed and cried throughout the whole video. It was like reading a book that I couldn't put down, and was saddened when It ended.

Dr. Randy Pausch began his "last Lecture" with a look into his personal struggle with liver cancer. While he seemed the picture of good health on the outside, he explained, that on the inside he was not and only had a short time left to live. He was not saddened by this, but chose to deal with what he was given in a positive way.

Dr. Pausch's life has been filled with both successes and failures. Hitting the proverbial "brick wall" many times. He states," These brick walls are there for a reason; they let us prove how bad we want things". In every brick wall circumstance he learned something from it.

During his life and career, particularly at, Carnegie Mellon he introduced project based learning to the college and came up with a Masters program class where there were no books to read. The class was specifically and absolutely project based. Which led to the development of, "ALICE". A program teaching computer programming. It became a global Phenomenon. Which he says will be his prefessional legacy.

For educating students he uses a more hands on approach, using computers and technology, instead of books and focuses on collaboration and group learning.

Dr. Pausch listed some important lessons, not just educators but, for everyone who wants to achieve their life goals.
1. Help others
2. Do the right thing
3. Get feed back, listen to it and use it.
4. Show gratitude
5. Don't complain, just work harder.
Above all he says,"Have fun while learning something new!"

He also gave some good advice that I will take with me as I move forward in my quest to fulfill my own dream.

1.Be good at something,it makes you valuable.

This holds true, if you think about it, he is absolutely right. Why would anyone hire you for a job if you don't possess the right knowledge to do the job?

2. Find the best in everybody, No matter how long you have to wait for them to show it to you.

When my daughter tried out for cheerleading and made the team I was very proud and excited. However, there was a girl that made it that I felt shouldn't have, because to me, she lacked the skills necessary to be on the team. She really was a train wreck to watch. After several months of practice they went to competition and to my surprise this girl looked phenomenal, her jumps were great, she was sharp and was arguably one of the best on the team. She really did show me her best even though it took her all season. I was so proud if her.

3. Be prepared; luck is where preparation meets opportunity.

I can tie this one with being a teacher. The other day I was "teaching" a lesson to some second graders, and had not prepared as much as I should have. As I was teaching, I could tell that the lesson was not as good as it should have been. After I got home, I took some time to reflect on my performance. I thought to myself, I am so glad that the principal didn't take that moment to come in and watch me, otherwise she might have taken the one time I wasn't prepared and made a decision to not hire me when I graduate.

I learned a great deal from Dr. Pausch's lecture, but one thing he said that I really made sense to me was this:

" When your doing something wrong and no one is saying anything to you it is bad. because, it means that they have given up on you. The people who criticize you, are the ones who care about you the most."

Sadly,Dr. Pausch passed away on, July 25, 2007.