Blog Post #8

What can we learn about teaching and learning from Randy Pausch?

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture holds so many wonderful life lessons. Personally, I was reminded that I need to be thankful for every day I am given on this earth, to love those around me, and to dream big. I also learned several things about teaching and learning.

In Randy's lecture, he told a story about assigning a 2 week project to his class, and being completely amazed at the results he got. He even stated that if he would have gotten the same results after giving the students a year to complete it, he would have given them all A's. This is a great example of how students will go above and beyond what you expect of them. The instructions for this project were very vague, and there were only two rules. Leaving so much room for the students to do whatever they want gives them the opportunity to be imaginative, think critically, and surpass expectations. I plan to use this in my classroom through Project Based Learning. Randy also talked about how he had a professor who pushed him, and helped him to become successful. A teacher plays a very important role in many children's lives. You can either push your students to be the best they can be and help them to get there, or accept mediocre work and not expect great things. Randy's professor is a great role model for all teachers. Educators should push students to succeed, and help them in any way that they can. I hope that I can inspire my future students like Andy was inspired.

Not only did I learn several things about teaching from Randy, I also learned about learning. Randy discussed "brick walls" several times throughout the lecture. Brick walls are problems you face when trying to achieve somethings. After listening to Randy talk about finding ways around these brick walls, I learned that life doesn't always give you the easiest hand, and you have to learn to work with what you get. Life is a never ending learning process. People are always learning, and you need to welcome all opportunities to gain new knowledge.

This lecture was very interesting, and it really opened my eyes to how important it is to enjoy today and spend time with those you love. You never know when you will lose someone or be the one who is lost. It is a great lecture for anyone to watch, but as a future educator I really appreciated many parts of it.