Blog Post #6

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture was a long one(I should have taken my ADHD meds first), but well worth watching. He was an amazing man with amazing ideas. I'll be honest, I was in tears by the end of his lecture. It's so empowering.

I find myself running short on time to complete this assignment(partly because I waited til the last day) because I was so interested in Mr. Pausch and his life that I googled him and somehow managed to spend the next 2 hours reading articles, posts, and even a blog actually written by him tracking his progress with cancer. I couldn't stop, I wanted to know more. I feel like a big nerd now, but everything that he represents is so intriguing. Until this moment I was(secretly)unsure if I was in the right place, if teaching is what I am meant to do. This put to rest any doubt I may have. I only dream of being a monumental educator like Mr. Pausch.

Things I Learned From Mr. Pausch To Use In My Classroom:
(this may sound a little choppy, but it's flying out of my head so fast I can't organize it)

It's all about fundamentals. If you don't get the fundamentals down, nothing else will work. These should and will take the lead role in my classroom. Never give up. If you feel like someone is pushing you to hard, thank them. When you mess up and no one says anything to you, they gave up. I vow right now to never give up on any student that walks through the door of my classroom. I owe it to them to provide them with the best education I possibly can. Have enthusiasm. I want to be the kind of teacher that makes kids excited to come to school. Leadership is a skill too, own it.

It's not what you say, it's how you say it. This is something I've heard from my mom time and time again, and I get it of course, but it never really made sense until now. You should always be aware of what you are saying. There is a good way and a bad way to say everything. To the parents, let your kids paint their walls if they want to. I hope to have my students create an ongoing art project where they can paint a wall in my classroom. I want them to express their creativity and how they feel. Have fun, there is no other way to exist. You have to decide if you're a Tigger or an Eeyore. Mr. Pausch and I are both Tiggers, we choose to have fun!

Quotes From Lecture To Remember:

-"Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted."

-"Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things."

-"How can I enable childhood dreams?"

-"Don't bail; the best gold is at the bottom of barrels of crap."

-"Luck is where preparation meets opportunity."