This video absolutely brought tears to my eyes. In Randy Pausch's last lecture he discusses lessons learned, achieving childhood dreams and advice. He also talks about enabling the dreams of others. This amazing video has touched my heart. How Mr. Pausch was so upbeat about his cancer is awesome. He had liver tumors and was given six months to live. He states that we can't change the cards we are dealt, but to play the hand we got to the best of our ability. He focuses on four direct things which are as follows: have fun, never lose the childhood wonder, help others and have a feedback loop and listen to it. He also places emphasis on not complaining , being good at something, be prepared and find the best in everybody.
I took the advice he has given and am going to try to use it in everyday life. The heart of this man has touched my soul. "Permission to dream is huge" is one of the quotes I will definitely use in my classroom and even at home with my own children. Someone who can instill these values in the children is an amazing person to me. I want my classroom to know that everything is limitless. Even if the dreams are not accomplished that they, the students, will take something away form the experience. As Mr. Pausch promotes, the brick wall is there for a reason.
Brick walls are there to prove how bad we want the things we done. They are there for individuals to break the mold. Everyone has a good side and is capable of anything; if you give them a chance. Enable the dreams of others. What better way to do that than to be a educator. To be able to mold children and teach them how to be self reflective are things I want to achieve in my classroom. I want my students to see that there are no limits and they can have fun while learning. Mr. Pausch said the best way to teach someone something is, they have to think they are learning something else. He refers to this as a head fake.
The tears began to pour when I realized that I was experiencing a head fake during this video. I never thought I would be so interested in a lecture as I was this one. Truly Mr. Pausch has changed my outlook on many things. I plan to use all of his advice in my classroom. His students were very lucky to have him as a teacher. I can only imagine what they learned from him. I am sure the range of possibilities is never ending. The determination he has had, makes me see that focusing on people and being loyal are imperative to the things I plan to accomplish.
As I have said before, I want to be the one person that changes a child's life. To teach is something that is a gift and we should cherish it and use it to our advantage. Even if it is a small change that pushes a child in the right direction; I will feel like I have achieved my goal. I will not stop or set the bar for myself. Mr. Pausch is a role model to educators and if you are reading this and haven't watched the Last Lecture; then you most definitely should. It gave my the push I needed to become the teacher I want to be when I graduate.
Dr. Pausch had a lot more to say about teaching and learning than you covered! The reason we include this video is to inspire you to bust through those brick walls, to raise the bars, to execute effective head fakes and much more. I hope you will do these things when you are a teacher.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree, Dr. Strange, he did have a lot more to say and I took a lot from this video. I merely touched the high points that I thought were necessary. I hope I am preparing myself to raise the bars and hopefully be the best teacher I can. I want to inspire children who do not get inspiration anywhere else.
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