Blog Post #8

What Can We Learn About Teaching and Learning from Randy Pausch?

For this blog post, I was required to watch Randy Pausch Last Lecture and answer the question above. This video was quite long, but I really enjoyed it and learned a lot from it. Pausch had a lot of things to say that are applicable to people of all ages. I feel that everyone could learn from what Pausch has to say.

“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.”

This quote was something Pausch said in his lecture that really stuck out to me. There are a lot of brick walls that keep people from accomplishing what they really want to do, and often times they let those walls become an excuse. It's important for us to keep pushing past those brick walls in order to achieve our dreams. We just have to keep trying until we make it past those brick walls and that means that we constantly have to learn and grow. We have to learn from our mistakes and try to do things differently each time we fail. This is an important concept for educators to teach their students in order for their students to achieve their goals and dreams. If students learn from a young age that anything is possible even when it seems impossible, they will be more likely to keep pushing past those brick walls. Of course, people also have to want it badly enough to keep going. The only way people will achieve their goals is if they work hard. That's why it's also important to instill a good work ethic in students and teach them that they can only achieve their goals if they want it badly enough. 

"Wait long enough and people will surprise and impress."

The second thing Pausch said that made an impact on me as a future educator was this quote. We live in a very fast paced culture where we want everything now. We don't want to wait for people to do what we want them to do. I feel like we are quick to get angry or frustrated when people aren't meeting are expectations. What Pausch said really made me think. We need  to slow down a bit and allow people the time to surprise and impress us. Educators especially should keep this in mind when working with students. Sometimes students just need a little more time on something in order to unlock their full potential.  I know I will take a step back when I'm frustrated with my students, and wait for them to meet or even exceed my expectations. Sometimes people just need a little more time than we are willing to give.

 To summarize the main points of his entire lecture, I just want to include the last few things he said  at the end of the video that could have an impact on you.

"Brick walls let us show our dedication."

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

"Get a feedback loop; and listen to it!"

"Show gratitude."

"Don't complain; just work harder."