Blog Post #7

Randy Pausch Last Lecture Video

An hour plus swell spent indeed. I wish I knew more about Randy while he was alive (I was in high school). The way he operated before he found out about his health issues was admirable. How he chose to go about his day to day life after he found out is legendary. He was a one of the most unique teachers to ever live.

I watched the whole video and I got a lot from it. His techniques he used in his MIT class didn't take up a lot of the video in my mind so I'm not sure how to write 4 substantive paragraphs about it but i'll give it my best. One of the things he was highly successful at doing was getting his point across. He knew in order to be able to even teach that type of class (it had never been done before) he would have to go against the grain. The fact that he got the okay to do it, and then executed his vision was extraordinary.

Another thing I'm gonna try to take from him and this video is something I've found out is one of the most important things in life. Execution. He executed his vision. There can be nothing more fulfilling in life than that in my opinion. He had such a unique vision yet he still organized groups, let his student's work with others to create great work. It's all about working and getting along with others. It's what you have to be able to do in the workplace and I think he understood that.

Last, he took chances on student's. He could see the true potential in certain kids but he believed in all of them. He made the comment in his video to a colleague about how his class had done everything he asked them to do and blew him away while doing it. He went on to say that the class hadn't been going on that long and they had progressed so fast the he didn't know which direction to take or what to do. He listened to what his friend had to say and told the class something along the lines of "You can do better". Which they did.

In summary, I think his methods as a teacher were brilliant (and I only listed a couple). His vision of no text books all the way to how he simplified projects in his class were wonderful. I took away a lot from what he had to say but also took away something much more important that has nothing to do with school or this class and that's follow your dreams. Let nothing stop you. My dream is to help kids and be the best teacher/friend I can be. To help change lives. I'll take his advice. Nothing will get in my way.