Blog Post #7

Randy Pausch 

After watching Randy Pausch's The Last Lecture, I was really inspired to follow more of my dreams, no matter how weird I think they are. He was able to follow and accomplish all of his childhood dreams one way or another. Randy gave so many inspiring life tips. Randy seemed so upbeat and motivated even thought he was suffering from a terminal illness. One thing that he said that stood out to me, "we can not change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand." I think that is a perfect saying to live by not only in everyday life but also as a future educator.

Randy started off by talking about the dreams he had when he was a child, how he went about to achieve them and what lesson he learned from his experience. The first one he talked about was being in zero gravity. He got a chance to be in zero gravity when he was teaching. NASA had a program called "vomit comet" which would take selected students into a machine that is used to train the astronauts. This machine does parabolic arcs and at the top of each arc there, would be about 25 seconds of zero gravity. Randy got a group of his students together and entered the contest and won. Along the way he hit a "brick wall." Randy says, "brick walls are there for a reason: they just let us prove how badly we want things." This really hit home for  me because when I hit a brick wall I get discouraged. Being a future educator I think it is important to teach your students, when you hit a brick wall, try harder and to not give up. After every dream he accomplished, he explained what he learned. I  think that is very important to take away. Randy teaches us that the journey is more important that the actual outcome, even if the journey is hard and painful.

Randy loved teaching and inspiring his students to worked harder. He taught me that to believe in my students and push them so they can be the best they can be. One thing he found helpful when teaching, was teaching his students one lesson and without them knowing, having them learn a harder lesson. He calls this "the head fake," allowing students to think they are learning one thing, when they are actually learning another. This video inspired and motivated me to be the best I can be in life and also as a future educator.