Randy Pausch's last lecture was very touching and inspiring to watch. At the beginning of his lecture, Mr. Pausch tells everyone that he has cancer in his liver and he states that he will not live much longer. While most people probably feel bad for Mr. Pausch when he says this, he urges his audience not to feel bad for him. He does not want anyone to pity him because he says that he is living life to the fullest. He knows that we cannot change the cards that we are dealt in life, so he and his family have pretty much decided to just deal with his cancer. This was the first touching thing in this video. In my opinion, it takes a lot of strength to go on living your life to the fullest when you know that your days are numbered no matter what you do.
One teaching method that Mr. Pausch talked about that really struck me was the indirect learning method. This is when people think that they are doing only one thing, but they are learning another thing at the same time probably without even realizing it. The reason that this appealed to me so much is because it seems so obvious and effective, but I have never actually thought about using a method like this. One example of indirect learning is when children play on sports teams. While a child is aware that they are playing football, they do not usually think of the things that they are learning by playing it unless those things pertain to the sport itself. In reality, children playing on a football team together is actually teaching them very valuable things such as team work.
The positive attitude that is seen throughout this entire lecture is something that really stuck me as being amazing. Mr. Pausch speaks of his happy childhood and states that all of his dreams that he had as he was growing up have come true. He urges his listeners to work hard, cherish feedback, and never give up on anything. He also goes on to say that we should keep things fun for our students and support the things that dream of. Perhaps the thing that will stay with me the most from this video was when Mr. Pausch says that we should always enjoy the company of our students.
At the end of the speech, Mr. Pausch tells us that his lecture was not really made for the benefit of the audience, but rather for his three children. It really touched me to hear him say this because I know that the things that he was telling his children were the things that he would have told them in person as they grew up if he were still alive. All in all, this video really mad eme think about my future career in the teaching field and I now look at a few things from a totally different point of view than I did before I watched it. I will always try to remind myself that even though being a teacher will be hard work at times, I should not really view it as work, but instead as a pleasure. It is a gift to be able to touch the lives of young people and I hope that I will always remember to enjoy each and every one of my students and the time that I have with them.
This is a really good post! I also thought the beginning was very sad when he said he had cancer. But I thought that it was great and told a lot about his personality when he said he didn't want pity. One part of his lecture that stuck with me was the part about criticism and how when people stop criticizing you then you know they've stopped caring. I agree that his positive attitude is amazing and inspiring.
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