Blog Post #7

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

In Randy Pausch's Last Lecture he talks about the importance of childhood dreams, and the road to which we achieve these dreams. He wants everyone to understand that even though you might hit a brick wall that this doesn't mean you should give up. He says brick walls are there for a reason they help people understand that sometimes you have to work harder. He says that people should never give up and that sometimes you have to go through a bunch of crap to get to the gold. I think this is an interesting idea about life in general but also a good tactic for teaching. That as a teacher our job is to help these kids in anyway possible. So I agree that This is a very good ideal to use when teaching. That teaching kids that even though they might not succeed the first time doesn't mean they should give up. It just means they should keep trying.

One of the techniques he talks about is the "head fake" technique. all this is essentially is teaching kids how to do something while giving the appearance that you are teaching them something else. For example, Randy used the virtual reality world to teach his students. However he didn't tell his students he was teaching them how to use computer programs and how to create virtual reality settings. He told them that he was allowing them to make whatever they wanted that he was teaching them to be creative. As he did this the students in two weeks came back with results that were extraordinary. The students surpassed every expectation he could even think of. However he received some advice, and told his students that they were good but he knew they could do better. I think this was an excellent decision, it allows his students to always progress and to never just settle for what they think is good enough.

Another piece of advice that Randy was given and gives during his lecture was that people who yell at you and tell you that you're doing something wrong are worth listening too. He says that when someone harps on you it is a good thing because that means they haven't given up hope for you. It is when people stop telling you what you are doing wrong is when you should worry. I think he is absolutely correct. That advice should be listened to whenever it is given, even if it is bad you should still listen. I also agree that people shouldn't be discouraged when they are told they are doing something wrong, they should instead appreciate the fact that people still care and want them to do things correctly.

Randy explains that their is a correct way to tell someone something and incorrect way to tell them the same thing. For example he says that when he taught at Virginia that his dean told him no even though he had no idea about the project. Then his other dean told him that no he didn't know anything but one of his best faculty came to his office extremely excited so he should listen. Both deans told him they didn't know about the subject however one of them told him I don't know but let's find out. With this I don't know let's find out strategy he allowed his professor to get extremely informative information instead of just kicking him to the curb. Another instance is when one of his bosses told him that people think he comes off as pretentious and that it would be ashamed to have all of his ideas tossed aside because people didn't respect him. This was able to allow Randy to realize he was being a jerk and also allowed him to listen. If his boss would have told him, Hey you're a jerk Randy probably wouldn't have listened.

I am definitely going to try and incorporate all three of these strategies into my teaching. I want to use the "head fake" because this will allow my students to be able to learn how to do something, while they think they are just having fun. I also want to never give up on any of my future students. If I give up on just one student I might be the only one left who believes in them and without me they will never reach their dreams. I also think the key to being a good teacher is to be able to point out someones flaws in a correct and polite way so that they will listen to you. I think Randy Pausch made excellent points in his last lecture and I am going to do my best to implement them when I become a teacher.