Blog Post # 7

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

    Randy Pausch was a professor at Carnegie Mellon. He was chosen to give a lecture in the school’s annual lecture series, “The Last Lecture.” The organizers of this lecture series chose a professor to deliver a speech as if it was going to be his last speech. Unfortunately, this topic really hit home with Mr. Pausch because he had recently been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and was given three to six months to live. The topic for his lecture was supposed to be, “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.” However, Mr. Pausch decided to deliver his lecture on three topics: “My Childhood Dreams, Enabling the Dreams of Others, and Lessons Learned – How you can achieve your dreams or enable the dreams of others.”
    Mr. Pausch's childhood was full of happiness. He was always smiling and loved to dream. He wrote a list of childhood dreams and worked throughout his life to achieve them. He never gave up hope in accomplishing these goals. He was faced with “brick walls,” but he was not deterred. Mr. Pausch believed that “brick walls are there for a reason. They let us prove how badly we want things.” I think that this piece of advice is very important for students. It encourages determination and effort, which are two qualities that lead to success. Mr. Pausch did not allow the “brick walls” to prevent him from achieving most of his childhood dreams. He was able to experience zero gravity, write an article for the World Book, won many stuffed animals, and met his childhood idol. Although he never played professional football, he believed that he learned the most lessons from his many years playing youth football. He credited his coach, Jim Graham, with teaching him several life lessons. These lessons can be applied to students in your classroom. Some of these lessons that I feel are beneficial are: “when you screw up and no one is saying anything, then they gave up; experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted; and most of what we learn, we learn indirectly.” Sometimes, students become upset when they feel teachers are on their case, but as Mr. Pausch points out, “Your critics tell you about love and care.” If teachers didn’t push their students to be the best that they could be, then they wouldn’t be doing their jobs. Mr. Pausch also learned about indirect learning, which he referred to as a “head fake.” A “head fake” is teaching someone something, but they are actually learning something else. As teachers, we need to master the “head fake.” We can use fun activities to actually teach an important skill. Becoming an Imagineer was another childhood dream that Mr. Pausch was able to accomplish. With perseverance, he was hired to work for Disney on a virtual reality simulation for an Aladdin exhibit. He didn’t allow the “brick walls” to prevent him from achieving this dream. In fact, he was asked do become an Imagineer permanently. He turned down the offer and learned another life lesson: “be careful what you wish for.”
    Part two of his lecture was “enabling the dreams of others.” In accomplishing this, Mr. Pausch used his position as a professor to establish programs and courses at the university where he taught. He designed a project-based course called, “Building Virtual Worlds.” It required a lot of work, but it had amazing results. Students had to work together to create projects, and they learned what it took to make other people happy. This is a great lesson for teachers to use in their classrooms. Make lessons meaningful, but fun. Another program he worked to establish was the “Dream Fulfillment Factory.” This was a two-year course that allowed students to gain a professional master’s degree. This course required students to create projects using virtual worlds. It used “video games technology to teach useful stuff.” Mr. Pausch believed the keys to success of this program were the “focus on people and learning to work in groups.” Collaboration skills are extremely important in schools, as well as in life. Students must learn how to work together effectively. Mr. Pausch’s professional legacy is a program named “Alice.” This program allows children to have fun learning something difficult. It is one of his famous “head fakes.” Students are having fun making movies, while all the time, they are learning to program.
    The last part of the lecture was “Lessons Learned.” According to Mr. Pausch, this is “what lets you achieve your dreams.” He encouraged people to use the resources available to them, such as parents, friends, colleagues, and mentors, to achieve their goals. I believe that both teachers and students can use some of his lessons to become successful. Some of his lessons that I feel are most valuable, and that I plan to bring to my classroom, include: “cherish and use the feedback loop; the hardest part is listening to it; find the best in everybody, no matter how long you have to wait for them to show it; never lose the child-like wonder, it drives us; show gratitude; don’t complain, just work harder; be prepared and luck is where preparation meets opportunity.”
    Mr. Pausch’s “Last Lecture” contained a lot of information that I can use as a teacher and in my life. He ended his lecture by asking his audience if they figured out the “head fake.” He said, “The speech wasn’t about achieving your dreams. It was about how to live your life. Dreams will come to you.” The second “head fake” was the talk wasn’t for us; it was for his kids. I believe that he might have been mistaken with that second “head fake.” He delivered a message for everyone that heard him. It was a message of life lessons that we can all use to make us better.