Blog Assignment #8

First off, I would like to say I admire Mr. Pausch for this lecture. He had an impeccable way of making you think about things. You can tell he sincerely loved what he did. In the post we were asked to address "What Can We Learn About Teaching and Learning From Randy Pausch?" I believe that teaching and learning go hand in hand. You will come across "walls" in teaching and learning, but if you really want what is on the other side of that wall, you will do everything in your power to climb that wall and leap down the other side. We also must remember that anything is possible for teachers and learners, because learners are teachers and teachers are learners. My favorite quote from Mr. Pausch was "Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted." We must remember that not everything is going to go as planned and that everyone learns something, even if you think you aren't interested.

Teaching is a job that will never be easy, but it will only be as hard as you make it. You, as a teacher must have something to bring to your students. Everyone has had that teacher that all you remember about them is how mean they were. Most of the problem you see in that teacher is not what they say, but how they say it. Their is a different and criticizing and just being mean. When no one is criticizing you, they have given up on you. Critiquing people is a way to show that you love and care for people. When those being criticized are still angry, they have not had enough time. If you wait long enough, that criticism will sink in and they will surprise you with what they can do. You should never underestimate your students! I found it interesting how Mr. Pausch talked about never setting a bar for your students. If you set a bar, those student that reach it will stop, and will not reach their full potential.

Learning is something in the world that will never end. It is physically impossible to know everything in the world. One of the best ways of learning talked about by Mr. Paush is the head fake. This is learning indirectly. This is everywhere. This is one of the best ways to teach. When you are having fun doing something, you are learning wither you realize it or not. I found that he was a fan of project based learning. He always had small groups working on a project. It was never "do your own" work. When these students got through with the projects, they would have a show to let other people see their work. This became a hit overnight. When students share their work, they immediately become more excited and own up to their work. Other people in the audience are learning indirectly also. One very important aspect that teachers must never forget is to learn from their students, well anyone. Students also took initiative to learn on their own what they needed to do when Mr. Pausch would do self-reflection. They saw where they needed to work and where they stood in the class.

According to Mr. Pasch, we, as students should offer gratitude for help; we should not complain, but only work harder; for us to be valuable, we must be really good at something and never think we know enough; and to wait, eventually the good side of people will come out.

Click here to view Mr. Pausch's Last Lecture.

Not only did I see the values of teaching and learning, but life lessons that will stay with me for the rest of my life can from this video.