Blog Post #8: What Can We Learn About Teaching From Randy Pausch?

Who was Randy Pausch? 

Randy Pausch was an overall very inspiring man. His full time job, the one he put the majority of his time and effort into, was being a professor in Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. Alongside being a professor he was the co - founder of the Entertainment Technology Center and also instructed the researchers that founded a program that taught students about computer programming, called Alice. In 2007 Randy Pausch was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. He knew that one day this disease would take his life, but until that day came he would continue to live the life he wanted and would still strive to follow every single dream he had.

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture reminds us that dreams are not always dreams, sometimes with hard work and dedication they come true. He teaches us that even the silly absurd childhood dreams you never think will come true, can. In the lecture he shares with us his own personal child hood dreams and what he did to achieve them. He taught me to teach with honesty and sincerity. 

Randy's Childhood Dreams:

• Being in zero gravity
• Playing in the NFL
• Authoring an article in the world book encyclopedia
• Being  meeting Captain Kirk
• Winning stuffed animals
• Being a Disney Imagineer

His last lecture was very powerful in that he was giving the advice he felt others needed from him before he would leave this world. He spoke to the audience about how he never gave up on other things other than his childhood dreams, like getting into his dream school. My favorite part of the lecture was towards the end when Randy said "Teaching college students to have fun is like a fish teaching others about the importance of water." What he meant by that was that even though he was dying he was still living a fun life, and he would continue to until he couldn't anymore. This quote stuck with me through the whole lecture. Nothing held this man back, NOTHING. I am thankful I was introduced to his work, bust most importantly his humor. 

Important tips Randy left behind:

• Decide whether you at a Tigger or an Eeyore.  
• Never lose your child-like wonder.
• Help others.
• Never give up.
• Listen to feedback.
• Always show gratitude. 
• Don't complain, just work harder.
• Be good at something, it makes you valuable.
• Work so hard people ask you what your secret is.
• Find the good in everybody; no matter how you have long you have to wait for them to show it.
• Be prepared; "luck" is where preparation meets opportunity