"Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things."
The above quote by Randy Pausch in his speech "The Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" summarizes the theme of his famous lecture: hard work enables us to conquer impossible dreams.
Not only was Pausch an excellent educator, he was a amazing person with wonderfully optimistic outlook on life. The most important thing I learned from his lecture is that a career in teaching will never be easy. There will always be complications, setbacks, and injustice. However, teaching is a learning process. We must learn to adapt and realize there is an always an opportunity to better ourselves. Sometimes a "brick wall" is necessary for us to realize what we are actually capable of. Once we do this, we can accomplish things bigger than our dreams thought possible.
We must make learning fun for our students. Hard work can actually be enjoyable with the right kind of teaching, group work, and assignments. Group work is also valuable because it allows students to connect with and help each other. I agree with Pausch in that we as humans are meant to help each other. We are not meant to live this life alone. Feedback, encouragement, and even harsh "reality checks" are needed for us to better ourselves as teachers and as people. Pausch credits several people who, without their help, he would have not been able to achieve his success.
I believe Pausch is a great role model for any person wanting to better their life, especially teachers. Pausch's career, which spans from being a professor to working as a consultant for Walt Disney Imagineering, is both amazing and inspiring. Even though he only lived to be 47 years old, his life's work proves that we must make the most of the time and opportunities we have in our lives. As teachers, we must make the most of these opportunities in our classrooms and beyond. I hope to make a positive difference in my students' lives, just as Pausch did for his students and numerous others.
Good post, learning should be fun for our students :)
ReplyDeleteElizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI agree he had a wonderful, optimistic outlook on life! The most important thing that I learned from him was that teaching should be a learning process and that teaching is never easy. You are right, as teachers we need to make learning fun for our students. Very good post!