Blog Post 7

Randy Pausch
Pausch begins by telling what his childhood dreams were. He says that it is very important to have specific dreams. One of his dreams was to be in zero gravity and he got to experience that with a group of students of his that won a contest. At first NASA wasn't going to let him participate but he negotiated with them. This is important because one of his themes is to always bring something to the table, people will be more welcoming that way. Another dream of his was to play for the NFL. He never got to play but he said he got more out of not achieving that goal than he did when he achieved his other goals. He learned that whenever someone is doing poorly and no one comes to correct you, that is very bad. Critics are the ones that still care about you. Being Captain Kirk was another dream of his. He learned that you don't have to be the smartest to have great leadership. There are more dreams that he talked about but he kept bringing up "brick walls." Those are there to show you your dedication.

He always wanted to push his kids to the best of their ability. Like whenever he was first teaching his VR class, the kids stumped him when they turned in their first assignment and he didn't know what to do next. So he told his students that they did good but he knows they can do better. Each time, they kept impressing him. He would take his students out to field trips and everything they did was project-based. He believes that the best way to teach someone something is to "head fake," making someone think they are learning something they aren't. His techniques were never lose the child-like wonder, help others, have loyalty to others, and never give up.

Pausch has such an amazing way of putting words together. He can make an hour long lecture so interesting. I do believe in everything that he has said. Never losing your child-like wonder can go for not only me but my students. I've always wanted to help someone and being a teacher just fits me so well. I want to show my kids that they too can achieve their dreams. Helping others will come easy to me because I will be in a field where I always help someone. But I think Pausch wants you to go above and beyond to help someone. Loyalty to others will pay off in the end. If you show someone that you trust them an put your faith in them, they will in return have loyalty for you. Never give up, Pausch didn't get into Brown or Carnegie but he kept pushing on.

In the end, Pausch showed his methods of teaching and they were be good at something, it makes you valuable. You can't be good at everything but if you channel one thing then eventually you can help others. The next method is work hard. Make people ask you "what's your secret?" Hard work pays off. Another method is find the best in everyone; no matter how you have to wait for them to show it. Not everyone is going to get it right away but if you wait long enough, they will impress you. This can go back to me teaching in the classroom, not every student is going to understand the first time. But if I wait, they will surprise me. Lastly, be prepared.