What can we learn from Randy Pausch’s last lecture?
Randy Pausch was a professor at Carnegie Mellon College. He was diagnosed with terminal cancer of the liver in 2007. Instead of feeling sorry for himself and giving up, he decided to use the time he had left to inspire people. His lecture became known as the “Last Lecture” and has served to help people see that every moment in this life is a gift. His inspirational message created a legacy that allowed him to continue to be a teacher even in death. As an educator, he believed strongly in PBL and actually helped to create a master’s program called ETC specializing in electronic technology. He inspired his students by giving them a hands on program that included no true curriculum but rather, a group of collaborative projects they worked on as a team to learn the competencies of the program. His students were able to learn from some of the most famous special effect developers in the world such as Lucas Arts: Industrial Lights and Magic and the Disney Imagineers. These opportunities provided his students with learning that no book could ever hope to encompass. His program became so well thought of that global companies actually wrote letters saying they would hire his students. His program’s success has inspired universities in Australia, New Zealand, Korea, and China to adapt this learning technique. In effect, his teaching method has become a model for the world. In my opinion, the legacy and lesson his life teaches is that if you truly believe in what you are doing; you can change the world. Inspiration never dies; your teaching method can be used to inspire your students and with each generation, more lives are changed. As future educators, our mission should always be to create a new generation of innovative learners that are committed to leaving their mark on the world. Being a teacher is a great responsibility but the reward for a dedicated teacher is to know that you have truly made a difference in peoples lives. That is a blessing that no amount of money can equal.
Hi, Doug. Very interesting thoughts you had about this video. You really summed up how Randy Pausch changed the future of education and his inspired many people. This post seems very well thought out. I saw no problems with this post-no grammatical errors. Have a wonderful day.
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