Inspiration....

That is one of many words I can use to describe Randy Pausch. Not only was he a professor and teacher but he was also a friend and mentor to his students and colleagues. In his Last Lecture he shows us his teaching methods of being down to earth, funny and personable while teaching us something. He is so engaging that we do not know that he is teaching us something and this is what he refers to as a "head fake." The whole time he was speaking he was performing one of these "head fakes" and that was to relay to his listeners and viewers how to lead their lives. This coming from a man who is nearing the end of his.

I think that the most lasting teaching technique of Randy Pausch was allowing his students to achieve their dreams, this was his whole goal as an educator. He created a whole course called Building Virtual Worlds that enabled students to carry out their childhood dreams. They could create virtual worlds about anything that they wanted. Pausch said that these projects were amazing and eventually became a campus wide phenomenon. He also wanted this class to be about the groups and the people within these groups bonding. Another way of fulfilling students dreams was creating a whole degree program known as the Dream Fulfillment Factory which was a 2 year professional masters program that teamed up artists and technologists. It was all about small teams making stuff, it was about freedom and success. Amazingly companies guaranteed that they would hire these students after they finished. Paucsh's most lasting professional legacy was what is known as ALICE which was a novel way of teaching computer programming to children. Kids were allowed to create movies and games and all the while they were learning something hard. This was another one of Pausch's amazing head fakes.

I also think Pausch wanted to teach his students to persevere or hurdle over what he calls "brick walls." These brick walls are obstacles that we all must face when trying to achieve something. Brick walls ask us how much do we want something and they also show others our dedication. Mr. Pausch faced many in his lifetime while trying to achieve his goals. For example he was denied admission to his beloved Carnegie Mellon University, he was almost kept from experiencing zero gravity by his boss at the University of Virginia and most of all cancer was about to claim his life. One quote that stuck with me was, "I am dying and I am still having fun!"

Most of all Pausch is trying to teach lessons on how to live your life. He not only relayed these to his students, friends, family and colleagues but he relayed them to everyone who has watched or will watch this lecture. Have fun, help others, keep your child like wonder, never give up, you can't get there alone, show gratitude. These are all lessons that Pausch showed on a daily basis and that I am sure stuck with every person he touched. He did not want anyone to feel sorry for him he just wanted to leave all of them with something to think about. He valued every expereince that he had whether it be with his students, as an Imagineer at Disney or even failing to acheive his dream of playing in the NFL. "Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted." This lecture was amazing and was given by an equally amazing teacher, I am proud that I will one day be a teacher as well and I can only hope to pass on the wisdom that Randy Pausch did in his last days.

Note: I watched the whole video and did not hear any mention of M.I.T only Brown University, Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Virginia.