This is a very resourceful video for when you need some motivating words of wisdom. After watching this video I learned quite a lot from Randy Pausch. The first thing I took from this video was that no matter what situation life hands you, always take the positive outlook on it. After being told that you only have a month to live, you would think a person would be depressed, angry, and more than likely maybe lazy. Instead of letting his bad news get the best of him, he took it in stride and continued living life as if he was to live forever. I liked his list of childhood dreams and how no matter how many no's he got, he never gave up on achieving them. The same motivation he had is the same motivation we as teachers need to give to our kids. I loved his quote about the brick wall and how its only up for those who are not willing to try to get over it. In every story he shared, he took away a life lesson. He was more than open minded to learning new things with each new obstacle he had to take on.
His statement about not trying to talk to or teach someone when you are mad, or when they are mad with you is something I have witness in person. I recently had to observe a 3rd grade class, the teacher had been teaching time and elapsed time for 2 weeks straight. After she felt comfortable enough to give them a test, once she began grading them she realized that some of the students still didn't comprehend the lesson as well as others. She worked one on one with a particular student and the more he didn't understand, the more she yelled and became irritated. Of course yelling was something she didn't want to do, but it happened. She suggested that he walk away and collect his thoughts, as she did hers. When the student returned he immediately grasped the concept and worked his problems out perfectly. Sometimes as adults we expect children to have just as much knowledge as us, and we forget that we are the ones who teach them what they need to know. I learned that teaching is learning, when we think our students won't surprise us we end up learning from them. As teachers we should realize that sometimes we become the students and our students are there to teach us.
I took away from Randy that giving up is not a option, even if its a childhood dream. He taught us to have patience with our students. That even as degree earned teachers we still have to be as opened to learning and helping our students reach there goals as well. This was one of my favorite videos to watch so far in Dr. Strange's class. This video even though it was not directed to teachers is a great resource. That brick wall will not get in my way. It will be blown away.
Here's the link to Randy's Video here
Hi Alexis,
ReplyDeleteGreat examples in your post. I was especially drawn to the story about the third grade teacher. I also agree that as adults we often expect children to know what we know, I often encounter this issue when helping my daughter with her homework. It is very important to remember that they look to us for guidance and that we should remain patient at all times when dealing with children.
I did notice that there is not a working link to the video, which they will be looking for. I also noticed a few grammatical errors throughout. For example,"its" instead of "it's". Overall this was a very nice post, keep up the good work!
"As teachers we should realize that sometimes we become the students and our students are there to teach us. " You are absolutely correct!
ReplyDeleteYou need a link to the video as pointed out by Tywondra.