On "Randy Pausch's Last Lecture"

I've fallen a little dormant on my blog assignments, due to the rude intrusion of non-school life, but what better way to return than with Mr. Pausch's heartwarming lecture? His bittersweet, but never melancholy, address to his peers, former students, and loved ones really helps put into perspective the many pesky challenges one faces in life, and the proper attitude one must bring to bear to meet, beat, and surpass those challenges. I really appreciate some of the fundamental ideas Mr. Pausch imparts (especially since he sees fit to reference Animal House and a personal meeting with William Shatner, both cultural touchstones I can relate to as an oft-relapsing nerd):

• “Brick walls,” or seemingly insurmountable barriers to one's goals, exist to let you know how badly you want something.
• Be worried if you screw up and no one is paying attention – that means they've given up on you.
• Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want (which sounds suspiciously like the concept of the dreaded “moral victory” in his beloved sport – in the broad sense, failure is one of the most important teaching tools available to us).
  

I also applaud his coining of the term “headfake learning” -- from my limited classroom experience and academic studies, I fear the stranglehold of high-stakes testing on American schools really limits opportunities for a teacher to chase rabbits down holes, as it were, during the course of instruction. “Teachable moments” -- those wonderful occasions when students surprise you, and you veer temporarily from the curriculum and convey a wholly other idea in the context of your discussion – are, in the context of a structured, scripted, state-mandated curriculum, a no-no. These days, savvy teachers need to work some headfake strategies into the script. Given Mr. Pausch's apparent successes, in his own life and the lives of his students, that lesson could not be more clear.