As a professor at Carnegie Mellon, Randy had the opportunity to speak to his former students, colleagues, friends, and acquaintances when presenting his last lecture. Generally, retiring professors have the opportunity to give a last lecture as sort of an honorary occasion. Sadly, in Randy's case, his last lecture would be his last because doctors have given him a dismal prognosis. He titled his lecture "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams." It was a series of stories and pieces of advice that anyone listening could relate to and learn from. The kicker came at the end, when Randy shocked the audience by saying none of what he had said that night was for them; it was really meant for his three children. Powerful stuff.
Even though Randy had intended his advice for his children, I started thinking... what could I learn from this? And, what do some of these tidbits mean for me as a librarian?
Obviously from the title of his speech, he discussed how to achieve your dreams, but even more than that he talked about enabling the dreams of others. Working as a librarian on a day-to-day basis, I don't generally think that what I am doing is enabling the dreams of others, but as I look back at the work I've done over time I realize that I have. One small example is by helping my students learn to write citations, I have enabled them to evaluate the sources they have used and helped them learn to respect the hard work and rights of others. Someday one of them may want to be a doctor or a writer or a researcher, and he or she will need to know how to avoid plagiarism.
Another thing Randy Pausch pointed out was that most of what we learn, we learn indirectly (carnegiemellonu, 2008). In a way, I could say that by providing reader's advisory I am enabling the dreams of others indirectly. It's possible that a child may discover something in a book I recommend that could potentially open a door for his/her future; perhaps learning about a really cool place to visit, a career he/she never knew about, or an inspiring person or hero. If nothing else, I am definitely supporting their love of reading by recommending books of interest to them.
By far, the best way I have enabled the dreams of my elementary students is by being a good role model. Not only showing them what appropriate library behavior looks like, but also what it means to be a kind, considerate, inquisitive member of society. Character development is something they may learn indirectly, but it is SO important.
I also liked that Randy said we can learn a lot from our superiors, but don't forget we can also learn from our students (carnegiemellonu, 2008). There's nothing worse than an educator or librarian who thinks he/she knows everything. Learning is a two-way street. What better way for librarians to promote life-long learning than to accept and appreciate that they can learn from their own students/patrons.
One of the last reminders Randy gave his audience was, "Don't complain, just work harder" (carnegiemellonu, 2008). I used to work with a librarian who would complain about everything from not having enough time to get things done to having to deal with administrators. Instead of wasting even more time by complaining, she could have actually been getting things done by working harder. Certain things are not always within our control. Why complain about them when just accepting them and moving on will put you well ahead of the game in the long run?
Randy Pausch probably never dreamed that his last lecture would be globalized the way that it has been. The reason it has become so popular is because it speaks to so many people in so many ways. An old friend of mine always refers to hardships as "blessings in disguise." Randy Pausch's illness has truly become a blessing not only for the people who attended his last lecture, but for so many people around the world who have been inspired by his words (thanks to YouTube).
Reference:
carnegiemellonu. (2008). Randy Pausch last lecture: Achieving your
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