The joy of teaching

I think most of us watched Randy Pausch’s last lecture, delivered when he was retiring due to terminal cancer.  Although the cancer finally claimed Pausch, the messages about getting the most out of life, about living with joy and immediacy, linger on.  Charles Lipson, himself a teacher, concludes that Pausch not only taught life lessons, he taught an important lesson about what it means to be a true teacher (as opposed to someone who merely stands in front of a class).  As for me, I can look back in time and see vividly each of the wonderful teachers I had, all of whom inspired me in ways that transcended the curriculum.