I recently signed up for a Gifted and Talented endorsement course and it is bringing up all kinds of memories of my childhood. As a part of the first assignment, we had to watch Randy Paush's Last Lecture video on Youtube. Let me tell you... if you haven't seen it, it is extremely moving and reminded me of why I initially got into education in the first place. Randy Paush lived a full life in the short time the he had here on earth and he laid a blueprint for listeners and his children to follow their childhood dreams. He made a simple yet profound statement:
"Brick walls are there to stop people who don't want it badly enough." It made me reflect on my childhood dreams and how I sat inside for days at a time trying to program a Tandy computer to make a smiley face by typing a million lines of code. I reflected on the first play I was in in elementary school, A Computer for Christmas, and how having a computer in your home was a Jetson fantasy at the time. I reflect on how I dreamed of a day that I could get all of my emails and websites and "stuff" in one device. It made me think of my first iPhone and how I felt like part of a special club! I reflected on sneaking in the computer lab as an undergrad student at Augusta State University to create my own website on Homestead. I thought about how I used to reward myself for studying by waiting in the telnet chat room to chat with students around the nation as an undergrad. It reminded me of the sound of dial up internet and how I had to sneak to have it installed when I came home from college. I reflect on the radio broadcast and podcast I created along with my website. I was a gospel music correspondent for about 4 years because I ran into the brick wall of boredom at my old job. I needed something to do that required me to learn something new. So I created a website, interviewed artists, became a red carpet correspondent and hosted a radio show for a while. I was never formally trained to do any of it. I simply had a curiosity and a drive to do it. I've always had an affinity for technology. Technology comes to me naturally because I can take the brick walls in education and go around them with technology. I've become so used to going around the wall that I often wonder if life throws them up to make sure I am constantly thinking on my feet. Another thing that Randy Paush said was that he had a deathbed conversion. He switched to Apple products (he called them Macintosh). I had a similar conversion when I started my website. I received a bonus at work (because I'm fabulous lol) and I decided that I would stop stalking the MacBook. I wanted to buy it, but I wanted to buy it because I wanted the features that came standard (Garage Band, iMovie) because I was entering the world of media. I'll never forget the experience I had in the Apple Store. I willingly handed over cash money for my purchase and I was treated like royalty. I never experienced that feeling for any other purchase. I was hooked. When I got my MacBook Pro home, it felt like someone had turned on the power after a storm. The vibrancy of the color and the functionality was AMAZING. Why am I saying all of this? I'm saying it because our lives are a series of choices. Our lives are the sum total of the decisions we make. If you don't like your life, make a different decision. I made a decision to convert to Apple and I haven't looked back since. I made a decision to step outside the box and ask a young lady how she became an ADE. I made a decision to become an Apple Teacher. I made a decision to submit an application to become an ADE. Because of those decisions, I've met so many wonderful people and I've had some opportunities to share what I love to do- infuse technology into education. I was created to solve a problem. So were you. How many issues are there in education? Well, let's not count....Anything is possible when we believe and do more than try. We can solve problems. We have the capacity to create worlds and inspire those we teach to take it to the next level. I'm determined to take what I've been given (life) and make a difference in this world. Brick walls are merely there to show us our level of dedication. Don't let those brick walls stop you.
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AuthorBianca Woodard is a social studies teacher at Midland Valley High School. She's an Apple Distinguished Educator (2017) and a Microsoft Certified Trainer. Archives
April 2019
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