My Last Lecture

In the spirit of Prof. Randy Pausch's famous “Last Lecture,” I’ve created my own.  I’m applying for Emeritus, so I hope this post will not be my actual “last lecture.”  But it will be my last one for a while.

Enabling the Dreams of Others

       These first three tips, under Pausch's second heading, come from the lessons I have, for years, given to my writing students.  The first one usually comes up spontaneously in reply to that common question: “Can we use ‘I’?”  The second two are often shared on the first or second of class, and, sometimes, they are written into my Syllabus. 

 1.      Yes, say “I” – Your Voice Matters

       Yes, you can say “I.”  Your voice matters.  Make sure to support your "I" with strong, credible research, but when appropriate, say ”I.”  Your voice matters.

 2.      Rise into a Voice of Power to Make a Difference in this World

       Don’t just aim for the grade you want or for the ability to write well enough to get by.  Rise into a voice of power, and make a difference in this world.  You can do it too, perhaps even soon.  Voices of your own generation – Malala, Greta, Amanda – are all voices of power and making a difference.  You can be one too.

 3.      Writing is Art – Respect it that way

       Always look at your writing as art.  Even when you, the students, don't see your writing as art, I do.  So I never use the color of blood on your writing.  In pencil, I make some comments about the ways that your writing has not yet reached the art that it could, but my goal is to help you become a better artist in your writing.  Meanwhile, make sure you also respect it as art.

 Lessons Learned

        No one has had it easy this past year.  The pandemic has pummeled us all.  Pausch's third and last heading was "Lessons Learned," and these are a few of mine through the pandemic.  This first lesson that I have been learning this year, to take nothing for granted, may be the number one lesson for each one of us.  The field of Education has also been struck hard during this pandemic; and it has been a hard place to be for all of us in Education.  For those of us in vulnerable positions, there has been much to learn.  Here is some of what I have been learning . . .

 4.      Don’t take your blessings or your privileges for granted

       When Barack Obama ran for President in 2008, many blacks complained he was “not black enough.”  What they meant was he was a privileged black; perhaps he had been spared from their injustices.  He probably didn’t “get it.”  So he brought in his wife, Michelle Obama, born and raised in the ghettos of Chicago, who “got it.”  And she helped bring them around, and she persuaded them that her husband was with them.        

        Maybe Barack Obama did "get it."  Maybe it wasn't fair to call him “not black enough.”   But it would have been fair to say I had been “not NTT enough.”  That's the term for us non-tenure track faculty, a second-class status for university instructors, and my department had traditionally protected us.   I was also the main introductory writing instructor for STEM students and well respected by the faculty of two colleges at my university, so I had been largely spared from much of the treatment many of my NTT colleagues had faced.  I had heard about some of it, but I hadn't taken it seriously enough.  I had been privileged.  That changed this year, when I truly learned what it means to be a second-class faculty member.  I discovered the hard way I was “not NTT enough” and had been taking my privileges for granted.

5.      Be careful what you say, when you say, to whom you say, and how you say

        Yes, be a voice of power, but carefully plan your voice.  If you speak too soon, too much, to the wrong person, or in the wrong way, you could lose your voice of power, so carefully plan it.  In some of my classes, we saw a film clip that included a brief statement of a minor character, the wife of one of the main characters.  I said to my students, “Catch what comes next.  She has about fifteen lines in the whole movie.”  Then comes the pivotal line from this minor character, the line that shifts the film into the climax and sets the stage for the hero’s victory.  This critical line comes from a character who speaks few words, but when she speaks, people listen.

        I'm sure we can all agree that we've each been learning the hard way through this pandemic to carefully plan our words. This has been a year when it has been very challenging for me to know what to say, when to say, to whom to say, and how to say it.  My own communication skills have been tested this year like they have never before been tested in my life.  Sometimes I did well, and sometimes, I did not do so well.  Sometimes, I was missing #4: I was taking my privileges for granted.  I thought I should have them, and I thought everyone would agree with me on that.  It turns out not everyone did.  I made some mistakes.  Do your research, take your time, and be careful. 

6. Have Integrity and follow your own Path

          Be careful, yes, but be brave too.  At times, living into your integrity and following your own path will take bravery.  It might cost you a lot.  You might lose your job, you might lose some friends, but you’ll keep your heart, soul, and spirit in-tact, and nothing matters more.  So be brave, have integrity, and follow the path laid out for you.

7.      See the Famous Last Lecture

       If you haven’t yet had a chance to see Pausch's famous Last Lecture, watch it.  Be inspired.  Rise into a voice of power.  And always remember, your voice matters.

 © 2021 by Karina.  All rights reserved.  Please use with permission and/or a link to this blog post.