57 pages • 1 hour read
Jeffrey Zaslow, Randy PauschThe Last Lecture
Nonfiction | Essay / Speech | Adult | Published in 2008A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Section 5, Chapters 35-37
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Section 5: “It’s About How to Live Your Life”
Section 5, Chapters 35-37 Summary
At the beginning of Chapter 35, Pausch admits that “improving group dynamics became a bit of an obsession” for him (142). These short chapters provide some narrative examples of important collaboration skills he tried to teach his students. On the second day of classes he would go over these tips with his students:
- Meet people properly.
- Find things you have in common.
- Try for optimal meeting conditions.
- Let everyone talk.
- Check egos at the door.
- Praise each other.
- Phrase alternatives as questions (142-43).
The main piece of advice offered in Chapter 36 is to seek out the best in everyone; Chapter 37 reveals that the best way to understand a person is to watch their actions rather than listen to their words.
Section 5, Chapters 35-37 Analysis
Pausch’s advice to his students is applicable to anyone, regardless of their career or subject of study. If the classroom is a microcosm of society, then Pausch’s lessons on collaboration can be transferred to any relationship or dynamic. In true “last lecture” form, the professor is offering his wisdom about what is really important when it comes to working with and understanding people, rather than just sharing his knowledge about computer science.
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