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Re: Preparing for the Town Hall Meeting on the New Championships Format
I feel worse after watching that, than before. FIRST leadership is obviously disconnected with the community.
FTC is growing exponentially (Why), lower the cost of FRC (the robot is the cheapest part) and you will get more teams. With the availability of more and more COTS parts, even teams without dedicated engineers can be competitive. They want STEM leaders to be celebrated by the world, but they continue to disrespect and take for granted the STEM leaders that make their program successful. What they should be doing is petitioning states to help create the district model nation wide, the message will be louder coming from FIRST than from "mentor X". The body language on stage told it all, for the most part they seemed annoyed. I was a volunteer and didn't have time to attend the town hall during the day. |
Re: Preparing for the Town Hall Meeting on the New Championships Format
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The whole exchange is simply baffling. This whole year has been baffling. There are people in FIRST who have put a lot more faith into the organization than I have and the last 5 months or so I have felt it evaporate from under me. What makes FIRST what it is? Students? Mentors? Volunteers? Staff? Those who we can reach out to? The board of directors? I'm going to yell at the proverbial brick wall until I'm blue in the face: this is a partnership. If mentors do something that is not in the interest of students, the partnership can be damaged and disintegrate. If staff and volunteers cannot communicate information to students and mentors, that partnership can (and has in the past) turn hostile. It is paradoxical for the board to act in the best interests of FIRST over the interests of the community of FIRST, but that seems like the move they made here. If volunteers get overworked, they'll burn out. If staff get overstretched, they'll quit. If mentors feel like this program's moves do not align with what they hold to be true, they'll move on. If students don't have mentors, volunteers, or staff, what do they have left? A board that can give them a pat on the back? |
Re: Preparing for the Town Hall Meeting on the New Championships Format
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What came through most clearly to me in the video was Don Bossi's preamble, in which he contrasts FIRST's mission to that of the NFL. The latter exists primarily to serve the interests of team owners, while FIRST's culture changing goal is directed to inspire a whole generation of students to become leaders and innovators in science and technology. FIRST programs currently reach only 20% of US high schools, and a smaller fraction internationally, so the mission is mostly directed toward students that do not have access to FIRST programs now -- NOT only to the interests of teams that already exist. Culture change, and the FIRST program growth that will drive it, will not happen without sustained engagement of strong teams. The inspiration provided by FRC games, and by winning at those, is a major piece of that sustained engagement. |
Re: Preparing for the Town Hall Meeting on the New Championships Format
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When you move to districts, its the local legal entity, spearheaded and ran by the local leadership, that is entirely responsible for the entire operation of FRC in your area. This includes not only raising the money, but having your own bank accounts, being legally responsible for the events instead of HQ, and all the issues arising from that responsibility (insurance, legal protection and fees, etc.) It's a lot of extra overhead and responsibility for local volunteers to take up. It is understandable that local leaders are scared to take on that responsibility. In New England, we're lucky we have a great board who did what they had to to make the creation of ingenuityNE happen. Other regions already in districts have had the same luck. Not every region is in those positions though. |
Re: Preparing for the Town Hall Meeting on the New Championships Format
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