Re: Better at not getting caught...
 

Proof is not always necessary :p

Re: Better at not getting caught...
 

Let's just say that I am forever grateful that I was not a chaperon when Wetzel was a student on the team. The only thing worse would have been chaperoning a team that had someone like Dave on it... scary thought that.

Which makes me think about another point on FIRST kids and their behavior. Sometimes that their intelligence can get them into trouble. Like one year, I think it was at hotel during the Chesapeake Regional... our kids used mirrors and to extend the beam of a laser pointer as far as they could. They got it down a long hallway, up a flight of stairs and halfway down the upstairs hallway before they ran out of mirrors... Which was fine and fun... until we found out they were trying to figure out how to pry the mirrors off of the bathroom walls to go even further...

Heidi


Heidi

Re: Do FIRST kids behave better?
 

I don't really know about anyone else, but I was raised to exhibit good behaviour and respect. FIRST had very little to do with it.

However, when most people see me for the first time, they don't really expect it due to how I dress.

Re: Do FIRST kids behave better?
 

Think about the freshmen on robotics teams at the beginning of the season; walking into any team, you can probably tell who the new members are, just because they act like most other freshmen. Let's face it, most 14-year-olds aren't particularly mature. However, during the course of a season in FIRST, I think the process of learning certain values is expedited, and brings maturity faster. (You just can't horse around near people using power tools, you're expected to be graciously professional... some things just have to be learned.) In general, this leads to kids who have spent time in FIRST being, on average, "better behaved" than kids outside the program. I think most teams will bear witness to it, and have stories about particular team members for whom the program made worlds of difference. However, there are always exceptions, and some people never seem to grow up, while others come into FIRST already exceptionally well-behaved.

Re: Do FIRST kids behave better?
 

so-so everyone different and changes their behavior

Re: Do FIRST kids behave better?
 

well to be exact most do behave like 99% but we're all really the same as none first kids most of us are behaved but there are dozens of none first kids who are the same

Re: Do FIRST kids behave better?
 

When I think of that question I think back to a couple of incidents at the Championships a couple of years.
The first was told to me by a fellow mentor on a local team who was "propositioned" by a student in a way that I'm not sure what kind of girl he was trying to attract. The profanity filters won't let me write it out as is but let's just say she was quite offended and told the student "One. You don't talk to me that way and two I am an adult mentor!" Did he apologize? No. His only response was "For real?"
And second incident was a student approached me on an elevator and asked me a "hypothetical" question about buying porn on a school trip. I told him that school trip probably wouldn't happen again. He thanked me and scurried off, hopefully to correct his previous error.
And basically all I need to do is recall this classic thread to remember that they are still kids in need of being chaperoned on trips no matter how well they carry themselves.

Re: Do FIRST kids behave better?
 

Hmmm jus gonna throw something I think in here and I don't know if everyone will agree. I have met a lot of FIRST kids who behave better when they know they are being watched but than when, you know, no one is watching they act just like every other typical high school student would. And you know people always talking about "people being to immature", I am sure at some point in time in your life you were immarute as well. And you learned from your mistakes of being immautre and moved. So why not let the "non-behaved" kids learn from their mistake. Sorry if this make no sense it made more sense in my head. I mean a lot of the kids on my team act like they are well behaved around the adults and the mentors but when it is only us around they act like the typical kid being described here. Is that wrong? No, its just a part of growing up.

Re: Do FIRST kids behave better?
 

It makes sense. I'm one of those kids.

Re: Do FIRST kids behave better?
 

i always noticed that about my team and myself. ive changed in a good way :D

Re: Do FIRST kids behave better?
 

Yea, I agree with you on this. I'm guilty of it at times too. When I know that some of my mentors are watching, I behave as best I can. When I know they aren't, or when I think they're not, I'm not as well behaved. That's the same with many people on our team. And of course, there are some students who just don't care whether a mentor is watching or not, they act immaturely all the time.

Re: Do FIRST kids behave better?
 

Ok, major problem with the title of this thread. better? better then what? I think if you were to rate all the students in the school from 1 to 10 with 10 being well behaved and 1 being not so well behaved. Then average them. Then do the same thing with just the kids on the robotics team. I think the robotics team would have a higher score. Why is this? Because there are some awful kids out there. Some will curse at their parents, pick a fight with a random guy, and do anything else to be obnoxious. You don't get those on a FIRST. At least, in the time I've been with FIRST, I've not seen anything like this.

FIRST kids are better behaved on average, not because they are all perfect...its just because they don't have certain types of kids to weigh down their average.

I may be completely wrong on this note, but this is the way I see it.

Re: Do FIRST kids behave better?
 

Better than other kids you encounter.
It was ambiguous on purpose, to allow for the opportunity in ambiguity.

Sure, as a mentor, when I unexpectedly walk into a room I see what the kids were up to. But, as someone said, it is a part of growing up. What, you think I was an angel as a kid? You have no idea...:ahh:

Re: Do FIRST kids behave better?
 

I know this thread is ancient............... BUT, I'd like to get some current opinions on this matter. I, for one, am often annoyed by how rudely some students in my team behave when mentors aren't around. From throwing balls in the shop to yelling profanities at others. Of course the way I was raised is a bit different (at least culturally) from most other kids. I've found that disrespect is too often considered "part of growing up", without kids understanding the concept of repercussions of actions. To be fair, no one in my team did anything in our hotel rooms, due to how tired we all were.

How do other teams feel about this? Do FIRST kids still act like any other, or have you noticed they seem to be mature now?

Re: Do FIRST kids behave better?
 

Kids behave like kids when adults are not around. Yes, some kids are better, but not many.

We do make it very clear every season what our expectations for behavior are, and I like to think this does affect them positively. Basically "no horseplay" and "be inclusive" (which means no bullying or shunning or cliques) are big ones.

While traveling we have even higher standards, especially on how they behave in the hotel, since other guests are trying to rest. (This is a sore point for me, since I travel a lot and am frequently one of those "other guests").

So, I think if we didn't make it real clear, we'd see typical kid behavior. Even then, we sometimes do.