Quote:
Originally posted by Kevin Sevcik
Also, I fail to see how boring some of the kids at nationals hurts our cause. If kids are bored cause they can't run off to a Disney park and ignore the competition the just spent 10 weeks doing.... Except of course when their coaches demand that they return to watch their robot's matches. Well I don't think the message has really gotten through to those kids. It would seem to me that they just got on a team to hang out with friends and go to Disneyworld. Anywhos, just my $.02
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What is
the message, exactly? I have seen this cropping up again recently in some threads, and it irks me. I strongly resent anyone implying that I or the students are in FIRST for the 'wrong reasons'.
There is no way I can possibly predict how being involved in FIRST can change anyone's life but my own. I have seen people hang around and do nothing, I have seen people join just to travel, and I've seen people join because they love science and technology. None of these things fall squarely within these implied confines of FIRST's mission. But, in reality, I have seen people from each of those backgrounds grow, change, and learn in amazing ways. If I had decided at the beginning that they were in it for the 'wrong reason', I may have deprived them a real opportunity at a better life.
Just because you don't understand someone's reason for being in FIRST doesn't mean it's not the right one - it doesn't mean that they don't understand what's happening.
Instead, I'd argue that perhaps you and those who have shared similar sentiment don't understand the true potential of what's happening here. To limit FIRST to robots, tools, and competition is to strip away its immense potential.
I'll be the first to admit that, as soon as my team arrived in Walt Disney World, I headed for the parks. Competition isn't my thing, it doesn't excite me, and I can still say that I owe some part of my life to this program. Are you willing to say to me, as I begin my 5th year (4th outside of high school, no less) in this program, that I'm in it for the wrong reason? ...that I didn't get the message?
I know what it's like to change lives. I know what it's like to have my life changed. I would never be so presumptious as to deny
anyone access to this program - and particularly because I may not fully understand their reasons for joining. If someone shows concern over the competition site because they feel they may not get what they need from FIRST, I'm all ears. I want to know how I can affect more people, not shut them out.