Quote:
Originally Posted by Donut
To take this a step further, once mentors or coaches have instilled a system that creates excellence, more students want to be a part of that system. I know the original point of your post was to point out that powerhouse teams do not have superior students, but I think to an extent the better teams in FIRST can have students who are more motivated and interested in pursuing the engineering challenges it presents.
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I want to highlight what you said here because my original statement didn't say what I really wanted it to say - it was close, but I left something important out (and you added it for me).
What I meant to say about the high school students is that it is unlikely for the students at WildStang's high schools to be much better than the students of any other high school. From a probability standpoint, the inherent abilities (i.e. talents) of one population of children will not be far superior to another group. The difference is more attributable to the level of education, training, etc.
What you said is also true: success breeds success. People like to be a part of a winning team, so when the team is successful you start to attract even more students which means you can get better students (once again, probability: if you are taking 20 students on the team, your 20 will be better if 60 show up to try out than if only 30 show up.)