[Madison]

Shana wrote,
“The goal of FIRST is not money and if you think that you should really consider why your in FIRST.”

Excuse me? I will kindly ask that you go back and reread every single post in this thread before you even consider posting again. It is exactly that attitude that was the impetus for this thread. In fact, the entire point was that I don’t think it’s fair that we tell anyone they’re in FIRST for the wrong reasons because, quite simply, you can’t possibly know what they get from it.

Now, with that said, I’ll address Martin’s post. I don’t think it’s fair to write it off immediately. While I don’t know that I entirely agree with him, I do think he has some valid points that people may not want to acknowledge. It’s understandable that we’d turn a blind eye to it, but everything has a seedy underbelly.

Martin wrote,
“what i mean is that it has become corporate...it is now a large scale project and as such it loses that ‘warm’, ‘welcoming’ feeling.”

There is merit to this, I think. As FIRST grows, if solely for organizational purposes, it becomes harder for teams to developed relationships, and it becomes harder for teams to feel familiar with FIRST’s staff. In the past, knowing a bit about 300 teams was possible. Now, I don’t think there’s anyone who knows all about the 800-odd teams that we’ve got popping up all over the place. There is a certain sense of alienation and it’s growing each year.

Does this really impact the ability of the program to do good?
Sure, money is certainly a factor. Companies want to see a return of investment on everything they do – and, while that may come in many forms, it’s still very important. This may mean that they see more people going into engineering, allowing them a more diverse pool of potential employees to choose from, or it may mean that their name is plastered all over a regional, or it may mean that they make contact with other businesses via their involvement in FIRST, and arrange business partnerships that have nothing to do with FIRST. I’ve seen all of these things happen.

But then, isn’t that all part of the plan? FIRST gives students myriad opportunities to enrich their high school experiences (and beyond), teaches them to see the world in all sorts of new ways, and does so while maintaining the interest of corporations, businesses, and CEO’s. Without them, FIRST wouldn’t work, so it only makes sense to cater to some of their needs.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that FIRST is entirely driven based off of financial concerns. Not yet. There are still good people out there doing this for some amazing reasons. Admittedly, though, I’ve also run into more than my share of people who’re involved for reasons that aren’t quite so altruistic. Still, in the end, all of these people work together, and so far, it seems like it’s been a positive experience for everyone.

Martin continued,

“i simply tried to say that First is a business...it is still enjoyable, but i have a feeling that the purpose is not to make that 16 yearold learn some fun technology, but instead it is to take that 16 year old, and use him as a number...saying that you tought him great things.”

I’d argue that FIRST is quite the opposite. It removes students from a situation where they’re nothing more than a statistic – an ID number, a Social Security number, a part of a high school’s percentage that go on to four year colleges – and it gives them an opportunity to shine as individuals. I’d imagine that, somewhere between the team meetings and ChiefDelphi, some of those individual achievements are lost, but I think they’re adequately recognized amongst team members. People become individuals with unique ideas, skills and personalities. Teams, too, take on some of these characteristics.

When you open a students eyes to the world outside the mainstream, you can’t stop them from being an individual. At least, to my line of thinking. There are too many great things out there in the world for people to get lost as a statistic. But, it’s our job to save them from that fate, I suppose.

Shana wrote, in response to Martin,

“FIRST and its participants don't look at how much money you have or what your wearing but put everyone on an equal, rectangular, playing field. That is why FIRST is moving NATS. Disney, no matter how much I love them, were making it hard for teams to come, and creating an unfair advantage for teams with a lot of money. And when there are unfair advantages nobody is happy.”

Again, I’d disagree. This is outside the scope of this thread, and I know it’s a topic nobody really wants to get into, but there is socio-economic stratification within FIRST. It shows up everywhere, from robot appearance to materials selection to regional attendance. It’s unavoidable, unless FIRST can someday supply everything to every single team.

The reality is that success attracts money and support, and those things encourages success. It’s not a law of nature, exactly, but it certainly seems true a lot of the time.

Shana continued,

“FIRST is not about numbers either because no matter how many people are in FIRST they all aren't there for the right reason.”

::M shakes fist angrily::

“But if there is one person, just one, who was able to say to themselves "Hey I'm not stupid! I can do this, I helped build this amazing machine!", even if the robot doesn't make it to finals but moves. Then that is the best number. Trust me in my first year when I looked at our robot and said "Oh my gosh i did it, I helped create this awesome machine!" my mentors and engineers weren't pulling out pieces of paper and marking a number but smiling and celebrating with me. And last year when I was able to finish the animation, with the help of everyone I could talk to(speacial thanx Brad, Frank, and Sunny), nobody was putting me down as a number or even thinking my animation would do as well as it did. But they treated me like the other animators who received an honorable mention.”

Agreed. And, to take it further, there are so many other amazing definitions of success that to try to quantify them at all – or, even explain them – seems futile.