These are good questions, and they are worth discussing.
First off, here is FIRST's Mission Statement, which I think helps to answer your questions:
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Originally Posted by FIRST
Our mission is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders, by engaging them in
exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering and technology skills, that inspire
innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and
leadership.
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Originally Posted by davidthefat
Aren't we trying to attract kids who are on the other end of the spectrum?
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"Other end of the spectrum" may not be the best way to put it. Some people - most people - simply are not going to be engineers for one reason or another. Not their cup of tea. The idea isn't to persuade everyone. It is rather, as Carol said, to help swing the students who either didn't know about engineering as a career, or weren't sure of engineering as a career, to pursue the profession after high school. As a result, teams made up only of students who were already decided on engineering have a ceiling on the impact they can possibly make. Still, even engineering-tracked students can benefit from participation (real world project and teamwork experience, technical experience with relevant technologies at an early level, resume builder, etc.)
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Originally Posted by davidthefat
What can we do to attract kids other than those who already have a goal in STEM?
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FIRST is actually all about trickery! Many students join because of the travel, the fun of competition, but end up getting inspired once they get "hooked". You just need to get them through the door. Giving students other avenues for joining the team to all sorts of wonderful things. People join the website team, and end up becoming professional engineers (case in point: Me). People join the Chairman's team and end up pursuing engineering. If you have the bandwidth, having non-technical subteams is a great way to attract students who may be turned off by the "nuts and bolts" at first. Especially, in my experience, females.
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Originally Posted by davidthefat
However, is that really fulfilling FIRST's mission?
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Yes. Look at FIRST's Mission Statement. "Science and technology leaders" are engineers, but also 3D modelers, website designers, technical communicators, technical entrepreneurs, etc. There are plenty of "non-build" ways to fulfill this vision.
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Originally Posted by davidthefat
Are we doing the job correctly if 80% of the team is in the stands cheering with a handful of people in the pits working on the robot? Are we allocating the jobs correctly?
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I would say the answer depends on the 80%. Have they been inspired? Learned new skills? Considering pursuing careers in science and technology related fields? Even if they aren't, do they have a newfound appreciation and respect for science and technology? If yes, then you are doing your job correctly. You can only fit so many people in the pits. Still, 100 students sounds pretty overwhelming to me. You need a LOT of mentorship to steer a herd that large.