Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber
I'm saying that schools already have programs that cost* them at least as much (if not much much more) that provide similar benefits to a select group. These schools have decided that this is worth their time and money to be competitive at the highest levels for those students. However, they complain when our program asks for the resources to compete at the highest levels for our students. If the schools don't want to compete at those levels they don't have to put up the resources. There is VEX or FTC or BEST for those schools. I fail to understand why schools expect the varsity program for engineering to be any cheaper to run than a varsity football team.
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It makes sense to throw support behind athletics for most schools. Why? Sport is something that's been established for a long time. Most sports at the high school level have been around for decades or longer. They've been tried over and over again. They generally keep students out of trouble. Newer sports (like lacrosse, at least around here) don't start out with the huge budgets right away.
Robotics doesn't have that security of being something established. At least not yet. Yes, there are teams that have been around for 10+ years, but the age of most teams is far less than that -- I'm sure there's a stat somewhere on the Registration thread. Budgets are tight for a lot of schools/school districts, and it's an easier argument to throw money at something that's seen as "it
has been good for the students" rather than "it
could be good for the students."
The right argument? Being a
FIRSTer, I'd have to disagree. I was just trying to see it from both sides / devil's advocate. Robotics also has more of a club vibe to it and not a sports vibe - it's just the nature of what comes to mind when people hear the word "robotics".
FIRST seems to be changing that perception, which is good.
Practice bots aren't something for a team to just jump into and do. Reading through some of the recent posts, I got the vibe from a few posts that everyone should be building them. I think that it's something a team has to mature towards, and I'd say after the second year would be a good time to start
considering building a practice bot.
Teams have been and can be successful without building a practice bot.
One final thing to chew on: What's more useful, building a practice bot or going to a second regional?