Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber
Ok, enlighten me - what bigger picture? Because in my opinion that IS the bigger picture. And the fact is, any time anyone is critical of FIRST here we are told to look at the bigger picture. The issue is that the bigger picture is obscured behind a series of blunders that make it very hard to appreciate it.
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The bigger picture is obvious. What happens on the field is only a small fraction of what FIRST is about. It's a means to an end, but the end goals are discrete from it. It's about changing culture and inspiring the next generation to appreciate science and engineering. The "political crap" is an integral part of the message and vision of the program. I'd challenge you to find a single student that opts not to pursue a STEM career because of what happened at Mt. Olive, or a sponsor who opts not to support FIRST, or a media outlet that decides not to cover the event, etc. The actual goals of the program, the bigger picture, are barely impacted by incidents like this. Considering nobody noticed this issue until the event was over, I feel confident to say that this did not hamper the bigger picture at all.
You're not merely being critical of FIRST so much as you're being adversarial. You're attempting to enlarge and inflame controversy, and you're being openly disrespectful not only towards the volunteers, but the professionals involved as well. These are still human beings who pour just as much, and quite frequently much more, of their time and energy into this program. This isn't some faceless, nameless Scrooge McDuck that's stealing your $4000 to swim in. It's a group of professionals and volunteers who deserve the basic respect that should be shown to any human being. They are no more happy about the "blunders" that took place than you are. Rather than call them "asinine" and question their common sense (read: the volunteers at Mt. Olive are on teams), perhaps you should reach out and find productive ways to improve the situation. These people feel bad enough as it is, piling on solves nothing.
FIRST didn't attempt to sweep it under the carpet, nor did they sit on it for an extended period of time. There are proper channels that are followed, such as FTA conference calls and FMS updates. Considering that the FMS has already been updated to fix this issue, it's obvious that FIRST gave this issue immediate attention.
If you feel their results are not up to par with your expectations, and that you can get a better bang for your buck that better aligns with how you wish to inspire your students for $4000 elsewhere, I encourage you to do so. We all have the same goals here. Rather than being inflammatory and dwelling only on the negative aspects, be progressive and help improve the product while keeping in mind the end goal.