|
Thank you Dan.
This is exactly what I feel my team needs to do. I've been trying, since the beginning of this season, to get them to see that FIRST isn't about winning and being the best. It's about changing the world, and well, having the best time you can while you do it.
If I could have my team realize that one simple thing, we would be better off. The problem is not just in making the students realize that, but the mentors too. One mentor, he sees this. He'd love for everything to work, but if it doesn't, oh well, we tried, and had a damned good time doing it. The other mentors though, well, as far as I can tell, need to win to feel that we accomplished something. If the robot you build changes the point outcome for your alliance in just one match, you are successful. My team just doesn't see that simple "rule" no matter how hard I try. When I try to explain this, I'm silenced, when I try to talk to the mentor who silences me, I get no help, and wind up fustrated and worse off than I was before. I wish it wasn't so, but that's how it seems to be.
The problem with 810 is that we had an amazing rookie year. Now the team thinks a robot will pop out of nothing, and work. I'm trying to change that, and there are several students who see that, and have realized that they've been shooting for the wrong goal. The mentor however, is telling students that all must be fair, everyone must be happy, and to be happy we must win. This is the wrong message, and I don't like hearing it. The world isn't fair, don't hide that fact. The kids who work on the robot should be the ones that have fun with it, driving, human player, mentor, etc. Just because a kid's parent comes, well, no, there's no reason for that.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, my team has disappointed me, and destroyed my view of FIRST. Luckily, I know plenty of other people in FIRST, in part due to this message board. Due to that, my view of FIRST has not been destroyed beyond repair. In a way, I've made it my task to try and help the team come around. Can I do it? Probably not by myself. In the spirit of FIRST though, I'll try as hard as I can. If no one cooperates with me though, I can't do much.
|