Quote:
Originally Posted by gblake
I don't think I made up a positive claim. ...
If you like, I'll modify my suggestion into either sending the money to the petitioner, or to some well-known trustworthy steward.
My advice to the world in general: At the individual club/team, and the local tournament levels, be a force for positive change, but don't squabble over STEM programs like they are a scarce resource that only some illuminati from the secret-handshake cabal can supply (and insist that they supply your fair share to you). Instead, just do it (yourself); and leave any misguided folks/programs behind you eating your dust.
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For the record, I read your positive claim as being an unvoiced assumption that this was somehow a financial constraint. I haven't yet seen any evidence of this anywhere.
That aside, I think you bring up a very good point with "don't squabble over STEM programs like they are a scarce resource that only some illuminati from the secret-handshake cabal can supply". I'm not saying that this is a good thing, but I think there's something about STEM programs that we as a community don't acknowledge very often: to the average consumer--the target of culture change--STEM opportunities
are still a scarce commodity, and they
are supplied by special people. I think we sometimes forget from the inside how difficult this is for many other organizations/individuals. We all know many, maybe countless teams that have folded, or that continue to show up with boxes of parts or kids that didn't know they needed Core Value and Project components. The folks who run successful teams are celebrated as impressive individuals. And I'm not even talking about Paul Copioli or John Larock; think about the team down the street from you that survived a teachers' strike or a elementary school XC cutback, or a change in leadership, or the loss of a JC Penney grant.
Providing a STEM program is fun for many of us; it's motivating; it's worth the sacrifices we make and the attention we give it; it may even be intuitive. But it's not
easy. It's important to acknowledge that not all consumers make good suppliers, and it's important to acknowledge that it takes more to be a supplier than money and even interest. Maybe you do the rest naturally for robotics, or maybe you're that kind of person in everything you do (kudos). But as we try to permeate the culture with new programs, remember that it's not just about STEM resources, it's about people. We need to win over people who are willing to take responsibility, give it initiative, commit to the time and effort, do their homework, accept support where it's hopefully available, navigate bureaucracy, and on and on. Next time you think spreading STEM is just about dumping LEGO parts on LEGO enthusiasts, remember all the projects we haven't finished that are still sitting in our garages or on our hard drives.