Quote:
Originally Posted by jessjank.
Hi Ed,
1) The UIL is a huge thing in Texas. It "legitimizes" extra-curricular school activities. It's not just a funding thing. School administrators are more inclined to provide a variety of types of support for existing teams and to start new teams because it is now a UIL activity.
2) It is not creating a separate system. It is joining on with one that already exists. No changes are made to FIRST as it exists; the UIL simply recognizes it as an official activity and joins in to provide further recognition of eligible schools. (As I noted above: The UIL pilot does not in ANY way change or impact the regular FIRST season. All Texas teams will be able to participate in FIRST programs and competitions the same way they have in the past.) You can compare what's happening with Texas with what already occurred in Minnesota, Arizona, and Connecticut; I welcome folks from those areas to chime in with how it has impacted their state, schools, teams, etc.
Also, consider reading more about the UIL here: http://www.uiltexas.org/about |
10-4 on item(1)
My concern about (2) is the the 'state championship'. Right now Texas is multiple regionals without a state champ. Under UIL you will have a state champ, but not inside the sanctioned FIRST system. Going to a Texas district can resolve this if the systems are converged. Without the convergence,when Texas goes district then you have two champs, one FIRST sanctioned, one not, which would be confusing as say two (dare I say it) two world championships. eh ? Hopefully when Texas goes district it would have only one state champion and it would be sanctioned by FIRST.
A reason I'm pressing on this is because of this chart.
http://kellrobotics.org/files/model/...ry_for_web.pdf
We use this chart to describe a lot of points about Informal Learning. Using FIRST as an example, then FIRST is a sanctioning body similar to the NCAA, and the districts are similar to the NCAA divisions.
Another question that someone will ask is "how does this differ from at CTSO in conveying legitimacy?". I know some supers look to the CTSO endorsements.