Quote:
Originally Posted by Jon Stratis
My team has also had students with involved parents take on visiblecompositions and leadership roles. One of them was a two year captain and Championship Dean's List Winner. Others have been on the drive team, sub team leaders, captains, part of the design team... All very visible leadership roles. But it all has to do with the individuals involved, not their parents involvement, and I really hope my students have seen that. I have heard comments that would point to them accepting that - saying that so-and-so was amazing and we need to model parts of the team off what she did, etc. But I can't guarantee that every student sees that or agrees with it. And as a mentor, I really don't know how to ensure that all of the students feel like they have an equal chance at those roles. Not when some of the decisions are made "behind closed doors" in meetings between the mentors or mentors and captains.
|
This is the root behind a balance problem for which I'm still searching for a "good enough" solution. Robotics is going to attract a diverse group of students. They come with varying levels of STEM interest, not to mention an assortment of personalities. It's natural for the students who are most interested and most dedicated to doing robotics to pick up a lot of valuable experience and be considered a major asset to the successful performance of the team. Personality plays a role too. Some students may be more outgoing or pursue the chance to participate aggressively, leaving more passive students on the sidelines.
The balance problem comes when there is crowding out. FIRST's mission is to spread interest in STEM. Don't get me wrong. I think it's wonderful that FRC provides excellent opportunities for hard core techies to grow. That should be part of the mission too. But sometimes it feels like it takes an active and mindful effort to make sure the team doesn't turn into the handul of die hard students who make up the "real team" vs the rest of the students who come to meetings and events but never have the opportunty to engage in STEM.