[meaubry]

I doubt that a single correct response will ever come of this - but I do believe that each team can do things differently, say things differently, accomplish their goals differently - and STILL collectively drive cultural change as a by product of the FIRST experience.

Rather than argue that what others teams does is wrong or that you disagree with them, why not just let them do it their way and walk away knowing that if their way works for them AND helps accomplish the goal of FIRST - more power to them. It's not hurting your effort towards meeting a common goal, is it?

See, I believe each team has a completely different set of constraints to deal with, and what/how we do things is meant to address those. They are not meant to address yours - yours are different.

Our kids are different, they come from different backgrounds, different cultures, different sets of circumstances and therefore everyone is probably starting at a different point in the process of changing the culture.

So, when I look back and ask have we changed the culture of the students/community towards recognition of science and technology - I think we have, both within the school and within the larger community.
Then, I look at the bigger picture and ask - collectively has this also been accomplished regionally, combining the efforts of all of the participating schools in the region - and I can say yes it has (even though each team did things differently)

And, this process is repeated at the national and even global levels.

Ultimately, it is the collective whole that will determine the outcome. Getting caught up in the details of why it has to be done or thought of a certain way really has little bearing other than causing hard feelings. That is why the arguements over collaboration and competition are a distraction that takes people's attention away from the real goal of FIRST.

Just my thoughts - I hope this discussion can be a way to bring teams together rather than having the differences push them apart

Mike