[Kims Robot]

This is a good post to remind students of... part of me wishes it were well before build season! I think most get the point, grades HAVE to come first. Now that doesnt mean every student needs a 4.0 GPA, but every student should have an aim of a passing grade or higher.

I see Tom's point that college isnt for everyone... but high school is the time to figure that out... and guess what? If grades dont come first, college WONT be an option. So unless you decide in middleschool that you arent going to EVER go to college, then grades should be your number one priority. Again, that doesnt mean sacrificing FIRST or the swimteam to get a 4.3 GPA (yes some kids at PHS have that... ugh!), but it does mean getting all your work done and trying as hard as you can with the time you have. Good time management (passing up bowling with your friends to do your geometry homework) will do WONDERS for your high school career. Plus, the aim of FIRST is to inspire students in science and technology... and tell me how many jobs in science and technology there are that dont require a college education?

We had a hard time on our team because this year we attracted some students who didnt always have great grades. We had to turn some away from competition. We had to ask a few to stop attending meetings until their grades came up... we even had to give away one's plane ticket because his mother said his grades had dropped. Every instance of this was painful for all of us, but it has to be done. All of our kids have their sights set on college, so they have to keep their grades up. I would have to say most learned from it and brought their grades up, or are still trying.

There were many times this year that students or parents came up to me (guiltily) and said that they needed to miss a meeting, or couldnt come to build because they had too much homework or to study for a test. EVERY time my response was the same... I will NEVER be dissappointed if they are skipping their FIRST responsibilities for studies. The team can still survive, their resume for college wont.

And in closing, I know too many students who in college decided that they didnt need to care about freshman year, or a class they didnt like... they would squeak by with 2.0's or something, and then think they could make it up later... they were WRONG. So many of them ended up with 2.7's and the such, and while that is not bad, I can tell you right now that as a key recruiter for Harris, corporate WILL NOT let us hire any college grad's with less than a 2.8. Some comapanies are 3.0's. So learn how to get those good grades now... it WILL make a difference.