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Originally Posted by Tim Arnold
What would you do if FIRST abruptly stopped? This includes FRC, FVC and FLL programs, just completely halting suddenly. Regardless of the reason, how would you be impacted? I'm just curious for some of the insightful comments that some of you might contribute.
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At the risk of sounding serious in a casual discussion (thought that's what I thought Tim wanted), here is what I think will happen if FIRST abruptly stopped.
The need for more inspiration for science and engineering will not go away anytime soon. We are living in a more and more technologically driven world, where most revolutions happen in the field of science and engineering, and the quality of life driven by the produces of those revolutions. We are going to need more and more scientists and engineers if we want to solve some of the serious problems we are still facing. Global warming (whether it is or isn't caused completely by the amount of CO2 produced by human beings), natural disasters, diseases, starvation... These all needs to be solved and we need scientists and engineers to do them.
So, given the need will always be around, this become a simple matter of whether or not it is practical for FIRST to come back. We will have to consider the following questions:
1. What stopped FIRST, and can it be prevented if FIRST were to return again?
2. If it cannot be prevented, how would you build another organization that won't repeat the same mistake?
3. What are some of the things that could potentially stop FIRST we should prepare for?
4. Why should we choose to do all these work to bring back FIRST when there are alternatives out there teams and schools can join?
Those questions are based on the assumption that FIRST is in fact a worthwhile organization to bring back, that it is so successful there is no better way to inspire students about science and engineering. Most would agree with that assumption, having been involved in FIRST on a first-hand basis. Though I would still raise the following questions:
4. Some would say FIRST is a very expensive program to have in a school. Some would also say the cost is the reason why there aren't more teams in the US. So, if FIRST were to stop, even if we think it is worthwhile to bring back, should it be brought back in a form such that the cost on teams are considerably lower, a little lower, or kept at the same level?
5. Some would also argue that FIRST is not an effective program because adult mentors do most of the work and students can only watch on the side. If FIRST were to come back, would it be worthwhile to build a competition such that the students are doing more work?
To me, these questions should be continue to be examined regardless of whether FIRST get canceled or not. We are living in the real world, and cost, growth, quality, and balance are issues we will continue to face as we move forward with this program. Most of you assume FIRST is the best solution there is, and I would agree with you, except it's only because we've been involved with a team or a competition. It would be naive to believe that the rest of the world will agree with our point of view, especially when FIRST have to face so many challenges, some of which I already mentioned above. It would also be naive to believe FIRST is the only solution out there, the best solution, or the perfect solution. It is a very powerful solution, but it is also one of many.
Can we imagine a world without FIRST? Can we imagine doing things a different way? Can we inspire students about science and engineering without a FIRST team? I think the answers to these questions have to be Yes!!! Afterall, the point of FIRST is to inspire us to become more interested in science and engineering in the real world, and more importantly, even if we are not inspired about those field of studies, FIRST's goal is still to inspire us to grow up and make real impacts in the real world, whether as a scientist, an engineer, a teacher, a lawyer, a politician, or a taxi driver.
We have to learn to see a bigger world, because that's what FIRST want us to do. We have to become part of the real world, because that's what FIRST want us to be. We have to be creative, innovative, and adventerous, because those are the lessons FIRST taught us. And we have to learn to see beyond FIRST, because that's the whole point of FIRST.