Quote:
Originally Posted by FIXIT
Gracious professionalism must be willing to alter scheduled deadlines in order to level the playing field for those teams who have lost 5 after-school build sessions. We cannot require students, teachers, and mentors to take unnessary risk traveling in dangerous conditions to make sure we meet a deadline!
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I don't think FIRST is "requiring" anyone to put their lives in danger, nor do I believe that they are showing a lack of "gracious professionalism". They showed plenty of sympathy in the response sent to Tonya
here, and I do believe that they understand the difficult situation that many teams are in. You are not being forced by FIRST to drive in bad weather. That is your choice and yours alone. I think it's pretty unfair to judge FIRST negatively and blame them for a situation which they really have no control over.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mzclayton55
Even NASA will postpone a flight when the weather is bad. Airlines will even change their schedule because of the weather. That’s the real world!
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It's true that weather is a highly influential factor in the "real world". However, if FIRST were to extend the deadline because of the weather, why shouldn't they then extend deadlines for teams who don't have as much money, who have lost mentors, or who have problems with team organization?
FIRST
does make an effort to level the playing field for all teams, but they can only do this WITHIN REASON. It would be logistically impossible for FIRST to make things 100% fair for everyone, all of the time. Can you imagine being a FIRST official, trying to judge how much extra time each team should receive on a case by case basis? It would truly be an organizational nightmare for FIRST. And if exceptions must be made for bad weather, than exceptions must be made for EVERY OTHER handicapping factor a FIRST team might experience - which
definitely would not represent the real world.
So please - try to step into FIRST's shoes for a minute. It would be unreasonable to expect them to be able to place everyone on a level playing field. FIRST isn't all about being fair - instead, it's all about overcoming real-world engineering difficulties. Do the best you can to get as much work done as possible. If you are unable to complete your robot, believe me - there will be plenty of teams willing to help you get back on your feet at the competition. If anyone can overcome a challenge like this, a FIRST team can!
-- Jaine