It's a strange sign of progress that this topic is being discussed.
In a bygone era when Nixon was president, I was part of a small group that kept A/V equipment running
(e.g., fixed the 16mm projectors, set up microphones for school assemblies, etc.) in the back room of my high school library. Our group dreamed of future technologies, but we never dreamed of turning students away. That was the kind of thing that the un-nerdly groups did to others, often including us. The soundbite version of my thought is that I was a nerd when nerds were decidedly not cool.
I have to side with those who answer the OP's question by saying don't turn anyone away.
This discussion goes to the heart of what we are all aiming for. As wilsonmw04 points out:
Quote:
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This program is supposed to broaden the appeal of STEM, not to be a gatekeeper of knowledge.
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And I agree. So, what is your aim? Do you want your school's robotics program to be a class, a club, or a clique?
__________________
Richard Wallace
Mentor since 2011 for FRC 3620 Average Joes (St. Joseph, Michigan)
Mentor 2002-10 for FRC 931 Perpetual Chaos (St. Louis, Missouri)
since 2003
I believe in intuition and inspiration. Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution. It is, strictly speaking, a real factor in scientific research.
(Cosmic Religion : With Other Opinions and Aphorisms (1931) by Albert Einstein, p. 97)