Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve W
FIRST does read these threads. FIRST chooses not to respond. FIRST does not care what you or I think. FIRST has come to think of themselves as untouchable. FIRST counts on their volunteers to make things work yet keeps them all in the dark as long as they can. The problem is that volunteers have the choice to continue or not. When they leave you do not get them back because they find other causes to help at. Volunteers include teachers and mentors. How many teams have left FIRST and returned? Very few.
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This is of GREAT concern. You make a valid point Steve. FIRST, at least in appearance, seems to gradually be taking the outstanding volunteer, corporate and collegiate support for granted to where the support has become more of an expectation. (There were some VERY disappointed schools and scholarship winners at the 2008 CMP!)
Some of this is probably because of how large FIRST has become so fast. I know we used to get bored at some of the old speeches at events, but they at least showed that they cared and openly recognized the importance of the volunteer base. At least we could feel good before we dozed off...
As Volunteers, I'd be willing to bet that a majority of the folks involved are also involved in other organizations outside of FIRST and after the good-byes are done, would be full bore into another worthy cause with FIRST being but a chapter.
FIRST as a whole cannot afford to lose, alienate, or ostracize any of its quality people or even start down that path, because you are right, once a team folds, they're pretty much done. However, Volunteers can and often do move on and pop up somewhere else, often starting new teams. I wonder how many new teams came from off-shoots or folded teams with an experienced volunteer or two at the helm? I can think of more than a few in my local area, 1243 included.
HOPEFULLY FIRST IS PAYING ATTENTION!!
Back to Michigan...
This announcement has been out for about 15 days now, and given the concerns being raised, I would think someone at FIRST or FiM would at least organize a call before people begin to develop more, or deeper resentments to this plan, (or toward one another) based on what could be partial facts, speculation or just simple misunderstandings.
Do "They" merit a thousand lashes with a wet pool noodle? Well... probably at least a few for this whole silent approach and for the appearance thus far of not having a representative cross-section involved in the planning. But, we don't know any of this for sure- because of their silence. Hopefully they will soon present a decent reason, or at least their logic (flawed or not in our opinions) and we can move into the next phase of change.
What we DO know is that a group of very well-intentioned FIRST Volunteers put a whole lot of time into developing a competition structure to help elevate FIRST. How they arrived at this... I'm sure we'll find out - IF FIRST or FiM steps up, realizes that the approach/roll out was miscalculated, removes the gag order, and facilitates open discussion I'm thinking the hot-button things will work out, or at least that anything totally unbearable can be worked out... afterall isn't this kind of problem-solving part of what we are supposed to be teaching and learning?
The genie is already out of the bottle, time to deal with what we've got before it starts to get out of hand.
FIRST ARE YOU LISTENING??
