Posted by Anton Abaya at 2/3/2001 12:47 AM EST
Coach on team #419, Rambots, from UMass Boston / BC High and NONE AT THE MOMENT!
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In Reply to: The message FIRST is trying to send... and we should hear...
Posted by colleen - T190 on 2/2/2001 3:42 AM EST:
if you were to put a bunch of crabs in a tank, they make an effort to get out of the tank but as soon as one of them reaches the top, another crab below will pull them down.
the point i am trying to make is that my FIRST experience has always been nice really give or take a few crabs. i'm the team leader of Rambots....and that to me means bringing out the best in the team. Bringing out the leaders of the team, using the stregths of the team, and sorting out the talents and skills of the students. in the process of that, i have put myself in the spotlight, one of high profile and continuing enthusiasm.
all i can really say is this. I am out to make the most out of my team and myself. I am not out to destroy other people, teams, or pull them down. I'd even help people out to get to the spotlight..... But I also FIRMLY believe that credit belongs to the right places.
In my experience in FIRST, there have been many occurrences of "original" ideas stolen by others. It is an unfortunate occurrence and often leads to trouble. Why these people do it? How can we know? All I can say is there really is no way for us to stop them and competition really is human nature.
No matter how much we try not to compete and be gracious and professional, we live in a culture with a need to compete and be the strongest of them all. It's biological and there's nothing we can do about those who want the spotlight so bad.
I guess the last thing I can say is if we work hard to help each other out, then all will be good. But if you have too much to lose (ego wise) to help another person attain his/her spotlight, then dont bother and make your own path first. that way, ideas wont be stolen, egos wont be bashed, and teams wont die.
to hell with crabs, we're human...
-anton