Why FIRST is different

[Joe G.]

As an extension of this: make sure that your team's partnership is in the right area. I find it very, very strange when people pride themselves as student built, and equally strange when people accuse teams of "having only engineers build the robot." Because, either way, if you see the actual construction of the robot as "the point," you're missing out.

Working with your hands is a fine skill to have, and one that you can certainty learn through FIRST. But you can do better. FIRST presents a unique opportunity to learn about engineering, thought processes, design, design methods, and to experience these processes first-hand. And to learn about, and be inspired to learn about, these things, students have to get involved with them!

To me, a team that hands its students detailed CAD drawings generated by engineers, that the students had no hand in, is missing the point more than many teams in which a large part of the construction is done by engineers. Even if the students build 100% of the robot, they didn't engineer it! They didn't see the process, and what their engineers had to go through to get there. Maybe they built the whole robot, and learned a lot about how to use power tools. But they didn't learn much about engineering, or see anything that would make them go "oh cool, I want to be like that."

But if the students work along with engineers to do their job, designing and engineering the robot, they'll be inspired. It doesn't matter if the robot was built by students, teachers, mentors, engineers, CNC machines, a sheet metal shop, or highly trained squirrels. If they see their work come to life, understand the process that made it come to life, and understand why it works, then that's where the magic happens.

Remember, FIRST is the sport of the mind, not the power tool world cup.