CNN Special Featuring FIRST, Sunday 5/15

[falconmaster]

Being on the inside shows how much they must edit and cut to make it understandable for the general public. The let us see the pre screening and it had more facts about education and how teachers ate not respected in the US like in India. They also left out how only two students in the whole state of Tennessee are studying to be a physics teachers. The doc was about education in the US and they used FIRST as the vehicle. The true test is to see how people who don't know about FIRST react to it. We are all inside because we notice all the flaws, we need to step back and see what effect it has, then judge it.

[JohnBoucher]

I thought Dean came off very well and I actually wanted to hear more from him.

[PayneTrain]

Can't wait to head out to the Pennsylvania Regional next year. I might get lost!

The fact that the documentary had to be generalized so much can be considered an indictment on television viewers, but I'll chalk it up to me just being nitpicky.

Loved the documentary. Recorded it and talking to our officers about it this week.

[rcmolloy]

I did like most of the special and it was really intriguing even with out the mentions of FIRST. I still cannot believe most of the facts that were stated thought. I believe it's ridiculous that states alter their standardized tests just to have a majority of the students pass. Instead of mostly focusing on our military industrial complex that our government is, we should take much more time to focus on our actual future as well.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Fredi,
I have great respect for your team and this program helped increase that respect. Please pass along my best wishes for the continued success of your students. I hope that education in Tennessee and New Jersey and all states benefits from this doc. It shows more than anything, that there are students out there that want to learn, to do better, to improve their own lives and those around them. Thankfully, FIRST is there to help them realize some of their goals.

[rcmolloy]

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

It shows more than anything, that there are students out there that want to learn, to do better, to improve their own lives and those around them. Thankfully, FIRST is there to help them realize some of their goals.

Al,

I just wanted to hit on this quote. Even though I do believe that the country does not pay enough attention to our education, I know that the apathetic ideas that are in many of American students it a leading factor.

For some, their will and want to learn is just non-existent. The only thing that they care about is something that may unproductive or impractical for the future. It can happen but it is completely difficult to motivate millions of kids. FIRST will do it some day but American society needs to jump on board.

[Deetman]

Originally Posted by rcmolloy

Al,

I just wanted to hit on this quote. Even though I do believe that the country does not pay enough attention to our education, I know that the apathetic ideas that are in many of American students it a leading factor.

For some, their will and want to learn is just non-existent. The only thing that they care about is something that may unproductive or impractical for the future. It can happen but it is completely difficult to motivate millions of kids. FIRST will do it some day but American society needs to jump on board.

I think one of the big problems today is that there is not one big, public, "cool" engineering feat that the country as a whole is united behind and inspired by like the space program was. I don't think anyone could deny that the space program inspired an entire generation of students.

That is not to say that there aren't any important problems to be solved today, in fact I'd argue that the problems needing solved today are more important. The difficulty is that there isn't a unified front exposing the public to these problems and treating them as "cool". FIRST is making an effort to do this as are other programs, but there is still work to do.

[AlecMataloni]

Dear CNN,

We're not from indiana.

Love, Wildstang

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Rob,
I do not believe that. I believe that some students like those at Carl Hayden simply refuse to follow the trend and see that there is a reward for working hard. The others have a hard time deciding that they need to work and fight hard to get what they want. The CNN piece shows that there are students who wish to do better. After nearly twenty years volunteering with youth, I know that there are many students out there that want to do better. I certainly am not qualified to be a teacher nor am I a professional counselor, but I can show them that they can achieve things. I can make them believe that even though students around them will try to lead them astray, they are driving their own destiny. These students can't overcome the laws of physics but they can certainly make them work to their favor. Yes, we are lucky in this school district. We have a school board who sees opportunity when it is presented, we have school administration who encourages students, we have gifted teachers and school personnel who can recognize students who are seeking something more. More importantly, we have students who want more and are willing to work at it. Be one of those and not one of the students who just gets by. You are the driver, drive someplace good.

[blayde5]

Originally Posted by AlecMataloni

Dear CNN,

We're not from indiana.

Love, Wildstang

If this was on facebook, I would "like" this haha.

At this point, any exposure on a national level for FIRST is good exposure. Sure there are some things that could be done better but the way CNN ran it made sure that everyone could understand that there is a problem and FIRST is a great way to begin to solve it.

Disclaimer about this next part: I do not believe any of this is right and I was honestly shocked when I heard it from my teacher

The problem with education was put in a great but twisted way by my economics teacher: the governments and authorities in the poorer areas of the country where gangs are secretly don't want them to advance in society because well... they come from the families of gangs. They're scared of these people being above them later on, so they bring them down (crabs in a barrel mentality?) by not offering higher level courses and extra-curriculars such as FIRST. THIS is one of the many things about our culture that needs to be changed.

Also, people have also said that a great challenge from America such as going to the moon will bring about our brightest minds and inspire them to be successful. Anyone thinking Mars?

[XaulZan11]

Originally Posted by blayde5

If
The problem with education was put in a great but twisted way by my economics teacher: the governments and authorities in the poorer areas of the country where gangs are secretly don't want them to advance in society because well... they come from the families of gangs. They're scared of these people being above them later on, so they bring them down (crabs in a barrel mentality?) by not offering higher level courses and extra-curriculars such as FIRST. THIS is one of the many things about our culture that needs to be changed.

Maybe the problem with education is teachers teaching speculation and conspiracy theories instead of their actual subjects

I thought it was a great program. They were really smart to follow a couple of students to get that personal emotional involvment to keep the viewed engaged. The minor errors (regional names, Wildstang's new address) aren't a big deal at all in the grand scheme of things.

[pfreivald]

I think that overall it was a great overview...

All the little details that were wrong do make me cringe, though. Not because of how it reflects on FIRST -- none of the people who notice the little wrong details are the target audience -- but because of what it shows us about journalism. This is *journalism*, where their job is to get the details right! (Now apply to every other news story the diligence in facts we see here, and see why I'm cringing.)

[AlecMataloni]

You're completely right, xaul. Besides, we've got no problem hanging out with Beatty and the technokats.

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by falconmaster

Being on the inside shows how much they must edit and cut to make it understandable for the general public. The let us see the pre screening and it had more facts about education and how teachers ate not respected in the US like in India. They also left out how only two students in the whole state of Tennessee are studying to be a physics teachers. The doc was about education in the US and they used FIRST as the vehicle. The true test is to see how people who don't know about FIRST react to it. We are all inside because we notice all the flaws, we need to step back and see what effect it has, then judge it.

I think people will be very interested in the robotics event that the students attended/competed in but I think the impact will lie in seeing and acknowledging the failure and inconsistencies of our educational system. For example, Tennessee really needs to raise that bar and I'm glad to see that they are working on it. I thought it was great that they followed the 3 amazing students and their experiences in classes and with their teams. I was very surprised that the student from NJ was so far ahead of the student in AZ in the math classes. And that there are no AP classes for extraordinary students like Brian to take advantage of in Tennessee. Wow. And yet he still scored in the top 1% of the nation on his ACT.

By the way, I wrote down several quotes from the documentary and, as always, just about everything that 842 people say becomes a quote that I find an awesome use for.

Thank you all for the inspiration and the opportunities for non-FIRSTers to see just how amazing you are. You exude excellence (and commitment to it) as a value in your lives.

Jane

[Jon Stratis]

Originally Posted by JohnBoucher

I thought Dean came off very well and I actually wanted to hear more from him.

I agree that he came off very well... But at the same time, we (in the FIRST community) see him so often - both talking at events and in various videos - talking about how great FIRST is and how great the students are... After 5 years of it, hearing the same message from the same person starts to get a little old (even though it is still a great message). I thought it was really great and really refreshing that this hour long piece could use the actual students and their stories to sell FIRST as a program, with only small segments from Dean. The focus here was on the students.