The Meaning of FIRST

[Bill_B]

I think this is the source of the confusion for the OP

Originally Posted by WMFlip16

Hello,

I am a junior on team 2137 and have been involved in FIRST since I was on an FLL team in 2008. ...

Sincerely, A Peeved Programmer

One part of FIRST does emphasize and require that the students do the work- The FLL. The transition to FRC can be borderline traumatic as is evident in the opening post. Chief Delphi postings deal mainly with FRC topics and are made by many who have only passing acquaintance with FLL and its core values. Those posting who do have FLL experience are generally mindful of the philosophical and practical differences between the programs. In the absence of specific statements from FIRST about the difference, we are all left with the problem of dealing with varying levels of expectation about students' participation from all of us. Some are better at it than others, like any other human activity.

I hope my explanation helps those who read it to consider that there may be explanations about how FRC teams operate that are not immediately apparent.