FIRST Experiences as a Person of Color

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Originally Posted by Monochron

This was brought up by our RD last year. Having non-white judges and other officials as an example to non-white students is a priority and, I agree, could still use some work. I know there is effort being made in NC.

I think this is a fair short-term solution, but I would propose one that may be better for everyone in the long run. What if instead of allowing students to search for role models (judges, officials, etc) who look like them, we teach them how closely they relate to people who do not look like them? I want every student to come out of a FIRST event feeling inspired to achieve personal greatness, which I think both of these approaches can do. Given the choice though, I would rather they learn to find similarities in seemingly dissimilar people rather than focus on the differences.

Then comes the tough part. How do you teach this lesson? I admittedly have not had to teach this on an individual level, let alone a grand scale like all of FIRST. However, I know there are a lot of smart and experienced people who may read this. Do any of you have success stories you can share?