Why it is sometimes hard to be a student on CD.

[dtengineering]

<Chuckle>

Well, this thread has filled up quickly!

When I got involved with FRC I thought it was about encouraging more young people to explore a future in Science, Technology and Engineering related fields.

And yeah, it kind of is... but it is also about encouraging young people who have already decided to go into those fields to improve their communication and teamwork skills. In a lot of ways, I've found this second point to be more meaningful.

A very important thing to learn about communications is that when a thought is expressed in writing that it is both very permanent, and also independent from the intent with which it was said. It lacks the context of the wry tone of voice, the frustrated expression... all of those cues that say, "even though I'm saying this thing, I don't really mean it in a negative way".

So it is very, very important when writing in a public space (it matters anywhere, but particularly in a public space) to be very clear about what you are writing and ensure that it expresses your best intent.

Expressing oneself clearly and professionally in writing is just as important a skill as being able to use CAD, or run a mill. In fact, it is probably more important in the long run.

CD, being popular with a number of experienced mentors, does a good job of encouraging clear, professional, communication. That doesn't make it hard to be a student... but it does make it hard to be careless, or lazy in one's approach to communication.

And that is an important part of the competitive robotics learning experience.

Jason