Keep FIRST in Michigan (FiM) from killing FIRST Lego League

[Hot_Copper_Frog]

Originally Posted by leon r

Wow, just wow, this is first I am hearing of this issue in MI and am shocked by it! I can sort of see why they are doing this (mainly to accommodate FTC), but they are seriously shortchanging MI middle school kids from FLL experience! FLL is SO MUCH more than just robots! The project, the research, the core values and teamwork is invaluable!

I have coached FLL for 7 years and FRC for combined 5 years (97/98, 2014-2016) and I consider FLL as a vital step in STEM education. As a parent of three FLL kids, I wouldn’t trade FLL for any other level of FIRST activity (even FRC!).

I couldn't agree more that FLL is a vital step in STEM education that offers a wide range of positive experiences for students. The transition to FLL in elementary school and FTC in middle school is, in part, to improve their FIRST experience overall. I'm a graduate of FLL/FRC myself, and I wish I had been able to experience FTC as a middle step between the two. By the time I aged out of FLL I was bored - the build and programming weren't challenging enough. But hopping right into FRC was overwhelming. FTC is a great middle step.

Originally Posted by leon r

Also consider that internationally, FLL goes up the age of 16 (as of Jan 1st of competition year), that means that kids will turn 17 during the year. Which means that they can be 18 years old by the time World Festival comes around! So, if you ever send any MI kids to that tournament, they are going to be up against 18 year old! Talk about stacking the game against them!

Well then I guess it's a good thing that winning at the world festival level isn't the focus when creating an overall stronger FIRST community.

I think people are seriously underestimating how capable elementary and middle school students are. Now that our program has matured (our first middle school FTC teams were founded in 2011) and we have students coming up to FRC that have been through the full progression of programs, I'm blown away by how prepared these freshman are. They've had 3-4 years of FIRST core values, and the more technically challenging FTC build has prepared them very well for FRC. I don't think I've spoken with a single student who has gone through this progression and had anything negative to say about it.