Girls in FIRST

[Kaelia]

I think we're a pretty well rounded team considering us girls do more than a lot of the boys on our team...*ehem*...you know who you are!! [/b]

Umm...no 'ffense, but in your post I only noticed two girls that actually did WORK on the robot...I wouldn't really call that being well-rounded...

And Beth...as Kiracofe said at D&B, "If you're holding a screwdriver in one hand and a drill in the other and you wanna pick up that quarter inch drill bit..." =P

[Breanne M]

i meant that everyone does everything (boys scout and girls work on the bot)... sorry not all of the girls on my team are mechanically inclined. you don't all have to work on the robot to be a well rounded team.

[Madison]

Originally posted by Kaelia
Umm...no 'ffense, but in your post I only noticed two girls that actually did WORK on the robot...I wouldn't really call that being well-rounded...

If everyone worked on the robot, that certainly wouldn't be well rounded either.

[Breanne M]

Thank you.

[Team238-aholic]

in defense for RobotChickBree...

When I was on my team, I was the president...I ran the team....but i didn't build the robot at all....but i did everything else...

but there were girls that drove and built the robot this year...actually all the drivers for the team this year were girls

[Breanne M]

once again, thank you...our team president (a girl) is our robot controller/ co-driver <i forgot to mention that>.

[Katie Reynolds]

Our girls have always had a hand in robot design, machining and electrical work. Unfortunately, over the years the number of girls on our team has become fewer and fewer. Last year we had seven girls, this year we had three girls and it sounds like we will only have one or two girls next year. Oh well, time to start recruiting!

- Katie

[Kaelia]

Originally posted by M. Krass
If everyone worked on the robot, that certainly wouldn't be well rounded either.

Sure it can be. Everyone on our team does everything. Everyone scouts, everyone builds. I meant that on the list of girls that she gave, it didn't seem like the girls did ANYTHING on the robot...except for Angela and her sister, that is. Sorry guys, spirit team and PR does not count as doing stuff on the robot. If your team really is well rounded, at least half the girls should have hands-on experience on the robot. I realize that some girls might not want to do the mechanical parts, but then what are they THERE for? FIRST is a robotics competition, not a photography contest or a cheerleading competition

[Redhead Jokes]

Originally posted by Kaelia
Sure it can be. Everyone on our team does everything. Everyone scouts, everyone builds. I meant that on the list of girls that she gave, it didn't seem like the girls did ANYTHING on the robot...except for Angela and her sister, that is. Sorry guys, spirit team and PR does not count as doing stuff on the robot. If your team really is well rounded, at least half the girls should have hands-on experience on the robot. I realize that some girls might not want to do the mechanical parts, but then what are they THERE for? FIRST is a robotics competition, not a photography contest or a cheerleading competition

*every other team has to be like my team or they're not doing it right*
*every robot has to be built without engineers building at all*
*girls don't belong at robotics*
*guys only want to do robot stuff*
*using the words MUST, SHOULD, HAVE TO*

well-rounded
adj : many-sided; "an all-around athlete"; "a well-rounded
curriculum" [syn: all-around, all-round]

from the web...

"Because a commitment to serving others is considered a basic part of a well-rounded education, "

The more connections you make to prior knowledge, the more connections you make to your own life, and the more connections you make to things you have learned in other classes, the better you will learn, enjoy, and remember the material. If you want to be an A student, this is the key not only to getting a higher grade, but to becoming a more well rounded human being.

Well rounded imo means you make a choice about what you want and can involve yourself in, and to extend your horizons. Breanne has a long list of community service projects, school projects and school accomplishments. Altho she's perfectly capable of working on the robot and all the machines (which I've seen her do) she chooses to give our team her talents as a painter and pr .

Last year student George was not utilitized at all. This year I learned of his capabilities. He created our GP poster, built our website, designs our business cards...and doesn't get to many meetings cuz he too, like Breanne, has a long long list of other things he's involved in and has accomplished. George this year is a very valued robotics' team member.

Spirit team, pr...all counts as doing something for the robotics' team and if you haven't noticed, FIRST also wants websites. Why? Because it's not only about building a robot, it's about informing people, changing culture, inspiring people - including people who think they don't want to work on a robot and may someday choose to try it (and hopefully their efforts won't be unappreciated like some pr, painter, or spirit team members are).

On our team Becky's dad is a robotics' engineer, she worked on the robot, has been accepted in engineering college. Chelsea worked on the machines supporting Marygrace who was TIG welding. Michelle helped wire the control board.

You may choose to narrow the opportunities on your team to your specifications - that pr and spirit don't matter, that someone must be doing everything.

That isn't necessarily the only way to "be" a FIRST team.

[Breanne M]

so there!

[Kaelia]

Not at all what I said.

You may choose to narrow the opportunities on your team to your specifications - that pr and spirit don't matter, that someone must be doing everything.

When did I say that? Everyone on our team is involved with pr and spirit (okay, maybe a little bit less of the latter). I understand that maybe not everyone works on the robot...but the point of this topic is to find out who DOES. Therefore, listing out occupations such as the ones that RobotChickBree did would not be considered "well-rounded" in a context like this. The points that you brought up, however, are valid, and I thank you.

See? I can be reasonable. Sometimes =P

[Andy144]

I wished we had more girls working on our bot instead of doing animation which they did this year, because our pits would have been a lot calmer, and not quite as pushy. Having girls on the teams makes the attitude much better as the guys try and "shape up" for the ladies on the team. We only had two girls on our team, and then one of our three mentors was female as well . . . hopefully next year there will be a lot more girls on our team ( I kind of frighten them off though )

[mynameisalex]

RobotChick:

I believe the point Kaelia was trying to make was that people need to have a well-rounded team, with individual members doing many things on the team. What they do apart from robotics is not the point of the topic. Do the girls get to see all aspects of the process? And it's not all about YOUR team, as the topic seems to have gone in that direction. It is still a question addressed to the general audience on this board.

[Redhead Jokes]

The topic of this thread does not distinguish working on the robot from what they do on the team...

Originally posted by bethMonster
Everybody: What percent of your team is comprised of females?
Girls: What do you do on your team?
I am very interested to know, because our high school is all-female and we want to promote not only the presence but also the roles of females in FIRST.

And it's not all about YOUR team, as the topic seems to have gone in that direction. It is still a question addressed to the general audience on this board

*confused* They are responding to Kaelia. How is that making this all about Robot Chick's team? I don't understand why you aren't answering the topic about your team?

[Kaelia]

She's not answering the question about her team because she's from the same team as me, and I'm from the same team as the topic creator =P