Society on the Future

[sciguy125]

Originally Posted by Ashley Christine

Something I notice [and I am sure others notice] is that many young people look for people to lead them ...They dont take initiative and they lack confidence. I have noticed on robotics teams that many times students dont try to step up...

There are leaders and there are followers. If there were only leaders or only followers, it would be anarchy. Everyone has their place in the world. People are born to be leaders or followers the same way that they are born to be an engineer or an artist. They will go where they are comfortable and where they will be most effective. Personally, I'm not a leader. I hate being in leadership positions. If I have to, I will get the job done, but I won't like it. I just hate telling people what to do.

I agree that some don't step up because there are others there. But that's the way it is. Things happen out of necessity. If there's no need for someone to be a leader (because someone already is), they won't see any reason to step up.

Originally Posted by Ashley Christine

And when said student does step up -- the other students do not always listen because they dont have authority. Where is the respect for your peers?

I don't think that it's a lack of respect for peers, just a lack of respect for those they don't feel deserve it. Within our own team, some students command more respect than others. Some are almost never questioned, others were named "honorary freshman for life" and accept the abuse that comes with the title (not that we abuse our freshman...using whips and chaining them together isn't abuse right?). I think that people generally have to earn your respect before you give it to them. People that are older than you have a head start because they theoretically have more experience. That's the only reason they usually command more respect than peers.

Originally Posted by Ashley Christine

Another subject that was brought up is how people always have to find something to put the blame on.

The pessimist will blame themselves, the optimist will blame others. It's human nature. If there's something wrong with you, then you are flawed. Nobody likes to think that there's a problem with themselves.

Originally Posted by Ashley Christine

One way in which I would like to relate this to FIRST is that [I know there are many student leaders] But I really think more students should be able to step up and take initiative in FIRST and strive to get things done.

Our team is primarily student run. Teachers handle all the official business with the school. Student leaders handle all internal affairs. I think that a few of our leaders wouldn't have normally taken the position, but it was forced on them. The founders of the team designed it to be student run so someone had to fill the positions. Some of them are respected more than others, some seem to like the position better than others... Some people are cut out for leadership, others aren't.

Originally Posted by Ashley Christine

But basically I do not agree with the way society is today [never really have] so that is why I rebel [in the good way].

Me too. But I undertake a passive rebellion. In general, I just don't like people that don't think. People tend to see one side of something and stop looking. If they do happen to keep looking, they tend to stop when they find a side they like. People are happy eating whatever the media throws at us. I like to show people the side they don't want to look at. To those that may be stalking me on the forums, you may notice that I like to take the opposite side of a discussion and argue with people. I don't always disagree with those I am arguing with and I don't always believe what I argue. What I do believe however, is that it shows people something they normally can't or don't want to see.

[artdutra04]

Originally Posted by sciguy125

The pessimist will blame themselves, the optimist will blame others. It's human nature. If there's something wrong with you, then you are flawed. Nobody likes to think that there's a problem with themselves.

I've always thought that what makes an average person exceptional is not their inability to make mistakes, but rather their ability to recognise, rectify, and learn from them. It is not easy for people to take responsibility for themselves. But then, like most things in life, we must recognise when we have been at fault and accept it. It will be hard for many people, but then again, that is why some people will rise a cut above the rest.

When I joined Team 228 in freshman year, I was a quiet freshman. I liked to watch how everything was run, and I helped immensly during the build season that year. I didn't really step up to anything important because I didn't know very well yet the other people of the team. But this past year, my second year on the team, we found ourselves without a student to run our website. By now, I decided that I had nothing to lose by volunteering, so I stepped up. As Shakespeare once said in Julius Caeser, "Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once."

I didn't know anything about HTML, CSS, or anything even remotely connected to creating websites. And yet, I still volunteered. Starting with a blank slate (literary), I created the layout, graphics, and most of the content for the website. Within two monthes I had a very large, fully functional website online, just in time for the submission deadline. And guess what? Our team won the Best Website Award at the UTC Regional.

Just setting a goal, or a dream, or some other aspiration and giving it your all to accomplish it is a very rewarding endeaver. But as with all things in life, failure is inevitible. As Walt Disney once said, "A good hard failure early on in life can usually do more good than bad". Don't be afraid to fail. Be afraid of the fear of failing.

If and when you fail (it will happen sooner or later, just accept it), learn that it is not personal, that it isn't [insert name]'s fault, that failure just happens. Not everything is going to go your way. Work with failure, not against it. Learn from it, and use that knowledge to better your chances of success. For just remember, that it took Edison thousands of attempts to perfect his idea for the electric incandessant light bulb. And when his illuminating innovation suddenly worked, it outshown all his failures.

Originally Posted by KenWittlief

I think one of our biggest problems is we dont have any specific purpose or direction as a country, species, or for society in general.

I too have wondered about this. But then again, refure this if I am wrong. Capatalism of the Internet, especially by average people, is just the oppisite. Sure there are still alot of people looking to profit off it, but there are a ton that are doing this stuff for basically free. More and more people are creating free programs, open source software (like the incredible Firefox browser ), totally free libraries worth of information (Wikipedia), and people host millions of websites that generate no income, yet hold innumerable amounts of information.

Why? Many of these websites and programs will generate no immediate income - except for generous donations from average people who are impressed with the software/information and want to keep it available. But we must wonder, is this some giant, yet subtle movement that as a species we want (even if subconsciously) to reach out and bridge the gaps, and want to better ourselves for the sake of being better? This, I believe, would be an excelent goal for the human race.

[KenWittlief]

this is a short offshoot from the topic, but these freewebsites are often worth every ¢ you pay to access them.

Published information, and websites run by businesses that are making money on what they post, both have a real need to get things right, and they can be held liable if they get things wrong

but 'joes webpage' cannot be taken as an authority on anything. There is nothing to stop people from posting incorrect information on websites if no fee is being charged for use or access, and the author has no way of making a profit from it.

A good example is the email that has been churning the web for the last few months stating that Mars was going to appear to be as big as the moon in the night sky on a certain date. Totally wrong, and I must have gotten that email fowarded by at least 5 different people.

Usually you really do get what you pay for.

[nehalita]

Originally Posted by Kims Robot

However, you do not need mindless followers. And you do not need dictators. The best leader and the best follower are BOTH teamworkers.

I couldn't agree with this more. I think for a team to work smoothly, it needs leaders and followers. But every leader should sit back sometimes and every follower should take charge sometimes. It's all about respect, responsibility and maturity.

Offshooting, I find it a personal pet peeve to find people where I ask them "so why are you doing this" and they say "i don't know." Clearly no one should do something without knowing why! Even if it's "well I have a feeling that I might enjoy this" would work. But how can people live their lives without realizing the purpose behind their actions? If everything happens for a reason, then taking out the "purpose" behind an action just complicates the causes and effects.

Originally Posted by artdutra04

I've always thought that what makes an average person exceptional is not their inability to make mistakes, but rather their ability to recognise, rectify, and learn from them.

YES, Thomas Alva Edison is a great example of that. It wasn't those 100 errors he made but those 100 steps it took to get to his final invention. (I don't remember HOW many times he tried the experiment...i'm only saying 100 because I don't remember)

Originally Posted by pakrat

I only mention this because i have a tendency of being the tallest blade of grass many times. I often think of things, or voice ideas that aren't in everybody's comfort zone. I get flamed for it. I've somewhat grown accustomed to it though.

Yes, there are consequences for standing out and for not standing out -- but sometimes, these "flames" are just a test. As I mentioned before, I'm a strong believer of karma and reason. I see these "flames" as more of a reason to become "fireproof"

[JoeXIII'007]

I'll just start with what Ashley started with. It all comes down to people being considerate. Considerate of the real world, considerate of what consequences, good and bad, result from their actions, and other things to consider as well. Not only that, but what does the person do when he/she considers, and after he/she thinks about it; in other words, the product.

Originally Posted by Kims Robot

how do I bring out the leader in them, or just get them to take ownership (instead of me giving it to them)

You really can't. You can try, it may work, but leaders are called to be that way. It's also the same with 'lazy' people strangely. They are called to be lazy and inconsiderate on purpose. By who? God, some event, something makes their brain that way.

I'll take myself for example. I was called to lead the LEGO League team at the Middle Shcool because it would've died if I hadn't bugged that teacher to be an advisor to the program and stood up when the team got going. Now, I am called to lead the robotics team because I want to make it better overall. There are many barriers to doing that that I wish to crush, and that others say are impossible to. I don't think that way. I think: if there's a problem, fix it, no matter what (not to the demise of the team, of course). Am I leader yet? No, but I'm getting ever closer to doing so because I know I have to. (I made a mistake in the election of the co-leaders the previous year, so I learned something)

Originally Posted by Kims Robot

Too many parents are protecting their kids from the harms of the great big bad world these days... I say let them experience it. Let them get hurt, but be there to help them pick themselves up. The world is real, and it will be much more of a shock if they are sheltered from it.

Very very tough to say that, but I agree with it 100%. It would've made me a better person by a conderable margin in my opinion. The only reason why this is happening is because people want to make money off of the littlest things. As a real soft and off the subject example in comparison: EBay. But in the real world, people complain about sidewalks being a little off kilter, playgounds having dangerous but really fun equipment (ahh, remember those days), etc.

In short, this world has ran off of problems since its beginning, when Adam decided to eat the apple, and a whole series of events followed. To be perfectly real, there is absolutely no such thing as the perfect solution to big world problems. If somebody claims they have found one, they must me somewhat out of line. Therefor we have leaders to lead the lazy, engineers to help the leaders, and teachers to teach the engineers and leaders, and it just goes on.

And what about purpose to life. We cannot state a real purpose or a lack of, because the amount of knowledge we don't know is too much that makes it impossible to make such a statement. Not to stir something up, but that's why we have something called religion, because without purpose, everything just dies due to a lack of reason to live. The plants live to feed us and other living things, who live for other purposes, etc. Water exists because something needs it, like other objects, seen and unseen. And a God exists in theory and belief to give the idea to us of purpose to live. And that leads back to the beginning of this chain... (Energizer bunny, keep beating).

This is definitely more than 2 cents, and I'll probably have more.

-Joe

[Bharat Nain]

Originally Posted by Ashley Christine

Something I notice [and I am sure others notice] is that many young people look for people to lead them which is what you are supposed to do when you are young, but its more like they use it as a way to be... lazy. They rely too much on others. They dont take initiative and they lack confidence. I have noticed on robotics teams that many times students dont try to step up, because they have the mentors to lead them. And when said student does step up -- the other students do not always listen because they dont have authority. Where is the respect for your peers?

Stepping up - Leadership - Authority - Respect - Prosperity. It's pretty easy to connect all and see a very strong relationship. It's how all teams work. 80% of the students are lazy. 20% of the students probably do 80% of the work. If you just hand work over to the kids, some will, some wont. It's just the way things are. Everything is not for everybody. But those who step up and work hard benefit more than the others - even if the result is not immediate.

Originally Posted by Ashley Christine

I feel that kids today are exposed to too much, and struggle to make decisions on their own. They always seem to need someone to tell them what to do. There are so many choices you can make that are right or wrong. I think television and videogames are not so great for society. I know 8 year olds who dance like Britney Spears or Missy Elliot and swear like Eminem. But then again, are their parents trying to help them make the right choices when they are young?

You are absolutely right. Television and videogames are the #1 brain damager in the world. Why? It's the easiest and most available way for kids to immitate. Very fanscinating and influenctial, they know how to get you. If you watch directors, movie makers, television commercial makers talk indepth about how they make their productions, they will straight out tell you its about manipulating the public's minds. But wait a second.. that is wrong. That's not suppose to happen. The kids are not suppose to look up to Eminem as their role model. His stuff on TV is just for ENTERTAINMENT, but the kids have taken it way beyond. The reason is they have no other role model to follow, no direction, no motivation so they will obviously follow what influences them the most. I blame the parents - and let the parents blame their parents, and let them blame their parents, it will keep going on. The right thing to do is take control and learn the right way. Books might help. Let me demonstrate an example. I have a passion for photography and am saving up for a digital SLR. The reason is because my uncle owns one and I sit down with him and learn all this stuff. He's motivating me to do something worthwhile and useful.

Originally Posted by Ashley Christine

Another subject that was brought up is how people always have to find something to put the blame on. If something happens or goes wrong "it wasnt my fault." If they fail a class -- its the teachers fault. It just seems to me that you make the choice to do or not to do your work -- making it your fault. Sometimes it seems to be a team effort to me though -- a teacher/student work balance.

Blaming is one thing that will NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER STOP NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO. BUT - people of real character will accept their faults. I have one message for all of you - apologizing and admitting to your faults DOES NOT make you of LOWER STATUS in front of other people. Infact, it's the opposite. Accepting your faults also lets you analyze youself and improve the quality of your life.

Originally Posted by Ashley Christine

Another area was how kids arent getting the right direction. Today schools are more worried about a childs self esteem than whether or not they understand the material. They are not holding kids back because it could hurt their self-esteem. This doesnt teach them anything for later in life. As Kim brought up.... What are they going to do when they get into college? In college they arent going to care about your self-esteem. They are going to go by the choices you make. Whether you decided to go to class and do your work, and take initiative and get things done.

That's why I love FIRST. It has boosted my self esteem and self image so much. I could never stand in front of a crowd and speak before I joined FIRST. After giving numerous presentations for various things, I can now confidently stand and talk and not worry if I mess up because I know as long as it's natural its good. By facing tough situations and doing some intensive work, FIRST helps us boost our self image. wo0t.

Originally Posted by Ashley Christine

One way in which I would like to relate this to FIRST is that [I know there are many student leaders] But I really think more students should be able to step up and take initiative in FIRST and strive to get things done.

Leadership is an art, not science. Therefore it does not apply to engineers. OK Just kidding. But you are right, the world needs more leaders. Leadership is no joke because when you are a leader, people want to follow you. They want to copy you. If you do the wrong thing, they do the wrong thing. There are going to be obstacles, if the leader does not stand strong there will be chaos. There will be an opposition. Another person who wants to be a leader but has wrong values and people will even be willing to follow this person. If the real leader is not strong, then the wrong things will happen. Leaders have to be go-getters. If they put off work, everyone will.

The other day someone asked me "Are leaders born?". My answer was "yes". All leaders are born, I don't know any unborn leaders. What I am trying to say is there is no such thing as "born leaders". Read books by John Maxwell for more about leadership. He has done very intense research about this subject. Everyone has some sort of leadership qualities in them - you just have to bring them out. I would suggest reading "The leader in you" by Dale Carnegie. I would also suggest reading this post. Those books have helped me tremendously in my personal life and I hope it helps you to embetter yourself too.

-Bharat

[Adam Richards]

Originally Posted by Ashley Christine

Something I notice [and I am sure others notice] is that many young people look for people to lead them which is what you are supposed to do when you are young, but its more like they use it as a way to be... lazy. They rely too much on others. They dont take initiative and they lack confidence. I have noticed on robotics teams that many times students dont try to step up, because they have the mentors to lead them. And when said student does step up -- the other students do not always listen because they dont have authority. Where is the respect for your peers?

As others have said, there will always be leaders, and there will always be followers. The leaders normally know what needs to be done, and do it, while the followers normally sit back and watch, perhaps aiding if they want to. Commonly I've seen this happen on some of the larger teams, where there isn't exactly enough work to interest most of the students.

One of the problems with other students not listening, while I really don't want to rationalize it, is with the normal cliquéiness of high school, social groups normally only seen during school arise in the closed club environment. Whoever is in the 'highest' social group will probably turn someone into a pariah, and others will follow their lead like cattle just because it's the 'cool' thing to do.

Originally Posted by Ashley Christine

I feel that kids today are exposed to too much, and struggle to make decisions on their own. They always seem to need someone to tell them what to do. There are so many choices you can make that are right or wrong. I think television and videogames are not so great for society. I know 8 year olds who dance like Britney Spears or Missy Elliot and swear like Eminem. But then again, are their parents trying to help them make the right choices when they are young?

You're absolutely right, yet what can any of us do about it beyond our choices for our own children? Sure, we can instill values in younger generations, yet there will always be the peer pressure of their friends who didn't have parents who instilled the same values to do something against what they've been taught. Most kids (yes, including us) will probably turn to a friend who hasn't gone through something before rather than attempt to talk to a parent, teacher, mentor, neighbor, etc., just because of the age similarity and the belief that they might understand a situation more than an older person.

Originally Posted by Ashley Christine

Another area was how kids arent getting the right direction. Today schools are more worried about a childs self esteem than whether or not they understand the material. They are not holding kids back because it could hurt their self-esteem. This doesnt teach them anything for later in life. As Kim brought up.... What are they going to do when they get into college? In college they arent going to care about your self-esteem. They are going to go by the choices you make. Whether you decided to go to class and do your work, and take initiative and get things done.

Yet no one is truly telling the schools outright that what they're doing is wrong, and that they need to cease and desist. Their "goal" is to provide students with a learning environment that, as many put it, "creates productive citizens." They don't really seem to believe at all that it matters how much the student learns or gains from any material that's taught, but rather that they just graduate and move on with their life. The whole education system revolves around that principle, and many of the people designing the education system nowadays disregard strictness in favor of allowing children to "express themselves," which has proven itself to work completely against the intended purpose.

Originally Posted by Ashley Christine

One way in which I would like to relate this to FIRST is that [I know there are many student leaders] But I really think more students should be able to step up and take initiative in FIRST and strive to get things done.

Agreed, but with students being shoved out of the way, it should often be the job of graduating upperclassmen to delegate who should be leading the club, so a legacy of power can be maintained, allowing for the maintenance of a leadership.