Is It Possible to Take FIRST too seriously?

[RogerR]

Originally Posted by fabbuki

...What do you guys think about people who seem too "into" FIRST and the competition?...

i do feel that some people take it too far, and forget that FIRST is merely a means to an end (the end result being that we completely change the world for the better). granted, this is based off of my opinion of how far is too far, so this is really a qualitative judgement.

Originally Posted by RoboMadi

...you have to set your own boundries...

words of wisdom, here; though often, it can be difficult finding where those boundaries lie

Originally Posted by Stuart

well from a purely utilitarian view point if FIRST causes a lot of pleasure for every one and pain to no one then yes there can be no such thing as too much FIRST...

this is not always the case; being a member of a FRC team can be extremely involved, especially for team leaders and mentors. from time to time, i'll have students complain to me that there parents/teachers "don't understand how important FIRST is, because they want them to quit the team, and focus on there (rapidly dropping) grades"; to which i counter that maybe the student(s) in question don't realize how important their grades are. you're going to have a difficult time becoming an engineer, if your grades aren't good enough to get you into college.

FIRST can be extremely difficult and time intensive, especially if you're heavily involved in your team; your grades, and lifestyle will take a hit if you're not careful. this is often the case for college mentors; if you look at my grades during the spring semesters compared to the others, they are lower. luckily, there hasn't been any significant effects for me, but that isn't the case for everybody. you have to be prepared if you want to be a college mentor; it ain't for everybody. this thread is a good one for anyone thinking about it...

with that said, i'm going into my seventh consecutive year of FIRST, and i feel that all of them have been worthwhile. i feel that i've contributed to the students and teachers on my team, that i have learned a tremendous amount that i would've otherwise missed out on. if it's at all possible, i feel that all engineering students should mentor a FIRST team, simply to learn how to deal with real world engineering problems. i'm hoping to get my capstone group to work with my robotics team, in an effort to expose more people to FIRST.