Where was the GP at Championships?

[sanddrag]

When we checked in at the airport, the lady at the counter said "there was another team here before you and they weren't very nice at all. I never volunteering to do group check in again" I heard a similar thing from another one of the airport staff last year. This just isn't right.

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

When we checked in at the airport, the lady at the counter said "there was another team here before you and they weren't very nice at all. I never volunteering to do group check in again" I heard a similar thing from another one of the airport staff last year. This just isn't right.

Boy, that put's spreading the news of FIRST in a whole different perspective, doesn't it?

[jtdowney]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

When we checked in at the airport, the lady at the counter said "there was another team here before you and they weren't very nice at all. I never volunteering to do group check in again" I heard a similar thing from another one of the airport staff last year. This just isn't right.

Another thing to keep in perspective is you will almost always only hear about the bad things that happen. When I volunteered at West Michigan Regional the hotel staff told me the teams staying there were some of the most kind and respectful groups they had ever had.

[ebarker]

This is really terrible that this goes on but Dave nailed it.

Honestly i think it a best practice for teams to spend time on this issue. We have given 1 year team suspensions to students that don't get it and we will not hesitate to do that again.

On a semi related issue it seem like, and several people mentioned it to me, that it seemed that the pits were unnecessarily messy. It seemed to go beyond the problems of having to travel long distances to Atlanta but went down to just bad habits.

It isn't a tough leap to go from messy areas to messy minds.

I'm not talking show booths, but just basic industrial hygiene.

[Adam Y.]

Originally Posted by ebarker

On a semi related issue it seem like, and several people mentioned it to me, that it seemed that the pits were unnecessarily messy. It seemed to go beyond the problems of having to travel long distances to Atlanta but went down to just bad habits.

It isn't a tough leap to go from messy areas to messy minds.

I'm not talking show booths, but just basic industrial hygiene.

What are you referring to because I didn't attend this years championship?

[dsmoker]

Ellen,

The fact that you and your team are aware of this person's actions and concerned about it is what sets you apart from some other vetern teams that have developed an "elitist" attitude. I know that when representatives from our team approached yours, they were treated kindly and with respect, despite the fact that we, too, we mired in the 40s (although we believed and still believe our robot individually performed a lot better than that!!) I know for a fact, however, that they were not treated similarly by another highly ranked vetern team. Instead, they were told, quite abruptly, "Go away. We don't want to talk to you or work with you." Now, if you're in the top rankings and already have an idea of who your selections will be, that's all you have to do -- politely say that you have already made a short list for alliance selections and wish the team approaching you good luck in their quest. You never know -- next year your team may be the one needing an alliance partner and the team you dissed might be the one selecting partners. How likely do you think it is that a team you treated so rudely will want to work with you in the future?

[StephLee]

This is one reason, perhaps, to expand the ways in which veteran teams mentor rookie teams.

Some rookie teams have mentors who were previously involved in FIRST; our lead mentor was an FLL coach before our FRC team was started, and the rookie team we mentored this year was an FRC judge and FLL coach. On these teams, consequently, GP was a core value from the beginning, taught to the students from day one. Our team has never, to my knowledge, had a severe problem concerning a lack of GP from either student or mentor.

On teams which lack mentors with some kind of FIRST experience, however, it might be harder to wrap their collective heads around a concept of which they've never heard. I realize that it is not just rookie teams who occasionally fail to display GP - not by a long shot. However, ensuring that true rookie teams - the ones with no prior FIRST experience - understand GP and its importance could go a long way toward keeping the level of GP high within FIRST. Once a rookie team grasps the concept of GP, they are much more likely to continue passing it on to their future team members.

[ebarker]

Originally Posted by Adam Y.

What are you referring to because I didn't attend this years championship?

The purpose of the safety award is to encourage teams to practice good safe procedures and work habits. Similiarly the whole concept of GP is to encourage love and affection in our outward and inward habits......

It seems that to some people GP doesn't exist.

It also seems that some teams are not interested in either
(a) the safety award or
(b) basic industrial hygiene.
Consequently their work areas 'go to pot' or whatever expression you choose.

I saw just piles of junk and stuff in some pits. The regional we went to was across the board a lot neater than Atlanta.

I had some adults tell me about an idea, and I have no idea how it could be done, but an concept where a team gets penalized for an unwillingness to get tidy and safe (which could be extended to GP).

We have points and penalties on the robot field of play, but no where else.

There were enough examples of a student playing 'jeopardy knowledge' with a judge but the actions in the pit clearly and obviously contradicted the statements.

One of the reasons I noticed all this is we provided a lot of VIP tour guide support and I was thinking about how visitors external to FIRSTers would view this event.

[DonRotolo]

Originally Posted by Rick TYler

A FIRSTer is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, brave, clean, and cheerful.

I'd like to focus on BRAVE.

Brave means to me that, if I were to witness someone treating anyone else rudely or ungraciously, I would take it upon myself to address them, to make it clear that that kind of behavior is unacceptable. I do it with my own kids, with team members, and although I am a generally shy person, I don't hesitate to do this with strangers - at least, at FIRST events. And I did do it in Atlanta.

The point is that it MUST be a Grassroots effort by ALL of us to make sure offenders know that we will not accept that kind of behavior. THAT kind of peer pressure is very powerful.

In a different direction, I went out of my way to be nice to the staff, volunteers, and anyone else I met. I got several staff members to smile and laugh, got a great hug from a security person, and a 'no, thank YOU' from a food vendor.

Things go so much better when people smile.


.

[Uberbots]

Originally Posted by dsmoker

Ellen,

The fact that you and your team are aware of this person's actions and concerned about it is what sets you apart from some other vetern teams that have developed an "elitist" attitude. I know that when representatives from our team approached yours, they were treated kindly and with respect, despite the fact that we, too, we mired in the 40s (although we believed and still believe our robot individually performed a lot better than that!!) I know for a fact, however, that they were not treated similarly by another highly ranked vetern team. Instead, they were told, quite abruptly, "Go away. We don't want to talk to you or work with you." Now, if you're in the top rankings and already have an idea of who your selections will be, that's all you have to do -- politely say that you have already made a short list for alliance selections and wish the team approaching you good luck in their quest. You never know -- next year your team may be the one needing an alliance partner and the team you dissed might be the one selecting partners. How likely do you think it is that a team you treated so rudely will want to work with you in the future?

Im not Ellen

Im glad that you were treated with respect when you approached our team this year... that is how we try to get everybody to act, and typicall the people who act mean are barred from staying in the pits. This one kid though made such a fuss about it, and in the end probably completely demoralized a rookie team. I'm glad you guys didn't have the 'pleasure' of talking to this person; we really do respect you guys.

ive come to believe though that it is almost never a team who develops the elitist attitude, but rather certain individuals that haven't been dealt with. i have a hard time believing that there would be veteran teams to would be completely made up of snobs- they have had the longest for GP to be settled in and passed on.
of course, i haven't meet everyone.

[KathieK]

The lack of GP can be blatent or subtle.

Many people were wearing team Media badges with no intent on taking photos or writing articles about their teams... but were OK when I asked them to leave the field unless they were truly media people (I think that's horrible that someone would try and use that badge just to have access to the field so they can coach their teams or scout).

During Saturday afternoon we were sitting in the reserved section for VIPs awaiting the start of finals on Einstein when several teams started to fill in the seats. Show Ready personnel asked them to leave and most did. A venue staffer was brought in to monitor the area and one team in particular was rude. We were shocked.

We witnessed several other instances of rude behavior at the many other regional events we attended this year. It's a shame that the isolated incidents overshadow all the great behavior shown by the majority of people there.

[PHSmom]

I think it can never be stated enough that GP is not just at an event, or even in the build site- It is how we (mentors students parents) represent the FIRST Organization, our actions directly effect our Teams, School, Sponsoring Oragnizations and Communities. We are all eager to recognize the "Village" that is takes to build a team when we are fundraising, and looking for mentors but do we keep the "Village" in mind every day as we represent them.

FIRST's tolerance (intentional or unintentional) of poor or unacceptable behavior does not help the issue. I came to be involved with FIRST due the the fact that I beleived part of GP was fostering a moral, honest, reverent, suuportive learning atmosphere for the students we have the priviledge of working with. How to follow directions, how to represent your community with pride. Winning is not the goal, building the bot is secondary, it is the lesson we learn, the experiences we share that are the foundation of the program. Not that rules are meant to be broken or are for "other" people. It is not what you can do for your team THIS year-- but what can you do to provide for the teams of the future. A good reputation is PRICELESS. We (here in FIRST) have unfortunately learned the hard way how easily a few people's actions can effect everyone.

[Tom Line]

With all the bad reports, I thought I'd throw in a good one. Remember, as someone else already said - the "bad" stuff tends to stand out in your mind, and the good gets brushed away and forgotten.

At the Great Lakes Regional, I got VERY excited (I'm a little embarrassed to say overly so) at a couple of the calls that didn't go our way. Guess who kept their heads? 2 of students on the team the arm driver and our robocoach. Yes, even mentors get excited - and the students are the ones with "level" heads.

Remember - it's this simple. If you see an abuse of any type by a FIRST'er, first tell them, and if you don't get the reaction you expect, tell their mentors.

For many of you who haven't been in a work environment, this is one of the hardest things to do. In fact, we (as professionals) are evaluated on how well we talk to people we work with when we see them doing something wrong, or violating safety protocalls. It's not just for a good job - our promotions and raises depend on it. It's that important - and people don't tend to be very good at it until they've practiced it.

[Jeff K.]

At a regional I volunteered at, one of the other volunteers told me to get some media people away from the field because they were right next to one of the field exits, where they could be injured. I asked them politely to move, they moved 1 foot, and then a few seconds later moved back to their original spot.
They were rude and disrespectful when we were trying to watch out for their own safety.
I had to be a bit more assertive and tell them to move for their own safety. They finally moved, but one of the media people got hit by a trackball.

[dsmoker]

OOPS! I saw Uberbots and forgot that she's smurfgirl. Good point about not the whole team that's elitist, although I still say what makes you guys special is that you take the time to correct the problem when it happens. If it's not corrected, it's easy to spread, and that's how I think a team could get labeled as snobbish, even though, most likely, not all members are that way.