Dean Kamen, Manual Laborers, and You

[Kims Robot]

Originally Posted by lineskier

I don't think anyone would argue that Dean meant to offend people. I think the discussion here is more with regards to the fact that he did, unintentionally, and the complication that arose due to it. I think the individuals behind this thread are simply trying to bring to light that when Dean misarticulates, it has ramifications.

As I sat back and read this thread and read everyone analyzing Dean's words to the n'th degree, I could help but think I did not envy his position in the least. He has taken on the job of trying to change the culture while somehow trying to politically tiptoe around people's feelings... and just like our president every single word he says will be hashed and rehashed. We here on Chief Delphi rip apart every word he says, sometimes without trying to see the full meaning behind it.

I did a conference this past weekend on "Presentation Skills", and was even told by one of my students it was "SO Terrible" because after that he was analyzing everyone's speeches and now noticing everything they did wrong.

But my challenge is - you get up there and make a point as drastic as Dean's... as life changing as his and figure out a way not to offend someone. Its gotta be hard. I was scared enough going into a "Presentation Skills" conference in front of 50 people, knowing each of them would be analyzing my presentation skills. Now Dean has double duty of trying to convey a very powerful message, and do it as a great presenter.

Originally Posted by gorrilla

I was slightly saddened when Dean made this comment though, because it made me think about all the times my dad would come home from work(pumping concrete, not an easy job, he's 52 and doing a job I would struggle to do) and tell me that I better go to college so I dont have to do something like that.

Ditto.. my dad is "stuck" in a retail job at a woodworking store because he never finished his degree. While he doesn't have to constantly remind me of that, I am reminded of that when I see him having to refinance his mortgage or go a couple of months without fixing issues with his car, or not having taken a real vacation in over 10 years because he doesn't have the money.

I have a deep appreciation for all the skilled tradesmen and manual laborers. I thank the mailman and garbage collectors when I see them, I respect all of the technicians I have ever worked with for doing the hard and often repetitive work that I know would drive me insane. And for people that are passionate about those jobs all the better. But in FIRST, I want kids to see the opportunities that lie in science & technology careers. While I will hopefully teach them to respect absolutely every one and every career, I want their heros to be engineers & scientists. That means I'm not aiming for them to have heros that are actresses, basketball players, farmers, fishermen, stock traders, etc. There are places for all of that... but FIRST is for exposing kids to engineering. We can respect all of the shepard & Fedex people that cart all of our crates around, but that doesnt mean we intend to offend them when we say we want to be engineers.

I don't know about the rest of you, but Dean certainly changed my life drastically. So I for one would cut him some slack, try to find the good meaning behind what he said, and figure out a way to "pitch" it to any of those who are offended. While it definitely won't hurt to let Dean/FIRST know that those words caused offense, we can either pull everyone down complaining about it or rise towards the mission of this program.