An Attitude of Counterculture

[Mr. Lim]

Counter-culture is a funny thing.

Take the X-Games as an example: A wonderfully entertaining, and provocative set of "counter-culture" sports that was nauseatingly effective at rousing our young people to emulate them.

The unfortunate thing is all we did was rally our young people to spend ungodly hours of concerted focus and concentration to become really good at doing skateboard tricks - a wholly un-useful skill in the real world.

Imagine being able to employ that kind of power to motivate our young towards something like robotics? Counter-culture could be the key...

As an aside, the irony is that everything that is X-Games related has become so popular, that there is no counter-culture anymore. It's become so mainstream, that when I see a kid hop on a skateboard, the reaction is more "another mindless sheep trying to fit in" as opposed to "this kid is trying too hard to be different."

Maybe the hidden gem in your post is that the FIRST community needs to take advantage of counter-culture attitudes in order to eventually gain mainstream acceptance, just like the X-Games did.

Can we do it? Absolutely.

We already have the most important parts going for us: we nerds are already unpopular and not well liked.

So were skateboarders when they first emerged, and what did these wholly unremarkable destructors of public property do when you made fun of them? They took on a belligerent "eff-you" attitude, skated harder, and flaunted their tricks even more. People eventually noticed. They became popular, but still were not that well liked by the masses - and that's the secret. It's definitely better when some people hate you, and even moreso when you don't give a hoot that you're hated. For some reason, that's the secret to success when it comes to the teenage mind.

So what should we do? As Dean and will.i.am say: be louder. Be more belligerent about the fact that we're nerds. Let the others know that they're on the fast-track to a future pumping gas... or if they're really good, in retail ("Hey, I used to hang out at the mall, and now I WORK there... booya!")

Most importantly, flaunt your skills without regard for whether you're going to be hated or liked. That's the point: people are supposed to not like you, and if they don't, you've done your job furthering the counter culture!

In other words:

Nerd harder, be seen doing it... don't care what others think.

[ghostmachine360]

So, I want to thank you all for everything you've said. It's been really helpful to me to improve this teaching, and has given me some new material I would like to write about.

Actually, Mr. Lim, your example of the X Games as an act of counterculture got me to think about one of the reasons that the X Games became a televised event; not only because of the following of skaters & the athletes involved, but the large amount of noticeable "big-light" sponsors that sponsored the skaters. I'm not saying that the sponsors we have now aren't amazing (the engineers and leaders of these select companies and organizations are my heroes), but the X Games has sponsors that connect to kids and teenagers directly now. Maybe one of the next moves now is to bring some of those kinds of sponsors our way.

Examples: Oakley, Mountain Dew, Playstation, adidas, multitudes of beverage and drink companies, Nike, and the list goes on.

I've got the FIRST Studio Beats; might be more boss if there was some Oakley-designed safety glasses to go along with it........

But, seriously, sponsors that can connect us as an organization more to the people we're trying to reach may be a breakthrough point for us. I mean, between Boston Scientific & Nike, which would you use to get kids interested right away?

Also with this, I might add, it's not about the recognition; but the transformation (thanks to Mr. Barker). Majority of the sponsors we have now realize that the students that participate will be joining the workforce in a matter of a few years to a decade. Their participation ensures that students see the opportunities that could be theirs, along with companies they could pursue those opportunities with. Majority of the sponsors that sponsor the X-Games are ones that are only looking for future consumers or future athletes to sponsor. If we can get some of those "big-light" sponsors to look at our students as the future workforce & untapped wells of innovation potential for their companies, we could have access to one of the largest exposure mediums in the modern world of media; brands & reputation. It could be a key to becoming larger and gaining a larger audience to the message of FIRST. And then, we've got the transformation part down when they become a part of it. It could even lead to another exposure source, sports programming networks; they LOVE those kinds of sponsors.

That being said, who wouldn't want their own 5 minutes on PTI on ESPN? (Would love to be a robotics correspondent with Michael & Tony.)

[PayneTrain]

Outreach works hands in hand with not being "excellent in a sea of mediocrity."

If your team is the best team ever, they will work their butt off to make sure as many people as possible can try to beat them. That's the approach you can take to outreach, to really show a strong, motivated team of students the power they have to change the 10 months they're not on the field.

Make others great, and you may end up shining... maybe even the brightest after all.

[ebarker]

Originally Posted by ghostmachine360

Examples: Oakley, Mountain Dew, Playstation, adidas, multitudes of beverage and drink companies, Nike, and the list goes on.

( broad comments below, exceptions abound )

Something to keep in mind. These sponsors produce mass market consumer items. Their marketing people have to get their name in front of as many eyeball viewings as possible. They are working in their own self interest. And that is fine.

Most of the companies that sponsor FIRST teams are also protecting their own self interest. That is fine too. They are building a recruitment pipeline, working to make sure they are competitive in the future.

It would be great to have a beverage or apparel company participate in FIRST, just to help support FIRST.

What we really want to see, and is more likely to happen, is the "cultural transformation" occurs, it draws enough 'public eyeballs' and the sponsor wants to associate themselves with the activity. That will be a good place to be when we get there.

But how do we get there ? That is a strategic leadership challenge. There are a lot of ideas floating around. a) more visually appealing robot challenges, b) better public outreach by teams, c) and more.

food for thought........................
.

[Kims Robot]

Originally Posted by ebarker

It would be great to have a beverage or apparel company participate in FIRST, just to help support FIRST.

What we really want to see, and is more likely to happen, is the "cultural transformation" occurs, it draws enough 'public eyeballs' and the sponsor wants to associate themselves with the activity.

If I'm not mistaken, Coke associated with FIRST this year. I remember one of the exec's speaking at Dean's House at kickoff. I haven't seen a lot since, but I think the idea was to have them help with the marketing appeal.

And to the second point, at least from the story I heard I think will.i.am actually approached Dean (not the other way around). Granted, I think it was because he wanted "to meet the invented the really cool Segway"... but he was excited enough to approach technology, not the other way around.

Granted as the top of your post mentions, this isnt the majority yet. But I think at least things are moving in the right direction.

As far as the original post goes, I may have gotten myself in a bit of trouble highlighting this thread. I want so badly for more kids to realize that its one thing to be a "Doer" - someone who can get a task done that is given to them. Its another to be a "Leader" - a founder and initiator of Great ideas. Whether its because kids are afraid to fail, or inclined to do "just enough" to get what they want/need, I agree... its NOT enough to change the culture. We need to dream bigger and reach higher.

When I was in high school, I had an English teacher who gave me a C and the girl next to me an A on a paper... yet mine was "better" than hers. The teacher told me simply "You aren't working to your potential". It was a lightbulb that went off in my head. He was the first teacher to ever call me out on the fact that I was doing "just enough to get by", and that I wasn't working as hard as I could. I had figured out what was "good enough" and stuck to that. Well, I couldn't in his class!

But I found in Robotics, that was never a problem. I was always pushing hard, dreaming bigger, trying harder. When my high school team started, I pushed the mentors to let the students have a leadership group to help run the team. When I wanted students more involved in the design, I signed up for a CAD class so I could learn & teach others. When we needed a way to show off our sponsors, I learned MS Publisher and created our Patron Book. When I wanted to become a coach, I set up & ran our entire scouting system for a year to prove that I knew other teams & strategy. When I graduated but didn't want to leave FIRST, I founded a new team. I was always willing to push myself and my ideas to the limit. I don't know if it was just that I was that much more interested in it than my English class, or if its because I set my own expectations instead of yielding to the expectations of a school system/parent/grade.

Today we are nervous about extremes - parents are either helicopter parents, or too wary of being helicopter parents. Kids are expected to be involved in 10 different things, and do them all well, to build resumes that will get them into Ivy League schools. Yet it seems that kids have trouble finding their passion when they are forced/run off in so many directions. Its about "just doing enough" to be good enough in everything, without being Great. I want kids to know what its like to really give it absolutely everything they have (because I would bet 99% of them have it in them dream bigger). To eat, sleep and breathe something year round. To find something they are so passionate about that it oozes into everything they do, and others can't help but want to follow them into this Counter-Culture where good is not good enough, Great is all they strive for.

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by Kims Robot

I want kids to know what its like to really give it absolutely everything they have (because I would bet 99% of them have it in them dream bigger). To eat, sleep and breathe something year round. To find something they are so passionate about that it oozes into everything they do, and others can't help but want to follow them into this Counter-Culture where good is not good enough, Great is all they strive for.

To get a sense of commitment and what it feels like, what it means, and the powerful potential that it can have.

Great post, Kim. I would love to meet that teacher.

Jane

[Cyberphil]

I am very sorry I did not see this thread earlier! I really think you guys are onto something, and like many of you have said, I think counter-culture can be the ticket we need to the, "Big Screen," if you will.

This is powerful stuff.