Where was the GP at Championships?

[dlavery]

It is a reality that, as FIRST grows and more teams and more participants join, the number of opportunities to both display and deny the tenets of gracious professionalism increase.

No team is immune to this. In just this past week I have seen some of the most amazingly professional behavior exhibited by a rookie team that obviously “gets it.” Simultaneously, I saw acts by a long-term veteran team that would have made Billy Martin and George Steinbrenner cringe in embarrassment.

The intent here is not to point fingers, but to reinforce the idea that ALL participants in FIRST need to be aware of our behavior and how we act. This is not limited to just the things that happen at the Championship. This is true whether we are at a competition, in school, at work, at home, on a internet forum or chat room, or out in public. We may or may not be wearing a FIRST team shirt or be identified as a FIRST participant. But that shouldn’t matter. The principles of gracious professionalism are not to be taken off when the team t-shirt is removed. Our representation of our respective teams may come and go. But we always represent ourselves. It is how we each behave as a person – not as a team member – that matters.

You can disagree with a referee’s call. You can be upset with a “silly rule” being enforced by an event employee. You can disagree with the policies of a school or sponsor. You can be angered by decisions made by FIRST or any other organization. There is nothing in the principles of gracious professionalism that dictates that you should simply roll over and accept any of these situations. The important part is HOW you decide you are going to react to them.

You can scream and yell invectives at a referee, or you can present a logical, reasoned, supported argument for why you disagree with a call, and then elevate an appeal if a satisfactory solution is not found. You can verbally assault someone that is doing the job they were directed to do, or you can recognize that they have instructions that probably stem from a set of goals and concerns that are different than yours, and understand that the restrictions may source from a person different than the one standing in front of you. You can throw a tantrum over school board restrictions that prevent you from attending a certain competition, or you can become determined to do something about it and work within the system to enact a change to what you view as restrictive policies. You can post a series of vituperative missives on Chief Delphi about “dumb decisions” by FIRST, or you can find a way to make your displeasure known in a strong and unmistakable way that is also calm, respectful, not insulting, and acknowledging that there may be other factors associated with the decision of which you are not aware. Then you can volunteer to jump in and help find a solution.

Our behavior – both good and bad – is contagious. Set a good example, behave in a mature, reasoned, professional manner and we will find that others around us will too. Throw tantrums, scream at officials, abuse those lower on the corporate food chain, and others may follow suit. We lead by example – the only choice is what type of example do we want to set?

Remember, as the reports of the unfortunate incidents listed above indicate, your grandmother - and everyone else - is watching.

-dave


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[Racer26]

Well put Dave,

GP is a way of life we all should be striving to abide by, and in the mentioned situations, it was definitely lacking. As Dave said though, many people seem to have this vision that GP doesnt allow for standing up for one's rights, and standing up for what they feel is right. One fairly frequent CD-er has a sig that essentially states that GP is just that, Gracious Professionalism, not Granting Pleasantries (i think those were their words).

[Rick TYler]

GP is simple. If I can steal something from the Scouts:

A FIRSTer is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, brave, clean, and cheerful. I left out a few items from the Scout Law that are more in line with Scoutings mission than FIRST's, but we could do a lot worse than adopt a simple code like this.

[Libby K]

Kelli, I heard a lot of this too. I had to take the elevators about a trillion times a day, and I was always very nice to the Georgia Dome staff. However, I saw many instances of teams (and even volunteers) being rude to the staff. Yes, we're in the Dome all day, running around...things get crazy. Tensions can run high. But that is no excuse to stop demonstrating the gracious professionalism we have had ingrained in us from day 1.

As FIRST grows I think it is especially important to remember to teach GP by example- some teams don't get it taught to them as rookies because of inexperience, and some veteran teams don't demonstrate it as often as they should. However, most teams that I see are great. Those of us who do know what those two letters are all about should be teaching it to others. I've been lucky enough to have my grandparents at most of the events I have been to in the past, and learning GP by literally acting as if my grandmother was watching- because she was. I have always kept that in mind, and encouraged others to act the same way.

Like Dave said above me- Gracious Professionalism does not mean letting things that bother you just roll off your back. You can, by all means, be against a decision or a rule set in place. It is HOW you react to those situations that really makes the difference.

When the going gets tough, the smart keep their GP.

[Uberbots]

What you described, Kelli, was absolutely despicable. I don't know if those students/parents got what they deserved or not, but they should. unfortunately for them, though, an offense such as disregarding GP only has long-term effects; its the kind of thing that can lose a team's sponsor, respect from another team, job opportunities, or later in life get someone fired. I hope the offenders realized that in some simple actions they have probably ruined this 'robotics competition' for many people.

for shame.

I know we had an incident in the Connecticut regional where a representative from a rookie team wanted to talk to us for alliance pairing. They weren't doing too well, about 40th in the rankings and didn't stand out much to our scouters. The went to talk to us, and happened to get into contact with the wrong person on our team who told them, "Sorry, we don't want to be with you. We are too good for you". That is another one of those little things that can absolutely ruin this program for people- and for a rookie team no less.
We are still in a tough spot as to what to do with this person- she appears to be the person on our team who just doesn't and refuses to "get it". its sad, really.

[robochick1319]

Originally Posted by dlavery

It is a reality that, as FIRST grows and more teams and more participants join, the number of opportunities to both display and deny the tenets of gracious professionalism increase.

No team is immune to this. In just this past week I have seen some of the most amazingly professional behavior exhibited by a rookie team that obviously “gets it.” Simultaneously, I saw acts by a long-term veteran team that would have made Billy Martin and George Steinbrenner cringe in embarrassment.

The intent here is not to point fingers, but to reinforce the idea that ALL participants in FIRST need to be aware of our behavior and how we act. This is not limited to just the things that happen at the Championship. This is true whether we are at a competition, in school, at work, at home, on a internet forum or chat room, or out in public. We may or may not be wearing a FIRST team shirt or be identified as a FIRST participant. But that shouldn’t matter. The principles of gracious professionalism are not to be taken off when the team t-shirt is removed. Our representation of our respective teams may come and go. But we always represent ourselves. It is how we each behave as a person – not as a team member – that matters.

You can disagree with a referee’s call. You can be upset with a “silly rule” being enforced by an event employee. You can disagree with the policies of a school or sponsor. You can be angered by decisions made by FIRST or any other organization. There is nothing in the principles of gracious professionalism that dictates that you should simply roll over and accept any of these situations. The important part is HOW you decide you are going to react to them.

You can scream and yell invectives at a referee, or you can present a logical, reasoned, supported argument for why you disagree with a call, and then elevate an appeal if a satisfactory solution is not found. You can verbally assault someone that is doing the job they were directed to do, or you can recognize that they have instructions that probably stem from a set of goals and concerns that are different than yours, and understand that the restrictions may source from a person different than the one standing in front of you. You can throw a tantrum over school board restrictions that prevent you from attending a certain competition, or you can become determined to do something about it and work within the system to enact a change to what you view as restrictive policies. You can post a series of vituperative missives on Chief Delphi about “dumb decisions” by FIRST, or you can find a way to make your displeasure known in a strong and unmistakable way that is also calm, respectful, not insulting, and acknowledging that there may be other factors associated with the decision of which you are not aware. Then you can volunteer to jump in and help find a solution.

Our behavior – both good and bad – is contagious. Set a good example, behave in a mature, reasoned, professional manner and we will find that others around us will too. Throw tantrums, scream at officials, abuse those lower on the corporate food chain, and others may follow suit. We lead by example – the only choice is what type of example do we want to set?

Remember, as the reports of the unfortunate incidents listed above indicate, your grandmother - and everyone else - is watching.

-dave


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I completely agree with you about most of that. For example at Palmetto there was serious scoring mistakes during the elimination rounds (quarterfinals to be exact) The opposing alliance had their bonus points doubled and when I found out I approached the refs. The refs were more than amazing and were extremely patient. It took a while for the whole situation to be sorted out and eventually we played another tie breaker match to settle the problems.

At Nationals I noticed that the refs were a little overwhelmed. When we approached about a penalty given to us after we were pushed past a line marker they were not extremely happy and we lost the match. I guess the refs had been hearing all sorts of complaints and just couldn't take one more. =(

It's really a shame that some teams and individuals have to resort to such hostility and unGP during the heat of competition. Hopefully the situation will improve in the future.

[jtdowney]

It is unfortunate that these events are happening but what Dave said is probably the best advice. We are fighting a culture here that recognizes that throwing a fit/cursing will get you attention and often times, sadly, results. I would be extremely embarrassed if it was one of my students or another Purdue FIRST team member/mentor.

At Midwest regional they asked all the volunteers to watch a video on GP but I am beginning more and more to think that we should have set it up for the teams to watch as well.

FIRST is about leading instead of following and we need to make sure we lead our fellow mentors and students toward positive ideals.

[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.

[trobots.com]

I only saw one particular case of un-GP it happened at the door of gate B. a mentor of a prominent championship semifinalist (who will go un named, I don't point fingers) was entering the gate. Unfortunately this man had such an attachment to his hazelnut creamer coffee that when he was told that it was not allowed in and he'd have to dispose of it or drink it to gain entry, he hollered at the door staff, then chucked it over 6 feet across the ground right by the trash can.

Being appalled as I was, I immediately picked up his cup, lid and holder and kindly placed it in the trash can. Then took the last 5 sips of my coffee and gladly entered. The man told me thank you, and I told him not to thank me. I told him sorry he had to deal with that.

Fortunately for me, that was the last and only un-gp behaviour I saw all day.

We need to all remember we are no better than our fellow man, no matter what job we all hold, what socio-economic status that's involved, or anything. Plain and simple, we're all fellow travelers on this pale blue dot called Earth.

[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?

[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.


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