Do FIRST kids behave better?

[Enigma's puzzle]

I like FIRST (my team especially) because they unlike the rest of High Schoolers realize that the smartest and best leader is the person to follow not the "coolest". they instead of outcasting the smart nerd they embrace him/her because they realize that they have the worthwhile ideas and goals.

They also attract the more mature type of people, they may not actually be completely more mature (you get what i'm saying, realize it doesn't make sense). These people however realize WHEN to screw around and have fun, and when to be serious and have fun.

[SammyKay]

I think that for the most part FIRST students are better behaved. I know that on our small team, we do have a few students who behave immaturely during school or even during breaks while we're at the shop, but when it's time to pay attention during robotics, they are well behaved. Tho I have noticed that a few people have become a bit better behaved after they joined our team. Only a few have tho.

[Kyle Love]

In a short answer, no. If you really observe all students at FIRST events, there is a mix of polite "good kids" and kids who tend not to behave properly. Through my teaching observation at Harrison High School in West Lafayette, IN, I did not have any students that were involved in FIRST and noticed no change in the overall student behaviors.

[MissInformation]

Originally Posted by Kyle Love

In a short answer, no. If you really observe all students at FIRST events, there is a mix of polite "good kids" and kids who tend not to behave properly. Through my teaching observation at Harrison High School in West Lafayette, IN, I did not have any students that were involved in FIRST and noticed no change in the overall student behaviors.

Finally, a response I agree with 100%!!! As someone who has chaperoned for many (too many) years, I do not think FIRST kids are better behaved than other kids. Ask Wetzel about some of things he and his cohorts did when they were the leaders on 116. And it isn't just 116, I've had many conversations with chaperons from other teams to know that they have to deal with typical behavior from students that age. Also, I've sat in the stands many times and have seen both kids and adults be rude and nasty over seats they have saved (to be fair, I've also seen many adults and students be very generous and kind in sharing their seats). I've heard students from another team in Virginia go on and on about how much they hate Dave (this petty behavior has gone on for years and years now). There was a thread on CD a few years ago where students were asking what crazy things people did in Atlanta... one thing that I will never forget is the kids who talked about balcony hopping (from a fatal height) to get to the girls' room next door. Last year in our hotel in Atlanta, students from multiple teams, mine included, were dropping things from the top floor (47th floor or so) to the ground level until security was called in. And there are worse things, that I'm not going to discuss because I think some things, once dealt with, are best left dormant.

I'm not trying to sound negative, because overall, I think kids involved in FIRST are great. But I think they are still teens and they still act like teens. Also, saying "behave better" comes too close to saying "are better" and I hate seeing the attitude of "FIRST blah blah blahs are better than other blah blah blahs" because it's snobbery and, in my opinion, doesn't fit with gracious professionalism. I belonged to a club when I went to FSU that boasted of having the highest cumulative GPA of any club on campus... and it's something they boasted about and flaunted and bragged on and eventually no one wanted to play with them anymore. The "better than" attitude leads countries to war.

Okay, I don't know where this rant came from, I guess it's something I've been thinking about since the first time I saw this thread. Like I said, overall, I think kids involved in FIRST are great, otherwise I wouldn't have spent the past 7-8 years working with them.

Heidi

[DonRotolo]

Originally Posted by MissInformation

I think kids involved in FIRST are great, otherwise I wouldn't have spent the past 7-8 years working with them.

Thank you Heide and Kyle for the alternative perspective. You see, as a mentor but not a teacher I don't see the 'average' kid, so my exposure is limited.

Oh, sure, there will always be some kids.... But perhaps SammyKay has a good point: When they are interested, they pay attention. Maybe they act rightly in front of me because they know that's what I expect. Dunno.

In any case, I am still having fun (Ice game or not).

Don

[Wetzel]

Originally Posted by MissInformation

Finally, a response I agree with 100%!!! As someone who has chaperoned for many (too many) years, I do not think FIRST kids are better behaved than other kids. Ask Wetzel about some of things he and his cohorts did when they were the leaders on 116.
<snip>
Heidi

I did absolutely nothing wrong, and you can't prove otherwise.

Wetzel

[Deathnmasses]

I would have to say that FIRST kids behave better when it involves FIRST. Outside of FIRST most of us are regular teenagers. Well, i don't know if regular is the right term. More like normal nerds.

[1337Nerd]

I don't really know about anyone else, but I was raised to exhibit good behaviour and respect. FIRST had very little to do with it.

However, when most people see me for the first time, they don't really expect it due to how I dress.

[smurfgirl]

Think about the freshmen on robotics teams at the beginning of the season; walking into any team, you can probably tell who the new members are, just because they act like most other freshmen. Let's face it, most 14-year-olds aren't particularly mature. However, during the course of a season in FIRST, I think the process of learning certain values is expedited, and brings maturity faster. (You just can't horse around near people using power tools, you're expected to be graciously professional... some things just have to be learned.) In general, this leads to kids who have spent time in FIRST being, on average, "better behaved" than kids outside the program. I think most teams will bear witness to it, and have stories about particular team members for whom the program made worlds of difference. However, there are always exceptions, and some people never seem to grow up, while others come into FIRST already exceptionally well-behaved.

[DonRotolo]

Originally Posted by Wetzel

I did absolutely nothing wrong, and you can't prove otherwise.

Proof is not always necessary

[MissInformation]

Originally Posted by Wetzel

I did absolutely nothing wrong, and you can't prove otherwise.

Wetzel

Originally Posted by Don Rotolo

Proof is not always necessary

Let's just say that I am forever grateful that I was not a chaperon when Wetzel was a student on the team. The only thing worse would have been chaperoning a team that had someone like Dave on it... scary thought that.

Which makes me think about another point on FIRST kids and their behavior. Sometimes that their intelligence can get them into trouble. Like one year, I think it was at hotel during the Chesapeake Regional... our kids used mirrors and to extend the beam of a laser pointer as far as they could. They got it down a long hallway, up a flight of stairs and halfway down the upstairs hallway before they ran out of mirrors... Which was fine and fun... until we found out they were trying to figure out how to pry the mirrors off of the bathroom walls to go even further...

Heidi


Heidi