Dean Kamen, Manual Laborers, and You

[Racer26]

As someone who's been around FIRST since 2003, I think I'm justified in saying I've heard a good portion of Dean's speeches, and since 2003, there's been a few things I've noticed over the years, both in Dean's speeches, and those of John Abele, Woodie Flowers, Paul Gudonis, and Bill Miller too.

A recurring theme I see in the speeches of these leaders is references to "this country", and "America". This is HIGHLY offensive to those of us who come from Canada, Brazil, Israel, Australia, Germany, Turkey, Great Britain, and more. Frankly, we have no intent of helping the United States of America by participating in FIRST, though it may be a side effect. This goes hand in hand with the "It's not Nationals, its Championships" argument.

It was offensive to me, because we had travelled thousands of miles to compete, and were made to feel as though we were not even there in some cases, as though FIRST was a purely American phenomenon. If you want to grow the program such that every student on the planet has the chance to participate, you have to start THINKING with a world-centric mindset.

International teams are NOT exactly a small group at Championships. Of the 344 teams that attended championships this year, 23 of them hailed from somewhere other than the USA. Thats more than 6% of the teams there.

[mwtidd]

Originally Posted by 1075guy

A recurring theme I see in the speeches of these leaders is references to "this country", and "America".

Also the fact that the site the FIRST is hosted at is still usfirst.org
I mean at least they scrapped the US in the name, but I definitely agree with you, that this program is not a US program anymore, but now is an international program.

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by 1075guy

If you want to grow the program such that every student on the planet has the chance to participate, you have to start THINKING with a world-centric mindset.

*standing ovation!*

Awesome comment.

Jane

[pfreivald]

I would like to be clear that I am absolutely certain that Dean did not intend his comment to be callous and insulting.

[ebarker]

Originally Posted by pfreivald

I would like to be clear that I am absolutely certain that Dean did not intend his comment to be callous and insulting.

I totally get what you are saying. I for one am not misunderstanding the comment.

Back in the little town I grew up in the large majority of people had a lot of grease and dirt on their hands. There were few people that had clean indoor jobs. One of them was the president, later chairman of the local bank.

With a great deal of pride he would jump at the chance to shake a dirty hand, make a connection with the people in the community and move the affairs of the town forward. It wasn't a phoney connection but the real deal.

He was a great role model growing up.

[Racer26]

The thing that I think alot of Americans don't realize is just how much their economy affects the rest of the world.

The economies of the rest of the world, and Canada in particular is heavily dependent on money coming in from exports to the USA. When the American economy tanks, it drags the rest of the world down with it, because the American public stops buying whatever widget my company exports to the USA.

Also, I don't think most Americans realize just how culturally similar Canada is (especially within 200km of the US Border, where 90% of Canada's population exists). I've travelled many parts of the world, and I can definitely say that Canada and USA are very similar, while the rest of the world is rather different.

My point here I guess is that the world does not revolve around the USA, BUT it is HEAVILY affected by what goes on there. The tanking economy, thats a world problem. The lack of future engineers this program is supposed to nurture, again, world problem. The lack of clean drinking water for the masses, once more, world problem.

If we're going to change the culture, get students the world over involved in STEM fields, and bring FIRST to every teen around the globe, we have to start by treating the problems not as an "American" problem, but instead treat them as what they are. World Problems.

[Doc Wu]

I worked as an autoworker for over 30 years. About half of that was assembly of components. The bigger half, about 18 years, was as an electrician.

Now, an electrician certainly does a lot of manual labor, but also has to have a lot of knowledge. Much of my work was done with a computer, not a screwdriver.

The work I did when I was first hired was brutal manual labor in hot, wet, dangerous conditions lifting heavy loads for long hours. Those jobs no longer exist. (At least in that plant.)

Today, manual assembly jobs aren't anything like they were. No heavy lifting without some kind of mechanical device. Almost every aspect of it has been improved. The unions and OSHA have been responsible for some of it, but mainly, it just makes sense to let machinery do the more demanding work and spare the expensive human worker. (Unfortunately, it also has reduced the numbers of human laborers.)

But technology made this possible. People today wouldn't do the jobs I did in the 70's. Some of them didn't then. I saw new-hires walk out and quit! It's still hot in the plant I worked in, but most jobs are pretty tolerable by comparison.

Along with that comes a higher level of technological understanding required by even basic laborers. To operate those machines, you had to pick up some understanding of how they operate. Many of them have some sort of computer screen. If you can't read, you're pretty much out of luck. It's not rocket science, but a basic understanding of how things work can make the difference between being someone who has to be trained on one machine for weeks and being someone who can pick up a new machine in a few hours. Which is more valuable to an employer?

So it even trickles down to the lowest level of the workforce. I don't know what Dean was thinking or meant when he said what he did, but I'm sure in his mind he knew and simply raced ahead, making his point, not thinking we all needed more details to follow along.

I'd certainly take time to write Dean a letter explaining how his remarks cost you a sponsor. Give him specific details and contact information and let him have the opportunity to explain his remarks and repair the misunderstanding. I'd be surprised if losing even one sponsor wouldn't concern him greatly.

There is nothing wrong with being a manual laborer, but even if that is your choice of careers, in today's workforce, every bit of education you get gives you more choices and more opportunities. I worked with a number of skilled trades people who either had college degrees or were part way through getting one. There are even degree programs for farming. Even Garbagemen have become Sanitation Workers, and even "Environmental Social Workers." I can't think of any jobs at all that haven't been improved by technology.

FIRST should be about being an opportunity and inspiration to anyone, whether they intend to pursue an Engineering Degree, or not. I think one of they beauties of the program is how it can include so many different interests our students have.

Science and Technology is like the tide in the ocean, it raises all ships together, whether they're an engineering ship or a manual labor ship.

[dtengineering]

Originally Posted by 1075guy

As someone who's been around FIRST since 2003, I think I'm justified in saying I've heard a good portion of Dean's speeches, and since 2003, there's been a few things I've noticed over the years, both in Dean's speeches, and those of John Abele, Woodie Flowers, Paul Gudonis, and Bill Miller too.

A recurring theme I see in the speeches of these leaders is references to "this country", and "America". This is HIGHLY offensive to those of us who come from Canada, Brazil, Israel, Australia, Germany, Turkey, Great Britain, and more. Frankly, we have no intent of helping the United States of America by participating in FIRST, though it may be a side effect.

As a fellow Canadian, I've heard the repeated references to the USA as well, but maybe haven't been as bothered by them.

While the words might reflect a lack of global vision, they aren't nearly as important to me as the actions of FIRST, and those associated with it. FIRST is acting with a global vision, and I'm happy to be a part of it.

But I think if we want to take this particular topic any further it should get its own thread.

Jason

[gorrilla]

Originally Posted by dtengineering

As a fellow Canadian, I've heard the repeated references to the USA as well, but maybe haven't been as bothered by them.

While the words might reflect a lack of global vision, they aren't nearly as important to me as the actions of FIRST, and those associated with it. FIRST is acting with a global vision, and I'm happy to be a part of it.

But I think if we want to take this particular topic any further it should get its own thread.

Jason

I feel the reason Dean refers to the USA when they are talking about economic things in general is because the United States in having a problem right now with our economy. (now, I dont know much about how the economies of other countries are doing right now so dont hate me)

And, with the majority of teams in FIRST being from the USA it makes sense to target the U.S when they are talking about helping the economy right?

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.


I agree that this is a "World problem", but we have to start somewhere right?

[gvarndell]

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.

Your dad is telling you the same thing Dean told you, using different words.
OK, it's a little different -- your dad is also telling you he loves you.

[Amanda Morrison]

I've had a few jobs that have been physically tough, but at the end of the day I always enjoyed looking back and seeing the results that I'd produced. There is no better feeling than working as hard as you can - mentally and physically - and ending the day by looking back at the fruits of your labor. It taught me a great deal about expectation, responsibility, efficiency, and reliability.

It's a mindset - some people are not cut out for physically taxing and rigorous positions. Others can't imagine a life outside of the barn, the shop, the millyard - whatever the job may be. The beauty of life is that we forge our own paths the way that we see fit, molding and shaping our years into what we'd like to become.

But in addition, no parent wants to see their child struggle. Some people do view the demanding, monotonous labor jobs that exist in our society as the lowest on the totem pole and does not want to see their child taking a tough path in life. That's why our society stresses education in EVERY form, so that the most number of desirable options exists for every person. However, every person's definition of "desirable" is different, and I think Dean's inadvertent message seems to have ruffled the feathers of those whose positions are oft seen as less desired.

If your team is worried about your supporters, here's what I'd tell those mentors, students, parents, etc. that were offended by Dean's comments - Our team appreciates you. After all, Dean does not run your team. FIRST is a community program and a grassroots movement that is changing lives all over the nation, not a dictatorship or a kingdom ruled by one lone man. In the full scope of things, while the comment may have been somewhat inflammatory, those mentors and sponsors may need your love and support to remember that they're changing lives and helping to enable students to do what they want to do - manual labor or other career. You can be the positive reinforcement to tell these students that they can do whatever they want - and that FIRST can be a springboard - even if the career is not STEM related. (Yes, I said it.)

The short answer is - Dean's comment really doesn't matter. While it certainly didn't help matters and stepped on a lot of toes, it's okay. FIRST goes on. He's a great role model for this program, but it's alright to disagree with him. FIRST cannot run with only engineers as mentors. All walks of life are needed to make this program happen - community change can never become a reality without everyone's involvement. And you know what? That's just fine. Just make sure you communicate back to the owners of those stepped-on toes that they are appreciated, regardless of their profession.

[pfreivald]

Originally Posted by Amanda Morrison

You can be the positive reinforcement to tell these students that they can do whatever they want - and that FIRST can be a springboard - even if the career is not STEM related. (Yes, I said it.)

Ironically, the mentor/sponsor who is backing away due to this has a daughter as an alum of the team who has gone into a non-STEM field (media relations) because of her experience on the team... (The others got over it quite quickly, and have pledged their continued support to our team).

And as to the rest, do you have any idea how hard it is to change the mind of a proud farmer?

Originally Posted by Amanda Morrison

The short answer is - Dean's comment really doesn't matter.

It would be nice if that were true, but in this case it most certainly does matter. It matters very directly to a tiny rural team (we might possibly be the smallest school to participate in FIRST -- though I'm not sure where I'd go to find out if that were actually true, I'm sure it's very close to true).

We are tremendously -- tremendously -- grateful for Bausch + Lomb's sponsorship, but we also depend on the assistance of businesses in our town... And our town has literally no white collar businesses.

This won't destroy our team, certainly. Indeed, with our success at FLR, we've got big plans to expand and spread. But it didn't help, and did actually hurt -- not just some people emotionally, but our team and my students, materially and through a loss of mentor support.

[ebarker]

Originally Posted by pfreivald

And as to the rest, do you have any idea how hard it is to change the mind of a proud farmer?

Yes I do. I too am the son of a proud farmer. Even though I am from South Carolina I worked with beekeepers from his area. In the winter time the only thing between Naples and the North Pole is a barbed wire fence and it is down.

Please offer him this deal from the son of a farmer and a former farmer and amateur beekeeper

You ask him to pledge to go one more year, just one more year ! I will pledge to him that I will persuade Dean to make good. And if Dean makes good you guys need to send me some of that great upstate New York clover honey.

I'm absolutely serious about this. This is too important.

Ed